PLEASE MEET ANOTHER MULTI-TALENTED YOUNG ENTERTAINER - 

ROYA The DESTROYA

1                   Please tell us a little bit about your background.

                A:   Throughout the years, I have participated in many fitness related activities, some being cheerleading (stunt and poms), break dancing, indoor soccer, circus, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics. Dance and movement is in my blood, flesh and bones! I wouldn't be abe to stop even if I wanted to.

2              Have you always wanted to be in entertainment or did you want to be something else when younger?

    A:  Always!  Although I have tried a different path; school, study at University, graduate with an Architectural Engineering Degree, completing post-graduate studies in project management but somehow I just keep getting drawn back to my ultimate true passion! Even to this day, I have always wanted to be a professional performer and showcase my abilities to the world! Maybe even run away with the circus...

3                   Are any of your family members or relatives in ‘showbiz’?

     A:   Not that I know of - although my little 5 year old cutie pie of a cousin does ballet performances, does that count? haha Everyone else is missing out! I always drag them out to come watch. I'm very lucky to have a supportive family :P

4                   You are a model, actor and dancer.  Are you formally trained in all these?

    A:  No, mainly do dancing and performing.  I would love to break the stereotype of beautiful actors and models looking for a specific way.  I believe happy people are the most beautiful people.  I'd like to see a fashion show incorporating people with and without disabilities.  Also I am always up for trying new, different and similar avenues.  You never know where an opportunity can lead you.

5                   What have you acted in, TV and/or stage?

     A:  I wasn't acting but I have been on Channel 10:   'The Project', 'Totally Wild', AFL Grand Final footyskit on Channel 9 and a a gymnastics victoria doco on SBS.


6                   What have you danced in? 

        A:  Supported the RunLikeCrazy Marathon, Australia Day Voyages Concert at Federation Square, performance for International Day of People with Disability, Knox Festival, music clip for 'Kingswood's 'Sucker Punch', benefit performance at the Palace Hotel, Order of Melbourne and detention centres, performed on stage at the Her Majesty's Theatre (the largest theatre I have performed in), Melbourne fringe festival performances as well as entering local, interstate and international break dancing competitions and more!

7                     What sort of dancing do you do?

      A:    Break dancing, crutch dancing and acrobatic handstand movements!

8                  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

     A:   Spending time with my friends and family (including the puppy!)

9                   Have you ever been bullied?

    A:  Looking back now, I can see it being considered as bullying although I never considered it as bullying at the time.

10                 Whether you have been bullied or not, do you feel that the governments and schools around the world are doing enough to try to combat this problem?

    A:   We are lucky here in Australia to have many policies and procedures including health professionals available but I believe more can always be done.

11                   What more do you feel the above could do to try to either decrease this act hugely or eliminate it altogether?

        A:  I don't believe it can ever be eliminated. To a degree, I believe it can help shape people become stronger human beings. However I do believe it can be addressed at a more personal level as well as the formal process.

12                On a personal level, is there anything you would like to do to help with the fight against bullying?

      A:   Generally support people that are putting in the extra effort in making bullying more aware to the world such as this blog!

13                   Are you professionally managed or do you represent yourself?

      A:   Me, myself and I!

14                   What is on the agenda for 2014?

    A:  - Developing my business; 'Destroya Training'!
I offer personal training services here, from strength and conditioning body weight sessions, to learning how to do handstands the best way with technique. I incorporate all my past experiences in sports, fitness and movements with my gymnastics coaching accreditation and make workout plans suitable to people's goals and needs.

Please like my 'Destroya Training' page: 

www.facebook.com/destroyatraining

- I would also love to perform as much as I can, wherever I can and inspire everywhere possible!  Obviously, Cirque Du Soleil 
would be the ultimate jackpot!

15                  Do you have a special message you would like to share with the world?

      A:  Having a positive outlook on life, commitment, and self motivation are keys to making whatever you want to achieve happen. Just keep going, keep moving forward no matter what tries to pull you back and give it all you got!

16                   Is there anything further you would like to add?

       A:    School in general is a struggle for many people but know there is SO much more to look forward to once you finish.

17                   Do you have any professional links you would like to have included?

Yes please!

My website: www.theroya.com
My facebook page: www.facebook.com/roya.the.destroya
My business page: www.facebook.com/destroyatraining
My YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/rooyyyaaaa
My Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_roya

Thank you so much for this opportunity. What you do is awesome! I wish you the best in achieving success and reducing bullying for everyone.

PLEASE WELCOME YOUNG ENGLISH ACTOR - ANOTHER VICTIM OF BULLYING WHO HAS NEVER TOLD HER STORY BEFORE

TANYA  DUNFORD

1           Please tell us a little bit about your background.

                 A:            I am 24 years old; I graduated East 15 Acting School in 2013 with a First Class Honours degree in World Performance. I grew up in a small city called Peterborough, which is located in Cambridgeshire, England. I have a very supportive family and great group of friends, who all play a massive part in the reason I am following my dream. I try to live life with a smile on my face and I love to make people laugh - you could say I was the class clown.

2                   You are an actor and have been in film & stage crew.  Have you always aspired to be in the entertainment industry or did you want to do something else when younger?

            A:              I have always aspired to be in entertainment. I have been acting since I was 5 years old, I played Tom Baker’s 'Doctor Who' in an adaptation of 'Sleeping Beauty'.  Obviously it wasn’t the role of a life time as I mainly ran out on stage with a coat and scarf that were too big for me, but it gave me a feeling that I can’t really describe and ever since I have loved to act.

As well as acting I have also worked backstage in amateur productions and professional productions since I was about 13 and I would say I have an equal love for both on stage and backstage work.

3                   As an actor, have you had any professional training?

                 A:     Yeah, I had the great opportunity to study a BA (Hons) World Performance at East 15 Acting School 2010-2013. Where I was able to study not just traditional acting styles and techniques but I had the opportunity to study many different acting styles from around the World such as Balinese Character Dance, Indian Dance, Brazilian Playground Theatre and many more. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the letter of acceptance - it seemed unreal that I had been given a chance to study at a CDS Drama School.

4                   Are you professionally managed or do you represent yourself?

                  A:        Currently I am representing myself.

5                   Have you acted alongside any ‘big’ names?
  

                 A:        I haven’t acted with any big names, but I have worked backstage for a couple.

6                   Who and/or what are your inspirations?

                 A:        My inspiration, I would say, is just to be able to live comfortably off an acting career and not have to have a second job to pay the rent. I know most people reading this would properly be thinking “Oh yeah don’t want to be famous?”…well I am not going to lie - if the opportunity ever came round I wouldn’t say no, but I am not in this industry to be known - I am in it cause I love it.

As for my inspirations, there are many actors/ actresses that I adore such as Tom Hanks, Jonny Depp, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, etc but my main inspiration is Julie Walters, and this may sound corny but if I could be half the actress she is I would be over the moon!

7                   Is anyone else in your family or relations in ‘showbiz’?
  

                  A:       Not professionally let’s say. My Great Uncle used to direct a ‘Gang Show’ every year, which I was a member of for around 7 years. Then there’s my Granny who is a Wardrobe Mistress at an Amateur Dramatic Society, which myself, my Mum, and my Sister have helped out in.

8             Where do you see your career in ten years’ time?

                  A:        This is always a question I find hard to answer - I would love to say established, comfortable and on the right path. But you never know what might happen…actually, no, let’s be positive - I will be established, comfortable and on the right path!

9              Have you ever been bullied?

                A:          Now this is question I knew would be hard for me to answer as I have never spoken about it before. The quick answer is - yes - I wish it wasn’t but sadly it is true. However I was not bullied by the conventional “secondary school kids”.   I think I kind of skipped getting picked on by choosing to be the class clown, cause, well, how can they make fun of you if you’re making fun of yourself? Although when I was in year 6, so around 10/11 years old because I misheard something a dinner lady said, she decided to come into my class room after lunch, offer me a red card in shape of some underwear (we had red cards as a form of discipline), and say, and I quote: “Tanya this is because you are pants, you will always be pants and never amount to anything”, and that has always stuck with me which is why I always doubt myself.

The people I was mainly bullied by, however, were complete strangers, which is why I think I have never spoken about it because I was ashamed. I have been bullied verbally and physically all because of my size, people shouting odd comments down the street, out the car windows. I am over weight - yeah, I know - I don’t need reminding. And when I say physically bullied I was never beaten up, (although I have been kicked a couple of times) instead I have been spat at, from behind and in the face on a few occasions and I have had an ice cold bucket of water chucked over me from someone’s bathroom window, with the following words “That’s to help you cool down fatty”, which was right near the back gate of school, allowing me to hear for the next few weeks murmurs at school of people saying “that’s the bucket girl”. There are many other accounts, but I won’t go into them now.

10                        Whether you have been bullied or not, do you feel the governments and schools around the world are doing enough to try to combat this problem?

                  A:        Personally no. The way my school dealt with it was ‘if you weren’t in school, or all participants weren’t in school uniform then it is nothing to do with us’.

11                     What more do you feel the above could do to try to either decrease this problem hugely, or eliminate it altogether?

                  A:        This is something which is quite difficult to answer. Probably to have someone you can talk to, someone who won’t make you feel ashamed of asking for help, someone who won’t fob you off with a sorry excuse of why it is nothing to do with them.

12                        Is there anything, on a personal level, that you would like to do to help in this fight?

                  A:        I would love to help fight bullying; I wouldn’t know what to do, or where to start. Apart from asking people to keep an eye out for it, don’t ignore it, if you see someone you don’t know being bullied an encouraging word from someone else can make all the difference.

13             What is in the pipeline for Tanya Dunford for 2014?

                 A:          I have quite a bit of storytelling in the pipeline for this year, and I have an idea for an event that is brewing.

14              Do you have a message you would like to impart to the world?

                  A:       Hard work always pays off, but don’t forget to take a little time to relax with family and friends.

15              Is there anything further you would like to add?

                  A:      Not that I can think of, apart from thank you for reading, and sorry if I bored you.

16                     Would you please add any and all professional links you would like included here?

Website: http://tanyadunford89.weebly.com

Spotlight View Pin: 9251-0191-4725

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TanyaDunford1989

PLEASE WELCOME ANOTHER AMAZING AUTHOR - 

ONE WHO HAS TRAVELLED AND HAD SOME AMAZING EXPERIENCES - AND IS NOW WRITING ABOUT IT

AUTHOR SARAH JANE BUTFIELD

1         Please tell us a little bit about your background.

A:    I was born in Ipswich, Suffolk - in the south East of England. I have lived and worked in various counties of England during my adult life - however I am a born and bred country girl at heart. I love the outdoors, walking, gardening, camping with my family and friends and generally having adventures and discovering new places and experiences.

2                    Have you always wanted to be an author or what other career were you considering when younger?

A:    I have always enjoyed writing and I carry notebooks with me wherever I go. My journals over the years have been a combination of daily to do lists, brainstorming solutions to everyday issues and in challenging times, they are a self-help coaching tool to vent my feelings and frustrations in private. However, as a child I wanted to be a nurse, therefore I went straight from school to college, to gain the entry qualifications needed to complete my three year Registered General Nurse training in Essex in 1986. Since then I have worked in almost all fields of nursing, and healthcare, in both acute care and management positions. My nursing qualifications and experience have enabled me to travel to places in the world I never dreamt possible in my youth.

3                    You have certainly done your share of living internationally.  How did you feel, going from climate of the UK out to the extremes of the Australian outback?

A:       As a child I hated the cold weather - I longed for the summers, so it was no surprise that in adulthood I preferred to holiday in Spain, France, the Maldives, Caribbean, etc. However, no amount of foreign travel prepares you for living and working in the hot, dry climate of Alice Springs and the hot, humid weather in outback Queensland. Having said that, I am currently missing the heat, as we are in mid-winter here in France.

4                    You are currently living in France.  Are you working at all or concentrating on your writing?

A:         I feel very blessed at the moment to be writing full time. After writing and publishing my first book last year, I am now editing the sequel, whilst also writing for blogs, internet forums and expat magazines; I suppose writing now qualifies as my full time job, and I love it.

5                    While you were living and working in Alice Springs, did you visit any stations?

A:        We visited a station near to Alice Springs - and I was totally in awe of the huge expanse they cover and the complexities faced by people who work there. My youngest daughter Jaime however, lived and worked on an outback ranch for ten days during a work experience school project. She became competent in bare back riding of cows and horses, whilst taking part in ranch duties. In addition to this the team slept in the company of visiting dingoes under shade cloth at night, something that filled me with fear as she recounted the night-time adventures to me on her return.

6             Did you have anything to do with the RFDS through your nursing?

A:       Yes, the RFDS provide an essential service in Alice Springs and they retrieve and return many patients to the remote outback communities. As new overseas nurses, we were all offered the opportunity to spend a day as an observer with them, which was an awesome experience. I have the greatest respect for the depth of knowledge and expertise they require to operate in extremely testing environments.

7            What has the reaction to your book been like?

A:         I have been overwhelmed by the response to be honest. In part, writing the book was cathartic exercise for me and I did not intend to publish it. However, a friend of mine suggested that I put in onto a site called 'Authonomy' - the response was amazing. Many people read and commented on it and asked when it would be published. I never thought so many people would be interested in our experiences. This wave of interest from readers and authors alike, gave me the confidence to self-publish and made me believe that my writing dream could become a reality.

8             Have you done any media interviews?

A:       Yes, I have recently been featured in the Toowoomba Chronicle, due to the local interest and ongoing issues, which still affect the flood victims and the ongoing class action. I am also being featured in some Cornish newspapers over the next week after completing the interviews yesterday. I think because so many areas of UK and Australia are touched in some way by my story, it gives it a local interest edge from a variety of angles.

9            Have you ever been bullied?

A:         When I was at school, I was the token ‘fat’ child in the class and although at the time I never realised I was being bullied, I actually was. When my children went through their schooling, bullying was much more high profile and behaviours which I had accepted in my youth, were now construed as bullying and unacceptable, and rightly so. My youngest daughter Jaime has dyslexia and is dysnumeric, this led to her being bullied when she attended private school in Alice Springs. We were amazed and delighted at the proactive approach the school and support services took as they dealt with the short, medium and long-term issues associated with her experiences.

10                Whether you have been bullied or not, do you feel that the governments and schools around the world are doing enough to try to combat this problem?

A:      All of my children have completed their high schooling now and there is much more in place in the form of procedures for reporting and awareness in teaching staff for recognising bullying within school. However, I think the bigger issues now lay in bullying via social media, which is harder for schools, etc., to control. Zero tolerance of bullying in any environment, be it in work or school is needed and I believe the solutions will be ever evolving to meet the forms that bullying takes as our intolerance of it increases.

11                 What further do you feel the above could do to either try to decrease bullying hugely or eliminate it altogether?

A:       I think that making it socially unacceptable in any form, at any age and  in any environment is the way to go. How we achieve this I believe will be small steps and regular doses of education, not just in schools, but also in society in general.

12                On a personal level, is there anything you would like to do to help with this fight? 

A:        I belong to several parenting groups that listen - and talk to - people affected by this and other unacceptable practices. Giving people a voice, a way of attracting help, is one way we can all help on a grass roots level.

13                 You are in the middle of the sequel to ‘Glass Half-Full’?  Please tell us something about that.

A:        I am currently editing the sequel, which is called ‘Two Dogs, Our Bags and No Idea, Our Year in Charantes’  which follows our arrival in France. My readers can pick up with our escapades as we try to leave the aftermath of the floods behind us and start again from scratch. We have a new home, which needs a total renovation, learning a new language and integrating into a rural community.  As usual, it is an honest and gritty reflection of family life with laughter, tears and new memories being made.

14          Are you published traditionally or self?

A:      'Glass Half Full', our Australian adventure is self-published; like I said I never dreamt that I would have such a widespread, geographically and demographically diverse audience for this book, or that it would ever attract a traditional publisher. However I appear to wrong on a few levels there; I have had some interest regarding the sequel and a possible prequel package, for now I am enjoying the self-published freedom - but hey, watch this space.

15          What is on the agenda for 2014?

A:        I am also working on a series of self-help books based on a positive approach to dealing with life’s challenging situations.

16         Do you have a message you would like to share with the world?

A:        Never give up on your dreams; if you can conceive it, you can achieve it. I keep this on my desk and in my kitchen and it is the mantra by which I now live my life.

17          Is there anything further you would like to add?

A:         Thank you for inviting me to feature on your blog and many best wishes for 2014.

LINKS:

http://fr.linkedin.com/pub/sarah-jane-butfield/85/b65/42a/

http://sarahjanebutfield-glass-half-full.blogspot.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Glass-Half-Full-by-Sarah-Jane-Butfield/371084202906738

https://twitter.com/SarahJanewrites

http://sarahjanebutfield.wix.com/sarahjanebutfield

http://sarahjanebutfield.weebly.com/