Dalen Lance

Dalen Lance Jooste (Pronounced "Day-lyn") (born 16 February 1983) is a South African television host based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He was the host of the reality TV dance competition Step Up or Step Out for two seasons and a host of the early-morning TV show Dagbreek on DSTV's Kyknet channel.

Lance has also performed as a presenter on television shows such as High School Musical, Spotlight South Africa, 20-Something, Pap Idols, and Bling.

Dalen Lance was born 16 February 1983 in Cape Town, South Africa to parents Gavin and Myna Jooste.

He has three siblings, Tashline, Keziah, and Roxanne.

Shortly after his birth, his family relocated from Malmesbury to Atlantis, in close proximity to Cape Town.

Lance's eldest sibling, Tashline, is a sports marketing and sponsorship executive based in Johannesburg.

Keziah Jooste, the 1998 second runner-up contestant to Miss South Africa, is a South African actress who has appeared in TV series such as Isidingo, 7de Laan, and the popular soap, Generations.

Roxanne Jooste currently resides in Los Angeles and works as a dancer and model signed to Wilhelmina Models.

Lance attended Wesfluer Primary (Atlantis) and completed high school at Table View High School in 2000.

In 2002, while still an undergraduate, Lance entered the first season of Idols South Africa and reached the top 50 round of the competition.

He also entered South African Popstars in the same year.

He recorded his first demo at Mama Dance Music Studios (Observatory, Cape Town) and numerous radio jingles for Good Hope FM, one of Cape Town's biggest radio stations.

Soon after he completed his undergrad studies, his sister Keziah advised him to meet with Cape Town talent agent Janet du Plessis of Artistes Personal Management ("APM") in 2002.

Under du Plessis's guidance, Lance filmed projects for the BBC, Walt Disney World and the SABC.

In 2003 Bling, a youth television programme, became Lance's first presenting role and was commissioned for two seasons before being cancelled by broadcaster SABC 2.

The show was produced by Okuhle Media, formally known as Page to Pictures.

Lance's co-presenter during the two seasons was Jodi Balfour, actress and Miss South Africa contestant.

Both Balfour and Lance were nominated in the category of SA's Best Youth Presenters at the Star in You awards.

He completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Financial Accounting at the University of Cape Town in 2004 and a Master of Business Leadership degree in 2014 through the University of South Africa (Unisa) Graduate School of Business Leadership.

He completed his BComm degree at the University of Cape Town in 2004 and a master of business leadership (MBL) degree (cum laude) at the Unisa's Graduate School of Business Leadership in 2014.

He received scholarships from the Judge Ngoepe Scholarship Fund and was placed in the top five of the programme in both of his first two years.

His dissertation related to the future of television broadcasting, specifically the global unilateral regulatory considerations for Internet Protocol Television IPTV.

In 2005, he took time off to travel and served as a camp counselor and audio-visual teacher at Camp Mariah in New York City.

He released his debut album in 2006, titled Be Your Man, along with a single of the same name.

Upon returning to South Africa in 2006, he relocated to Johannesburg to pursue music and television full-time.

In 2006, Lance hosted Pap Idols, a traveling cooking show produced by Robert Patel (RP Productions) for broadcaster SABC 2 and commissioned by the Maize Trust of South Africa.

He was hosted by a number of South African celebrities in their homes, where they had to cook a meal, with maize being the main ingredient.

The purpose of the programme was to showcase the versatility and health benefits of maize.

Additionally, the series was nominated in the category Best Youth Show at the SAFTA awards in 2007.

For his contributions as a television host, Lance was ranked amongst the "Top 10 in Television" 2008–09 by the Saturday Independent Newspaper, and has received numerous nominations for best presenter at the SA Kellog's Kids Choice Awards and Star in You Awards.

In 2008, Lance hosted magazine show 20-Something for channel E.tv.

Subsequent to completing a few episodes for the show, he was chosen as host for M-net's High School Musical Spotlight South Africa.

During his time on 20 Something, Lance served as both an in-studio and field presenter, and interviewed various South African newsmakers.

In 2008, Lance hosted the reality television series High School Musical Spotlight South Africa.

It was produced by Eden Rage Media for M-net.

The show portrayed a search for the leads for a High School Musical stage production to be produced by Pieter Toerien, who also served as the main judge on the series.

It was the first reality TV spin-off from the High School Musical franchise, with approval and co-development from Disney executives in the US.

In addition to his television endeavours, since 2009 Lance has been serving as a resident master of ceremonies at the Montecasino gaming complex in Johannesburg.

Lance was hired as series host for seasons 1 and 2 of Step Up or Step Out, broadcast on E.tv in 2011 and 2012.