BEING on stage is where Glen Anil’s Kiara Teunissen truly shines. The local singer, dancer and actor recently won the Miss Diva Competition where she beat 20 other senior hopefuls (aged 13 to 19) for the coveted title. The 15-year-old’s rendition of Adele’s When We Were Young bowled the judges over.

“It was the first competition where I did not have my mum with me. Although my gran was there for moral support, I was still very nervous, especially after I heard the first two singers. I thought they were so good. I didn’t think I would win, so I just told myself that I was there for the experience,” she said.

The Crawford La Lucia pupil is currently preparing for an audition at the famed ARTS festival to be held in Johannesburg in October. At the event she will also be performing a duet with Danté Francesconi (16).

Teunissen started singing lessons at the tender age of nine.

“I love performing and being on stage. There is something exciting about entertaining people. I also love that during rehearsals you get to meet new people,” she said.

According to mum, Joanne, the singing bug bit Teunissen soon after she learned to walk and talk.

“She would always entertain the family while singing with her plastic microphone. She use to know Robbie William’s tracks by heart,” she recalled fondly.

Now, the teen enjoys performing country music. Later in the year she will also dabble in some Jazz as she performs in the Barnyard Theatre’s DanSwing production