This Korean American cutie, who just happens to be HAPA, is a

This Korean American cutie, who just happens to be HAPA, is a twelve year old actress, dancer and singer whose talent will earn her a place among America’s top performers. Malia Tyler began performing at 4 years old booking her first professional job modeling for Target. After that she spent many years performing on stage in productions including Annie, King and I and Sound of Music.

At 7 years old, Malia began regularly taking dance classes and fell in love with it. She took classes regularly for a couple of years before deciding she wanted to pursue dancing more seriously. By the time she was 10 she was an award winning dancer, winning scholarships and awards from many prestigious dance competitions. She is one of the founding members of Independence Dance Company and a member of ColleciveUth. In 2011 she was proud to be signed by McDonald Selznick Associates, one of the top dance agencies in the world. She has since booked jobs dancing professionally for companies such as Target, Skechers, and Lythgoe Family Productions as well as dancing for music artists in music videos and for live performances.

At the age of 8 Malia booked her first national commercial for Toyota, and she has continued booking jobs on stage and television regularly since. She has been seen on television on shows such as Make It or Break it and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

In 2012, Malia was very excited to have the opportunity to travel to Japan to film a series of music videos for GrapeSeed, a world wide ESL (English as a Second Language) program. During this trip, she was honored to have been cast as a lead in a new television series called GRANITE FLATS. Shortly after returning from Japan she travelled to Utah to begin filming the television series Granite Flats.

A member of the trio of kid sleuths, Tyler’s character, Madeline, is an intellectually precocious young girl whose adoptive scientist parents work and live on the local military base.

Malia is very excited to partner with St. Jude Research Hospital to help them raise awareness and money for their organization.

Malia was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and supports Dancers Alliance.

Following a highly successful premiere in April 2013, Granite Flats, BYUtv’s first original scripted series, will return on Sunday, April 6, 2014 with more Cold War suspense and drama to entertain the entire family. The ensemble show, which was inspired by actual, little known military events (a CIA initiative called Project MKUltra), debuted to positive national reviews. Full of mid-20th Century intrigue and a plot packed with secrets, the show’s second season continues to offer a primetime television option for families.

Owned by Brigham Young University and based in Provo, Utah, BYUtv is a groundbreaking High Definition television network, which has actively and strategically built its roster of original “see the good in the world” programming to fill a void in the pri¬metime market.

Currently, BYUtv is available in High Definition and carried to more than 53 million homes in every state of the country via cable, satellite and multiple digital media platforms including byutv.org, iOS apps for iPhone and iPad, a Roku channel, as well as new apps for Android and Microsoft Xbox 360 (coming soon).

Look for Malia this season! In the meantime, check out a cute little interview we did with this up and coming cutie!

ASIANCE: What do you like best about your role on Granite Flats?

Malia: Some of my favorite things about Madeline is that she’s very smart. Her parents are scientists so she was raised very scientifically. Even though she’s very straight forward and blunt most of the time, she still has a vulnerable side to her. She has a very good heart and I like that about her.

ASIANCE: Who is your favorite dancer?

Malia: One of my favorite dancers/choreographers is Travis Wall because I love all of his work and I have watched a lot of clips of him on ‘So you Think You Can Dance’ and I think he is so inspiring.

ASIANCE: Do you follow a lot of dancers, such as Beat Freaks and all the girl dancers?

Malia: There is a huge dance scene. It’s interesting because it’s broken up. There is a huge hip hop scene and a huge contemporary scene. I’m more into the contemporary dance scene because that’s what I do, but the dance world is so huge, yet it’s so small.

ASIANCE: Do you have a favorite teacher at Millennium?

Malia: My favorite teacher is Nick Lanzisera. He teaches Contemporary. Contemporary is one of my favorite styles of dance.

ASIANCE: What is a dream role for you? Television? Broadway?

Malia: I don’t know if there is a specific dream role for me, but I would just love to continue acting. I love dancing and singing, so Broadway would be amazing in the future.

ASIANCE: Have you see any Broadway plays recently?

Malia: I don’t go to New York too often, but I went a year ago and saw three Broadway shows.

ASIANCE: And your favorite?
Malia: Wicked!

ASIANCE: What is your favorite social media and why?

Malia: Instagram because I love posting and editing pictures. I love seeing everyone else’s pictures. For some reason, I just love the captions, pictures and interacting with people.

ASIANCE: Does your mom keep any Korean customs among the household?

Malia: We love Korean food. In Los Angeles, where I live, there is this Asian food market that my mom goes to all the time. Actually, last year, I was working on a job in Japan and we went to South Korea. My mom was adopted at such a young age that she doesn’t speak too much Korean. We do love the Korean food and we loved going back!

ASIANCE: Where do you see yourself in 5 years.

Malia: I will be a senior in high school. So I will be looking at colleges. I’m very interested in going to college. I’ll hopefully be acting and dancing!

ASIANCE: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Malia: I will hopefully still be acting and living in the Los Angeles area. I would hope to have gone to college, be working and having fun.

ASIANCE: What do you do in your free time?

Malia: I love dancing. I hang out with my friends. I love to go to Disney Land! It’s one of my favorite places! I also read a lot of books. The Book Thief a divergent. I love them. I always have to do school.

ASIANCE: Do you look up to any actresses?

Malia: One of my favorite actresses is Shailene Woodley. She stars in that. I saw her in The Spectacular Now which I thought she was amazing in. I watched The Secret Life of the American teenager. to her in this movie I love is one of my favorites.

ASIANCE: What advice do you have for girls who want to break into this business?

Malia: Make sure that you really love what you do. It comes through when you really want to do something and when you don’t really want to do something. Make sure it’s something that you want to do and that you’re fully committed. Work hard and try to enjoy it as much as you can. It makes the whole experience much more fun.