Biography
Ever since arriving in Sydney and leaving behind her worried family and hometown of Seattle, Clelia Niyikiza in two months has been in demand. The African-American expat has found herself thrust into a Hollywood blockbuster production “Gods of Egypt” directed by Alex Proyas and starring Gerard Butler and Geoffrey Rush.
To date, Clelia has performed in fairytale classics “The Jungle Book” and “Snow White” for Bellevue Youth Theatre when she was 15. Following that, she trained in Celebrity Actors Camp, a Hollywood-based TV and film program collectively boasting unparalleled and invaluable experience of casting directors Joey Paul Jensen, Lisa London, Catherine Sroud, Brandi Brice and Larry Lafond. A quick and impressionable learner, she also received intense and varied coaching from celebrities Adrian R’Mante (‘CSI’, ‘24’, ‘The Suite Life’), Giovannie Samuels (‘Freedom Writers’, ‘Bring it On: All or Nothing’, ‘The Suite Life’), Walter Perez (‘Fame, ‘Friday Night Lights’), Phill Lewis (‘Scrubs’, ‘Yes, Dear’, Suite Life on Deck’) and others.
Due to commitments to a demanding high school workload and extracurricular activities, Clelia is only beginning to get back on the horse as she derives the most enjoyment from acting. She took dance classes in hip-hop, jazz and contemporary. She is also keen and confident to transition into modelling, which suits her rounded, ardent, independent and soldiering-on personality.
Most connected to nature, seaside scenery and travel, the camera intuitively picks up on all these qualities as soon as the sun shines on her. Already Clelia is reaping the fruits of being in the entertainment industry by developing leadership qualities, self-confidence and the best possible head start in life.
Biography
Chinie Concepcion is a triple threat with immeasurable and decisive experience in dancing, singing and acting. At a tender age of 9, she began showing off her performing chops to family and friends before blossoming into a professional career at only 19 years old.
Chinie moved to Singapore from Manila upon receiving a scholarship to study musical theatre at LASALLE College of the Arts. She was henceforth accepted into the program and accelerated straight to Level 2 by a year. She counts professors and mentors Aubrey Mellor, Tony Knight and Amanda Colliver as influential to her success. She graduated with first class BA HONS in May 2014.
In her homeland of the Philippines, Chinie is known within the dance community as one of the pioneers of 'LA-style' (or commercial) hip-hop. In recent years, after choreographing and dancing in several major shows in this genre, she shifted her focus to theatre.
Chinie has built up a vast and extraordinary body of work in musicals, straight plays, commercials, music videos, corporate shows, events and TV shows that became as gorgeously malleable, irreverent, infectious and warm as the next. Her star turn in ABC 5’s “Shall We Dance” on Filipino television was recognised for perfectly mastered showmanship—or should that be ‘showwomanship’?
In addition to these plucked strings to her bow, Chinie has mastered the following vocal and dance styles of jazz, tap, ballet, tango and even breakdancing, to name a few, noting her gymnastics background as an advantage. She is a key performer of the One Night Stand cabaret, which she co-produces once a month.
Biography
Cassandra Scalzi is no stranger to examining all that Aristotelian life can offer. To date she has qualified as a legal practitioner, curator, arts columnist, arts educator, creative facilitator, visual artist, photographer, mother, wife, model and actor. Her storytelling in all mediums has always been eccentric and exhibitionistic at heart, she often seeks the world around her as endless, day-to-day sources of inspiration, humour and imagination: people, fashion, art, beauty, nature, photography and, of course the unusual.
Based in Adelaide, Cassandra has had the privilege of working as a stylist and creative director on fashion shoots, patriotically drawing upon her surroundings and signature compulsion of colour, fusing art with fashion in an edgy, natural and transformative style. Her knowledge and respect for languages, literature and the great Masters of art exceeds commendation. From expert interpretation and translation, to performing her own stunts such as climbing trees in a tutu and bonding with a cow named Gus in a manger, she does all in the name of communication, self-expression and craft. Indeed, she fits the trope: appearances can be deceiving.
Cassandra prefers to be immersed within the richness and ethnic diversity of fashion, film and non-mainstream television. In addition, she derives satisfaction from showcasing, supporting and providing a platform for other talented artists’ work and collaborating with women and like-minded professionals.
A unique, charismatic and enormously intelligent—to the surprise of the many unsuspecting—artist with more of an open mind than most people and Parisian sensibilities, Cassandra has in recent years fallen in love with the stage, performing in the Adelaide Fringe Festival in a series of satires and is a gifted comic with a distinct ‘zany’ and prankish persona. Self-reflexively drawing upon social commentary and indelible childhood memory through formative, sometimes affectingly ironic observations of human compassion and intolerance in equal measure, she is the modern and independent feminist with an exciting twist! Think Lucille Ball VS Mary Coustas with ‘sit-down’ comedy and a peculiar daredevil streak!
Cassandra is also a children’s roving entertainer, a reptile handler and enthusiast with a pet blue tongue named Mr T (Rex), a recent hand-rearing rainbow lorikeet rescuer and a rodent keeper.