Young performer represents Benoni on national stage

Humble with a sharp wit. This is your first impression upon meeting 10-year-old Gia Gounder, a learner of Ridgewood College, in Rynfield.

But this tween has her sights set on stardom.

Gia recently participated in the national penultimate round of the Young Performer Awards Competition (National Eisteddfod) in Randburg and wowed the celebrity judges with her presentation of the poem ‘Teacher, teacher, how’s my singing,’ in the own choice poetry division.

Of the seven category participants, as well as all the overall selected entrants, Gia was the only East Rand representative.

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While still awaiting the judges’ feedback Gia’s coach, Jeanri Mellanby, of J3 Performing Arts believes that the budding star has delivered a performance of such quality, which could see her participating in the international leg of the competition.

“Gia is a unicorn; an individual born with so much talent that realising her dreams of becoming a stage actress is only one performance away,” said Mellanby.

“She works hard and is dedicated to her craft.”

When the multi-talented Grade Five leaner is not on stage performing, singing or doing modelling, she ensures that she maintains a balance between her school work and enjoying some free time, playing and having fun like any other 10-year-old.

“I am very excited as I have been invited to audition to be part of Fashion Week, in Paris, later this year,” she said.

“If I am successful, I could be rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of the entertainment industry and quite possibly meet my idol, Justin Bieber.”

Dreaming of her future, Gia aspires to perform pieces relating to cyberbullying, a cause that is very close to her heart.

“Children all have smartphones and are on all the different social media platforms where they share their lives with the world. With this, you always have people taking advantage of this space to insult and degrade others. It has a huge impact on children,” she said.

“I would love to be part of a performing piece that centres around this topic and to hold cyberbullies accountable for their words.”

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