Mauro Youth Ballet-PR Hurricane Aid
HURRICANE MARIA RELIEF
MAURO YOUTH BALLET School of SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
If you are an artists, a dancer, a musician, or just a good human, please please give to Mauro Youth Ballet School of Puerto Rico for Hurricane Maria Relief and help bring a sense of normalcy among chaos to our fellow young artists. As an artist, we know the power of dance, how it can heal, how it can move; yet even in the midst of devastation, the studio is a place for beauty, solace, safety, and joy, and most importantly a SECOND HOME. Please help our fellow artists, my friends, my students, get their school back up and running.
All donations go DIRECTLY to Mauro Youth Ballet in Puerto Rico and are full tax-deductible.
(Please See Video Below)
(Did you see the video??? These Students are FANTASTIC... Don't You Agree?)
EXCELLENCE... EVEN UNDER ADVERSITY
My name is Candice Michelle Franklin. I'm a New York based dance artist, a choreographer, a Master Teacher in Jazz dance, and instructor with the Joffrey Ballet School. I'm also a champion of the cultural dances of the Afro-Caribbean/Latin diaspora, and especially a HUGE lover of Salsa dance as well as many other Latin dance styles.
Over the past few years, I've been making trips to Puerto Rico teaching the TALENTED students at Mauro Youth Ballet. I've become good friends with the directors, Marena S. Perez, Principal Dancer with Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico and her husband Aureo Andino, ballet dancer and choreographer of Ballet Etudes. I've seen these two teachers in action. They are more than amazing! They know how to train dancers to be high level technicians, with unapologetic hands-on training with TRUE LOVE and beautiful respect, instilling infallible PASSION in their dancers. And for their hard work... Let me tell you... THESE STUDENTS CAN DANCE!
(Recent Photo taken after Hurrican Irma)
So, when the hurricane came through Puerto Rico, I can only think about their beautiful students...
Just in 2015, Mauro Youth Ballet FINALLY moved, with much enthusiasm, to it's new location! Aureo had his ballet boys build the school's walls and raised floors with hammers, saws, drills, and their very own sweat.
(The Boys of Mauro Ballet help construct new school building in 2015)
(The Boys of Mauro Ballet)
Last time I was in PR teaching, the government had the island ration water, meaning, there was no running water throughout the neighborhoods, only along the hotel strip for tourists. The school had to collect RAIN water from the outside with old plastic, cut-off, 2-liter soda jugs lined up in the back of the building in order
to flush the toilets, and hand sanitizer just to wash hands. So while I was at my hotel enjoying hot water showers before I reported to teach each day, my students had to bathe like birds! That bothered me. This is America! And that was before the hurricane!!!
YET, even under adversity, (watch their video) Mauro Youth Ballet still creates EXCELLENCE... And, so now, with this hurricane, I am just left shaking my head. Noooo…
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Students economically are devastated with no pointe shoes or dance clothes. In order for the school to operate, money is needed for building repairs and teachers salaries so that students can return for free.
I know Puerto Rico will be suffering for a while and will need a lot of help with the most important necessities like food, water, and gasoline... things that FEMA and Red Cross provides; BUT, we CANNOT FORGET our artists. Sometimes bringing a sense of normalcy to our youth is just as important too. So, I plead with you... PLEASE GIVE!
Thank you so much in advance for your donation. And most importantly, thank you so much for your support of Dance and the Arts in Puerto Rico.
Classes at Mauro Youth Ballet: Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Salsa, Pilates, Zumba, Karate, Music, Painting
Recognition:
10 of the 10 students who auditioned for Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive were accepted. Out of the 10 dancers, 5 received full scholarship.
Mauro, Inc. (Mauro Youth Ballet) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
UPDATE: LEOTARD CHALLENGE
We are having a leotard and dancewear drive! Amongst the thousands of dance schools in the USA, there are whole schools of children who have outgrown their leotards and ballet slippers. We're asking dance schools and conservatories across the nation to ask their students to donate their leotards, children through adult, and gently used tights, pointe shoes, and ballet slippers to the dance students of not only Mauro, but dancers on the entire island. If you are interested in joining the drive, collecting dance wear for students of Puerto Rico, please contact Candice at [email redacted] and the P.O. Box will be sent to you. Overflow dance wear donations will be openly distributed to neighboring dance schools on the island.
