Three up-and-coming models need your help to wow the judges at the World Championships of Performing Arts.
Represented by Maple Ridge-based Ridge Talent, Brady Nugent, Keely Hepburn and Jocelyn Heaps are three of 30 competitors from Canada, who will battle models, actors, singers and dancers from all over the world for $130,000 in scholarships.
Natalie Nugent, who runs the agency, says the competition is full of opportunities.
“It’s getting a foot in the door and the connections an agent couldn’t get them in 10 years and they are getting it in 10 days,” says Nugent, who is also Brady’s mom.
Brady will be competing in modelling and acting. The 15-year-old first experienced the world championships at age 12 when he won five gold medals and signed with an agency based in New York.
“One of my favourite thing about the competition is the connection you make,” says Brady. “You meet people from your own country and you are also going to meeting people from all over the world.”
To raise money for the competition, Brady and Hepburn have been selling chocolates outside the Langley Farm Market in Maple Ridge every weekend for the past two months. All three models need to have trendy wardrobes and eye-catching accessories to stand out from the crowd.
Heaps, 19, is a dancer, model and actress from Chilliwack, who hopes the competition jump-starts her career.
“I’ve been training pretty hard so I feel pretty confident, says Heaps, who teaches dance full-time in Chilliwack and trains at least 20 hours a week.
“I really want to go somewhere with dance. I would love to try and get a scholarship, hopefully go farther than Chilliwack. I would love to make it the finals.”