We were lucky to catch up with Sydelle Aaliyah Bhalla recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sydelle Aaliyah, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

As a kid, you never understand what your parents do and why. Like ever. We think every decision they make is to make our lives less fun and more miserable. But, looking back, I realise that my parents are the reason I am where I am today. Every decision they made was to help me grow into the person I am today. Every lecture they ever gave (though I never wanted to hear them) sticks with me and influences my decisions. Every time they pushed me to jump off a cliff to a new experience, was to make sure I never backed down from a challenge purely out of fear.

I was never a shy or quiet kid. I loved the attention and the spotlight- I guess being the youngest child of three and only girl will do that to you- but for whatever reason my first acting class seemed to be a bit of a struggle. I had always taken to the arts. My first ballet class was a breeze, I used to sing around the house and on video non-stop, but when my parents enrolled me in acting classes, my social anxiety seemed to find its hold on me. I remember crying and begging my mum and dad to just take me out. I couldn’t seem to find my place in the class. I remember that first week so clearly. My mum couldn’t understand where this fear had suddenly come from, but she also knew that it was irrational. Instead of giving in to my whims and fears, my parents pushed me to expand my horizons and step outside of my comfort zone. And my mum sat with me through the whole first class. It makes me giggle thinking about my very adult mum, who has had three kids, sitting in a class with 15 kids aged 5 – 7. But her decision to not just leave me in my despair allowed me to find myself in the class with love and support, which meant it never felt like a chore. The next week I gave my mum a hug and a kiss and skipped into class without her. But who knows if that would’ve been the outcome had she not encouraged me and shown me that no matter my mum and dad will be there with love and kindness.

My parents also never believed in doing something for the sake of receiving the perfect response. Growing up I had this need for everything to be perfect. I still do, however, now I have come to realise that if something does not go as planned does not always mean it didn’t go perfectly. My dad was the only Asian parent at the parent-teacher conference who outwardly told teachers that he did not care about my grades. My dad knew how driven I was, how studious, and how dedicated I was to being the perfect student. He didn’t worry about that aspect of my schooling life. What he cared about more than anything, for my brothers and myself, was that we were respectful, kind, and generous. Our grades and success were secondary to how we presented ourselves as individuals.

Because of my parents, I am a strong, independent artist with a hunger and need to achieve all my goals, and I do so with kindness and generosity. Because my parents taught me that, more than success, who you are as a person and how you treat others matters most. Your reputation follows you everywhere.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was supposedly a very energetic kid. Always singing and dancing around the house. I guess to make sure that energy was burned off elsewhere my parents decided to enroll me in ballet. So, like most little girls, at the ripe old age of three, I started dancing. For a while, that’s where I stayed. My parents thought it was important for me to be well-rounded, and involved in as much as possible. So the older I got the more I was also involved in various activities- swim squad, the soccer team, abacus (which was definitely an experience) and my personal favourite reading club. But I just… had an itch to perform more and to play sports a whole lot less, so I asked my parents to help me get more involved in the arts. Which is when my mum found a little acting studio and put me in those classes. I was so nervous at first, but the more comfortable I got, the more fun I had, the more I fell in love. That led to putting me in singing lessons. For Dubai at the time, this was as Musical Theatre as it got.

As I grew more involved in the arts, I started performing in shows – school productions, ballet productions, concerts etcetera. I also started to do Trinity College London exams for acting and singing and Royal Academy of Dance ballet exams, which pushed me to excel. I am trained classically in most of the arts.

All this to say, it was a love-at-first-sight journey, there were bumps along the way when I was nervous about committing to this career, because of its unpredictability. But I actually think all that made me a better artist. I am here because I know that there is nothing else in the world that I want to do more than this. My experience in leadership, sports and other activities has only furthered me as an artist because I have some special skills that would set me apart. I have experience in competitive swimming, event-planning, and singing classically.

I am proud of how far I have come in a short amount of time, and post-graduation I cannot wait to dive right in and find my place in this industry.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

There are so many resources I wish I knew about before starting my professional creative journey. It is well known that without representation it is quite difficult to get your foot in the door, especially in the theatrical industry. Live theatre has a little more leeway because the audition process can be more open but it is still quite a challenge. But the issue is, you need work and credits to prove yourself, but you need help to book work. So how do you go about it?

There are so many websites and online resources that allow you to, at least, get started. Casting Networks is a great resource, there are always student films, indie films, commercials and more posting casting notices for non-union actors. It is a great way to get on set and gain some experience whilst also building up your resume and reels.

Getting involved in classes to grow your art is another great way to learn whilst meeting new people in the industry. The industry is really slow right now, it is still recovering from COVID , and the WGA-SAG strike, there is not much new stuff happening, but that doesn’t mean you don’t get to grow as an actor. Get involved, hone your craft.

Your future is up to you. How your career goes depends on how much work you are willing to put into it.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

This career might be one of the hardest to get involved in. You need to be so resilient, there is so much waiting around. The whole industry is “right place, right time”. You work, self-tape, and audition, but that guarantees almost nothing but getting seen and getting practice. It is 98% rejection, 1% callback, and finally, 1% actually booking a job.

That means you need a really good support system in place, the people that will lift you up and help you keep going. It also means you need a survival job. How do you pay your rent with a career set in 98% rejection? Most people will waitress or bartend. The service industry is a popular choice because the hours are flexible and allow you to meet your audition deadlines. But what do you do when you are an international, like me, and your visa is specific to working within the industry? That is where things like event planning and special skills come into play. Personally, I enjoy teaching. I love working with kids, and to possibly have an impact on a child’s life and have them fall in love with the arts the way I did is rewarding and helps pay the bills!

I mentioned earlier the struggle about getting in the door, without representation. So how do you sign with an agent or manager? The first thing is to make sure you have a working resume, headshot, and some basic reels of your work. Reels can be self-tapes that you work on at home, as long as they look professional (so invest in a set-up). But the most important thing is knowing yourself. Before you have a meeting, know who you are. Know what you are pitching yourself as and where you would like your career to go. Your comfort in yourself will read as confidence and that’s what they want. They want to know you are confident in yourself and your art.

But no one really enters this business without some idea of what they wish for themselves, and though some may say it is fantastical, I say it is beautiful. We see our future in the most idealistic way and the way to success is to never let that dream go. Never lose sight of where and why you started.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: sydelle_b
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDkiI8zM8IvOuW_IBLrYmI8cpwwEDAsAX
• Other: tiktok: @sydelle_b

Image Credits

Caroline Rose
AMDA
Turning Pointe – UAE