East London-born star Asemahle Malotana,16, will head to the World Championships of Performing Arts in California in July after she scooped several top awards at the South African Championships of Performing Arts (Sacopa) in Gauteng recently.
The Grade 11 pupil was also scouted to feature on an upcoming reality television show, which will be shot in Cape Town over two weeks.
She will also be among the models who will feature in the Mauritius Fashion Week.
Sacopa is a platform for singers, actors, musicians, models, dancers, and variety artists to compete in their respective disciplines. It has been running for 22 years.
Asemahle, who now lives in Johannesburg and is home- schooled, scooped 11 gold, 10 silver and four bronze medals, including an overall trophy.
The youngster also got the triple threat award, which was one of three prestigious awards at the nine-day championships held in Rustenburg earlier this month.
The awards were for her outstanding performances in dance, singing and modelling.
“I was very excited to see all my hard work paying off and scooping so many awards this time around. It has been a lot of hard work. Last year I only won one medal, so I would have never imagined to get 25 medals, a trophy and the prestigious award.
“I can’t wait to go to the world championships. I really hope I do get to go to them because to go there I need about R200,000, which I’m really praying hard about, to get some sponsorships and funding due to the expenses that are involved.
“This is a lifetime opportunity that I would not like to miss out on,” she said.
The third born of four children said she had always had a passion for the arts, but only seriously focused on them early last year.
“I have always loved singing, I always took part in local talent shows and even sang in the Sunday school choir, but wouldn’t have imagined my life revolving around it as it does now,” she said.
Her mother, Zandi Kogo, said she was proud of her daughter’s achievements, who will represent South Africa at the upcoming world championships in the US.
“She has done exceptionally well to have competed among 7,800 other entrants and to have performed in an auditorium filled with over 15,000 spectators.”..