A learner from a high school in Midrand recently saw her dreams come true when she received a scholarship to study at the New York Film Academy.
While many had to find ways to make productive use of their time over the harsh lockdown period last year, Kiasha Chetty saw an opportunity to pursue her passion of becoming an actress, using all she had at her disposal to make her dream work.
“It has been my dream since I was seven years old, as terrifying as last year was for everyone, I decided to look at it in a different light,” she said.
“Instead of hopelessly watching the world go by, I made the conscious decision that I would pursue my acting career,” she added.
Kiasha said she was determined to get all the help possible, spending most of her days in lockdown watching videos on acting tips, gathering advice from trained professionals and downloading the necessary social media tools to get her name out into the public.
While on social media, Kiasha discovered the opportunity of a lifetime – to audition for a showcase known as the International Arts Talent Showcase, the largest showcase in Africa.
“I was lucky enough to have auditioned for the incredibly experienced actress and director of 33andMe Talent Agency, Elsubie Verlinden, who after my audition not only gave me a callback to go to the showcase, but also offered me the opportunity to audition for a scholarship to the New York Film Academy.
“After my successful audition I managed to secure a partial talent based scholarship to the school of my dreams.”
She expressed how humbled and honoured she had felt just to have had the experience. “The night I performed there were around 300 contestants performing as actors, dancers, singers and models and out of those, six had received scholarships to the New York Film Academy.
She added, “It was my absolute privilege to say that I received another long-term scholarship to the New York Film Academy, selected by Joey Zangardi and Elsubie Verlinden.”
Not long after, Kiasha received a life-changing phone call informing her that the same panel of esteemed judges had chosen her to take part in the International Model and Talent Showcase in New York City in July. It is the biggest talent convention in the world where Kiasha will be performing for 300 agents.
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