Dheena Menon is a 17-year old Malaysian actress based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is most known for her role in Disney Channel’s Club Mickey Mouse (Asia).
Club Mickey Mouse is the Asian equivalent to its US counterpart: the Mickey Mouse Club. Disney Asia held their auditions at Enfiniti Academy and also trained the first cast in preparation to shoot Season 1!
Dheena was also a part of Seussical The Broadway Musical in 2014 – a musical theatre show produced by Enfiniti Academy – where she played one of the leading roles: Jojo.
When Shrek the Musical came to Kuala Lumpur on the world tour, she also made it through multiple auditions and was chosen out of hundreds of applicants at Enfiniti Academy, to be cast as the understudy to Young Shrek.
We’re proud that Dheena is part of our Enfiniti Academy Alumni, as she has already accomplished so much in her young career. Enjoy a video snippet of the full interview below.
Tell us about yourself.
Hi! I’m Dheena Menon and I’m 17 years old. And I was on Disney Channel’s Club Mickey Mouse.
How did you first hear about Enfiniti Academy and what made you realise that performing arts was your passion?
My mom found Enfiniti Academy on the Kakiseni website, like way back in 2014! And I've always loved singing, dancing, acting and performing! Like I used to put on little shows with my sister. We would jump around and show our family what we’d done.
So it was always a passion of ours, it seemed like a very natural thing for us.
Why are the performing arts important to you?
The performing arts are a way for me to express myself in ways that I can't just do regularly. And it’s just so much fun.
Were there challenges that you had to go through to pursue your passion?
Yeah, I always wanted to make sure that I balanced my education with my acting career. And I think, along with my parents, we figured out a way to do that properly. It was very helpful.
What has Enfiniti Academy done for you or taught you in the past that you carry with you now?
Enfiniti has helped me so much with my confidence and my ability to believe in myself. I know what I can and can’t do. Being able to express myself on-stage, without running to the corner crying, is something that only really kicked in once I had gone to Enfiniti.
I’ve learnt a lot about myself.
What are some memories you’d like to share from your time at Enfiniti Academy?
There was one time, after a semester of singing lessons, that I had done with a few of my friends. Tiara herself came up to me and she said that she loved watching me perform because I always looked like I had so much fun. And that really stuck with me!
Have you been a part of any Enfiniti Shows? Who did you play and what show was it?
My first show ever was in 2014 and I played JoJo in Seussical The Broadway Musical.
And then, in 2015, I was in the huge Citrawarna showcase where I sang a few songs with my friends and then we also sang the national anthem in front of everybody and that was so much fun!
And later on in 2015, I was in Aladdin: A Musical Comedy and I played the Genie of the Lamp.
Has the performing arts helped you with your emotional wellbeing and/or physical health? When you act, how do you feel? When you finish a project, does it make you motivated and happy?
So, performing arts has helped me with my confidence, like I said earlier. Once you’re confident in yourself, you just feel so much lighter and feel so much more happy all the time. It has really, really helped.
And after a production is over, you feel a bit sad. But the feeling of “Wow, I worked so hard and it really paid off.”
I’m really, really proud of myself and it motivates me to do so many good things.
Happy 10th Anniversary Enfiniti Academy & Thank You So So Much
For Everything!
(Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.)
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At Enfiniti Academy, we are SUPER proud of Dheena and all that she’s already achieved at her age.
We’re also incredibly happy to celebrate 10 years of producing outstanding, creative leaders!
Keen to act, sing, dance and become a star like Dheena? Sign Up for our Performing Arts Certificate Course – our new semester starts in January 2022! 🤗