A 11-YEAR-old performer from Kimberley has been selected to represent South Africa at the IMTA International ARTS convention in New York next year, where she will perform in front of 300 international performance industry professionals.
Dakota Cockrell is a little girl with big dreams and has a natural love for dance, music and the performing arts.
She has been doing classical ballet with the Christine Compton Dance Academy since she was six years old and takes voice training with E-vocal Academy. She also danced with Take Flight Dance Academy for one year, doing contemporary ballet.
In May this year, Dakota auditioned for Elsubie Verlinda, the director of ARTS Africa, and talent scout Eloise Janse Van Rensburg, who were travelling across South Africa and holding auditions in all nine provinces.
Dakota was selected from the Northern Cape after receiving a call-back for singing, acting and her first love, dance. At this audition she performed in two dance genres, namely classical ballet and contemporary ballet.
Hereafter, she was selected to perform at the International ARTS talent showcase in Johannesburg during September, for a panel of international judges, which included Joey Hunter, the former president of Ford Models and the IMTA representative, Blaze Johnson, from The Voice America, singer/songwriter Nate Butler and Rhavynn Drummer, independent casting director for Tyler Perry Studios.
Dakota was selected on this international platform to represent South Africa at the IMTA International ARTS convention in New York in 2020, where she will perform in front of 300 international industry professionals.