A Young Star’s New Role: Student at Adelphi

In the performing arts, triple threats who can act, sing and dance are highly sought-after. Colby Christina, 17, has been doing all that since the age of 2, appearing in theater and dance performances and even as the host of her own TV show.

Her next step: gracing the campus as an incoming first-year student at Adelphi, where she’ll take to the stage at the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, recently ranked by ClickitTicket as one of the 35 best university performing arts centers in the United States.

“The audition process at Adelphi really stood out to me,” Christina says. “At other schools, the process was really strict and nerve-racking, but at Adelphi it was very personable and so welcoming. I instantly got this feeling that the department was very close-knit.”

She’s arriving at Adelphi as the winner of more than 150 awards, including a prestigious Samuel H. Scripps award from the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which comes with a scholarship supporting her studies in the performing arts.

Christina, who is from Queens, New York, has trained professionally in acting, singing and dance at the Restoration Center for Arts and Culture – Youth Arts Academy in Brooklyn, starting there as a preschooler. Her big break came at age of 12, when she scored the lead role of Alice in her first off-Broadway show, The Liberation of Mother Goose. After two sold-out performances and the thrill that came with a packed and engaged audience, Christina knew this was just the start.

That same year, 2014, Christina was honored as the recipient of the prestigious AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee) Rising Star Award, which recognizes excellence in black theater. Celebrities such as Denzel Washington, Kerry Washington and Sanaa Lathan have received this award in the past.

“I found it really inspiring, and I want to continue to work hard to someday become a household name,” Christina says.

Christina has also performed as one of the youngest members of DanceAfrica, which celebrates the cultural vitality of Africa and its diaspora, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She is also the youngest member of the Restoration Youth Arts Ensemble.

In 2016, Christina started her own talk show, Colby’s Corner, to help teens navigate their lives socially, spiritually, professionally and more. In her show, she interviewed teens and experts on-air. “The concept was inspired by all the supportive people I’ve met along my journey who have continued to stay in my corner,” she says. “I also wanted to give back to others and to reach out to teens to help them start their own business, help them develop leadership skills, even talk to them about the best skin care routines.”

Now an alumna of the Restoration Youth Arts Academy, she will serve as an ambassador for the Center for Arts and Culture for years to come. “I want to give back to the community and the generation behind me,” Christina adds. “I also want to be a celebrity who’s approachable. I want to be a friend, a supporter, someone who’s always there for others.”

Christina is thrilled to continue her acting, dance and singing career at Adelphi. “I’m excited to take my education to the next level in a concentrated and rigorous B.F.A. program. I want to find myself as an artist and want to dig even deeper to find out more of what I can do.”

“I’m like an onion and there are many layers to me that I will unfold,” Christina explains. “I feel like I’ve unfolded the first four, five or six layers, but I really want to get to my core. I really think I’ll be able to do that at college.”