Irvinestown girl Sienna on lifechanging Las Vegas trip

For Sienna Gormley, from Irvinestown, it meant travelling to Las Vegas to compete against young performers from around the world - and returning home to Fermanagh with three medals and a singing scholarship.

Sienna recently travelled to the United States with her parents, Michael and Sinead, and her older brother Kayde to compete in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA).

Competing in both singing and acting, Sienna won two bronze medals for acting and a silver medal for singing. She was also awarded a scholarship with Water Sign Entertainment in recognition of her vocal ability.

The opportunity came after Sienna submitted an online audition late last year, performing a song from Legally Blonde and a monologue.

“Normally the director would give you a couple of weeks and then tell you if you got in,” she said.

“But she thought I was really good, so she just said that I was in straight away.”

The trip was Sienna’s first visit to America, and she said meeting other young performers was among the highlights.

“Everything was so amazing,” she said. “My favourite part was meeting so many friends and getting my medals.”

“I made friends from New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa, Canada and Romania,” Sienna added.

Her mother Sinead said the family had planned to make a holiday of the trip, but the competition was a particularly special experience for Sienna.

“It was amazing,” she said. “We made a holiday out of it, but it was such a special experience for Sienna.”

Sienna has only been involved in performing arts for the past two or three years. She first got involved through a local drama group before taking part in productions with JSI Academy.

“She’s always loved singing and performing,” Sinead explained. “But this was really only her second time doing something on such a big stage.”

Sinead recalled being encouraged by one of Sienna’s early music tutors to look for further opportunities in singing and acting.

“She said to me, ‘Sienna is an amazing singer. If I was you, I’d get her an agent,’” she said.

“I didn’t really think much of it at the time because she was so young and there isn’t a huge amount of opportunities around here.”

The scale of the Las Vegas competition was initially daunting, according to Sinead.

“Everybody else was carrying these big professional portfolios and headshots. We had nothing,” she said.

“I kept saying, ‘We’re so unprofessional,’ but the judges were lovely and very encouraging.”

The family received an unexpected surprise after the awards ceremony, when Sienna was presented with her scholarship.

“Sienna’s scholarship had got mixed up with the senior awards,” Sinead said. “We had already left when the director came to us that evening and said she had a surprise for Sienna.”

“I started recording on my phone, expecting a small presentation. She said, ‘You’re not going to believe it, but you’ve won a scholarship.’ Sienna was crying. She was just over the moon.”

The scholarship is focused on singing and vocal development, and Sinead hopes it will lead to further opportunities for her daughter.

One of the more memorable moments of the trip came when Sienna attended a one-to-one vocal session with Romeo Johnson, who has worked as a backing singer for Michael Jackson.

“At first, I didn’t know who he was,” Sienna said. “Whenever I went into the room, he had a book and it said that he was a backing singer for Michael Jackson. I was like, ‘What?’”

A fan of Michael Jackson’s music, Sienna said the singer is her biggest musical inspiration.

“He thought that I was really good, so he is now my singing teacher,” she said. “I’m so happy.”

Despite being based in America, Mr Johnson has already started giving Sienna lessons through Zoom.

“I had one on Monday,” she said. “It was so fun.”

Asked to choose her favourite Michael Jackson song, Sienna quickly picked Billie Jean.

While performing in front of an audience can be daunting, Sienna said nerves can also be a positive thing.

“Sometimes nervous is good because it means that you care about your performance,” she said. “It means that you don’t want to mess up.

“When you get on stage, the nerves go away because you’re just feeling the spotlight.”

Although she enjoys acting and singing, Sienna said singing is now her main interest.

“I like to do both,” she said. “But definitely singing.”

Sinead believes the experience has given her daughter greater confidence as well as recognition for her talent.

“This was really her only opportunity to do something of this scale,” she said. “To come home with the medals and the scholarship is incredible because these young performers are competing internationally all the time.”

Away from the competition, the family also had time to experience some of Las Vegas — although Sienna was struck by the heat.

“It was really, really hot,” she laughed. “There were fans everywhere spraying out water because it was so warm.”

She also enjoyed exploring the Las Vegas Strip, while her father and brother visited the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.

Sienna is now preparing for another international competition in London in October, where she will take part in the One Art One World competition.

Sinead said the family was grateful to everyone who helped make the Las Vegas trip possible.

“We’d really like to thank all the sponsors who supported Sienna, everyone who donated, and everyone who wished her well,” she said. “People were so kind and encouraging.”