Sinenhlanhla Malinga is a young 15 year old student who is doing grade 9 at Danielskuil High School in the Northern Cape.
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Sine as she is known was born in Bloemfontein but her big dreams are set to take her all over the World, as she proves that South Africa has plenty of talent which needs to be natured and groomed from a young age.
In March of 2018, Sine heard about a platform that embraces the talent which is yet to manifest in the young men and women that take part in it. Although she was hesitant at first, her father planted a seed of confidence in her that lead her to enter the International Arts Talent Showcase (IATS). With less than a month to prepare, Sine entered as a singer because singing is something she is passionate about and such an opportunity will only come once in a lifetime.
When April came by, Sinenhlanhla went to Kimberley with her parents who wanted to be support her while she auditions. Her confidence was further boosted by Elsubie Verlinden who told Sine a touching childhood story that inspired the young lady even further to achieve her goals. The Just You Model & Artist Management Director introduced her sister to the entrants before starting proceedings. Elouise van Rensburg is also a Director of IATS alongside her sister, Elsubie. When the audition process was done, Elsubie Verlinden gave another inspirational story before she and Elouise announced the winners who would be going to the ARTS Convention in Johannesburg. Apart from being one of the few singers that were chosen, Sine was also asked to model as well which ended off what was a near perfect day for her.
“I had more or less 6 months to prepare for the Convention and had asked my dad to fill in my form while I was at school” Says Sine. The daughter of Mzansi Kwaito and House Music Awards MD, Thulani Malinga, was furious with her father when she found out she would be do more than she had expected. She goes on to say “I was stunned to see that my dad had signed me up for singing, modelling and acting. I knew that preparing was going to take a lot of time and practice.” All the time spent practicing and rehearsing for her performance as well as having her family supporting her, finally paid off when the Arts Convention took place.
Despite being extremely nervous because it would be her first time performing in front of a large audience, Sine completed her registration and got ready to start chasing her dreams. While waiting for her name to be called, she spent what little time she had to read a book that helped make her calm and mentally ready. “The moment I hit that stage, I felt free, I was not nervous anymore. I did my monologue and I did great, when everyone applauded me, I felt my adrenaline rush.” Said Sinenhlanhla Malinga .
The young teen had a number of outfits ready for each of her performances, quickly running backstage to change after each performance. When I was about to leave the stage after my final performance, I was overcome with burst of adrenaline rush after the crowd applauded for the young talent. The first day of convention ended around 22h00 and was a great success but had Sin nervous as she would only know her fate on the 2nd day of the ARTS Convention.
On the 2nd day of the Convention, Sine’s excitement showed as soon as she arrived at the convention. When she got to the stage area, Mrs Verlinden and Nathan Muller quickly taught her how to model and strut around the stage. Sine had a final practice run before she went to go get her make-up and hair done. “I was in the first line-up of models, but we only went up after the first lineup of dancers” says Sine. Her attire for the night was her favourite blue jeans with a black top but she had to nervously wait for her performance. When she got home, Sine watched some TV to ease her from impatiently waiting to learn her fate. At around 23h00 that night, she finally got a message confirming her call back. She was excited at the news and decided to wake up her parents who did a celebratory dance in her honour.
Sinenhlanhla Malinga will be representing South Africa in the United States of America between the 3rd and 7th of July 2019. The Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida is where Sine will be showcasing all her talents. Having her travel to USA at such a young age has inspired Sine to work even harder to achieve the dreams and encourage more young people to believe in their dreams.
Image Courtesy: Supplied