Brooklyn trained and multi-talented, Colby Christina is a rising star

A Brooklyn-trained student is making serious noise in displaying her countless talents in front of audiences all over the city. These gifts include singing, dancing, acting and motivational speaking, just to name a few.

Colby Christina, a 13-year-old star on the rise, has been wowing audiences since an extremely young age. “I started when I was two years old,” she recalled. “I was twirling around the floor and singing all the time. My mom enrolled me in dance class. She saw how animated I was. And the rest is history.”

Christina has been trained at the Restoration Youth Arts Academy in Brooklyn by director Peggy Alston, who inspired her to work hard and be versatile.

Although she has many passions and talents, Christina isn’t able to choose one she likes best. “I don’t have a favorite certain thing since there are things you can do with dance that you can’t do with singing or acting,” she explained. “And motivational speaking is its own thing. I love all equally.”

Perhaps one of her more impactful skills involves motivational speaking. “It feels good being able to talk to people you don’t always get the opportunity to talk to,” she said. “The feedback has been great. People say how my speech has inspired them. My message is to be your best you. Don’t let anyone say you have to be this or that. You know what you have to be in life. You can stand on shoulders of greatness.”

Well beyond her years, she’s also received recognition for her talents, including the Audelco Rising Star Award this past November, which has been received in the past by celebrities such as Denzel Washington, Kerry Washington and Sanaa Latham. “That pushes me,” she said. “When you see others do well, you want to do great things too. I want to be a household name.”

In addition to her jam-packed schedule, which includes hours of practice and rehearsals, Christina also enjoys giving back to the community. “I work at a soup kitchen at local church. I teach three and four-year-olds to dance. I love giving out turkeys for Thanksgiving. I don’t want to make it big and forget everybody who I was raised with,” she said. “It’s important to remember where you come from. I never want to be an artist that forgets about everyone else.”

Christina is one of the youngest students to ever perform center stage at Dance Africa in conjunction with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) under the leadership of Artistic Director Baba Chuck Davis and Director Karen Thornton, two of her other role models.

She’s also performed annually at the Restoration Youth Arts Academy Annual Recital at Brooklyn College.

One of her favorite acting roles was the lead role of Alice in “The Liberation of Mother Goose.” “It was great, acting like a little girl looking for her rabbit,” she said. “It was a fun role to do.”

In addition, Christina was awarded a letter of Citation from Borough President Eric Adams for her excellence in arts and academia.

“I love that I’m able to sing, act and do bunch of things,” Christina said. “These talents are God-given gifts. I want to share them with others.”

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