Just a few weeks ago, nine-year-old Desmond ‘Desi’ Koolen was carefully packing his competition costumes, making sure his beloved teddy bear, Marshall, had a place in his suitcase before leaving for Las Vegas.

Now, the young Fourways performer is back home, carrying something even more special – the pride of representing South Africa and the thrill of achieving one of his biggest dreams.
“It feels really nice and I feel like I made my country proud.”

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Desi represented team South Africa at the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA), where young performers from around the world gathered to showcase their talents in singing, acting, dancing, and modelling. Although every performance meant something to him, acting quickly became one of the highlights of the competition. “I did really well there and also got to do some workshops to learn more things.”

One of the moments he’ll never forget happened away from the competition stage. Desi had the opportunity to receive a vocal lesson from renowned American coach Romeo Johnson, an experience that left the young singer beaming with confidence.

“I had a vocal lesson with Romeo Johnson. He is a really big coach in the United States and he complimented my singing.”

Nothing, however, compared to hearing his name called as a gold medallist. “I was so happy. It was the best feeling because I really wanted to get gold.”

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Desi delivered an outstanding performance at the competition, earning two gold medals in swimwear modeling and spokesmodeling, three silver medals in acting for TV, classical acting, and open acting, and a bronze medal in contemporary vocal. His success was further recognised with two overall category awards, taking top honours in both swimwear modeling and spokesmodeling.

Behind every performance was a team of people cheering him on from the sidelines. Desi said he could not have done it without the unwavering support of his mother and his coaches, Imke Van Wyk, Andre Martinez, and Sarah Richard, who spent months helping him prepare for the international competition.

Now back in Fourways, the young performer hopes his journey will encourage other children to believe that big dreams can become reality.

“Don’t just dream it. If you put in the hard work, it is achievable and possible.”

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