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Speaker 1: If you weren't at Cape Town Carnival on Saturday evening

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Speaker 1: on the fan walk right here in green Point, why not.

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Speaker 1: As usual, it was a spectacular display of local talent,

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Speaker 1: colorful floats, music, dance, and art. One of the highlights

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Speaker 1: for me was a new edition this year, which was

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Speaker 1: a performance at the start of the parade by a

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Speaker 1: foot archer. Yes, you heard that correctly, a foot archer,

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Speaker 1: a gorgeous young woman, performed a handstand, balancing on two poles.

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Speaker 1: She then bent her legs all the way over her

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Speaker 1: head and holding her bow with one foot and arrow

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Speaker 1: with another, she shot at a target, hitting a dead center,

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Speaker 1: and then the fireworks began and the carnival started. That

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Speaker 1: amazing young lady joins us by zoom now and it's

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Speaker 1: a great pleasure to say good afternoon and welcome to Cape.

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Speaker 1: Talk to Arissa Kelly. Arissa, you told me on Saturday

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Speaker 1: behind the scenes that you used to be a gymnast.

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Speaker 1: Talk to us about the journey from that to becoming

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Speaker 1: a foot archer. How did it all happen?

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Speaker 2: I picked up bow an arrow with my feet, and

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Speaker 2: I taught myself. I trained every single day for six months,

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Speaker 2: six hours a day until I was able to hit

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Speaker 2: my target, and then somehow it turned into an act

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Speaker 2: and became my longtime career for the last ten years.

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Speaker 1: I would encourage anybody that missed the Cape Town Carnival

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Speaker 1: and your performance there to go and take a look,

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Speaker 1: google the carnival and try and find a video, because

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Speaker 1: it really is the most wondrous thing to witness. Arissa,

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Speaker 1: how did you come to be the starting act for

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Speaker 1: the Cape Town Carnival? How did that happen?

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Speaker 3: So? Thankfully?

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Speaker 2: I had a very good friend here named Leda, who

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Speaker 2: was on the heart shaped float, and when I was

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Speaker 2: coming to Cape Town, she said, hey, Rissa, like, have

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Speaker 2: you got a list of things that you want to

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Speaker 2: do as you're here?

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Speaker 3: And I said, I really.

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Speaker 2: Want to watch the Cape Town Carnival and she said, wait,

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Speaker 2: would you want to be.

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Speaker 3: In the carnival? And I was like, oh, my goodness,

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Speaker 3: that would be a dream. So she was amazing.

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Speaker 2: She helped set it up, introduce me to Tracy, and

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Speaker 2: before I knew it, I thought I was just going

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Speaker 2: to do a small performance. I had no idea that

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Speaker 2: I was actually going to be opening the whole carnival.

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Speaker 2: And wow, what a blessing that was. I mean, Cape

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Speaker 2: Town is literally my favorite city in the world, and

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Speaker 2: I couldn't think of any better way than.

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Speaker 3: To share my passion of what I do with Capetown.

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Speaker 1: That's a huge compliment considering you have performed all over

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Speaker 1: the world, and I know you've appeared on Britain Scott Talent.

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Speaker 1: What have been some of your other most memorable performances.

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Speaker 2: So, I've done quite a few performances around the world.

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Speaker 2: I've been to almost seventy countries now. I was in

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Speaker 2: Wonder Woman, the Hollywood blockbuster shooting.

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Speaker 3: Arrows with my feet. I was on Britain Scott Talent.

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Speaker 2: I've also performed for the Queen and as of a

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Speaker 2: couple of years ago, I became the Guinness.

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Speaker 3: World Record for torture.

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Speaker 2: So I broke a Guinness World Record for the furthest

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Speaker 2: arrow shot with my feet whilst being set on fire.

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Speaker 1: That's incredibly You must have nerves of steel, you know.

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Speaker 3: What I don't. Actually, I just practiced. I trained so much.

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Speaker 2: I trained every single day when I'm not working, and

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Speaker 2: anytime I do start to feel nervous, I just really

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Speaker 2: reflect on how grateful I am to be doing what

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Speaker 2: I love and that always helps kind of amplify my

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Speaker 2: drive to succeed.

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Speaker 1: Or is that I read on your website that you

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Speaker 1: when you finished school, you canceled your plans to attend

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Speaker 1: university and decided instead to join the circus. A brave

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Speaker 1: move and one that perhaps not all cearents would support.

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Speaker 2: Yeah so I yeah, at seventeen years old, I thought

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Speaker 2: I was going to go to university.

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Speaker 3: I didn't really have any plans.

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Speaker 2: It just seemed like that was the thing that, you know,

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Speaker 2: everyone else was doing. So I absolutely changed my mind.

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Speaker 2: I decided to become a performer. I had done one show,

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Speaker 2: ironically on The X Factor Live Finals in Arabia, and

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Speaker 2: I just decided this was it for me. And I

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Speaker 2: knew you from the get go that I wanted to

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Speaker 2: do what I love. No matter what it was, I

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Speaker 2: had to.

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Speaker 3: Do what I love.

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Speaker 2: And I'm very fortunate that I have very supportive parents.

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Speaker 2: My mom was super super happy. She's just said, you

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Speaker 2: know what, get your grades, finish school, and follow your dreams.

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Speaker 2: And I would say, I've lived such a beautiful life

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Speaker 2: because of it. I've traveled the world, and I would

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Speaker 2: consider myself a very happy person because I get to

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Speaker 2: do what I love every single day.

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Speaker 1: That really is an awesome story, Rissa. I do hope

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Speaker 1: that you will come back to Cape Town and open

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Speaker 1: the Cape Town Carnival once again next year.

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Speaker 3: Yes, I hope so too.

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Speaker 2: Honestly, it was such an amazing memory to create, and

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Speaker 2: I'm really really thankful that I was allowed to do that.

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Speaker 3: So I hope so.

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Speaker 2: Cape Town is so special to me and I'm really

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Speaker 2: looking forward to coming back.

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Speaker 1: Risa Keilly, thank you so much for joining us by

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Speaker 1: zoom this afternoon, and enjoy the rest of your time

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Speaker 1: here in Cape Town.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Amy, thank you