Between two-three minutes alone on stage. That’s all they got. Nine-to-11 year olds battled it out last year in Dubai Opera for a chance to sing in Evita. Tears and jitters rang through the halls that usually thunder with the sound of applause. And yet, a few months later, there was a call. Nine-year-old Jasmine Veriga had won a solo part. “My mum came during one of my practices for a different show, and she said I got through. I was very shocked and amazed — speechless,” she recalls ahead of her days in the spotlight, from January 22 to February 3.
But from the sound of it, she had nothing to worry about — her mother, Agnieszka, points out that her daughter is already a pro on stage. Her credits have included Westend ticketed shows Secret Garden (2015) and Adventures of Pinocchio 2016. And she’s already gearing up for two ticketed shows in the UAE later this year in Ductac.
Jasmine, who attends Dubai Performing Arts (DPA) school and Nord Anglia School (associated with New York’s Julliard Curriculum), has a reputation of being focused. Jessica Cotton, her vocal coach from DPA, says, “I have had the pleasure of teaching Jasmine for over a year and a half. My first impressions of Jasmine were that she was a confident, organised and very focused young lady,” she said.
Here’s looking forward to Jasmine belting it out.
