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World Champion Dancer ready to go!

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"My heartfelt desire is to learn as much as possible about the world of commercial dance. Pace University's BFA Commercial Dance is unique in their offering, but it isn't affordable for people like me.  Based in New York City, which is the heart of the entertainment industry, it costs in excess of US $60,000 a year. I still have a shortfall of US $30,000 to find for my first year of study. In the meantime I am keeping up my dance training with up to 7 hours of dancing a day, 6 days a week, until I can get to New York ."

"DANCE IN THE SUN, BUT TURN YOUR BACK TO THE CLOUDS" (African proverb - Zimbabwe) inspires me especially when the going gets tough!"

Shannon Weir is a 20-year old multiple World Champion dancer (Ballet & Show Dance). She was hoping to start her studies in September 2014 but she could not raise enough funds. Her acceptance has thankfully been deferred until 2015.  As a result of the difficulty in raising funds for undergraduate dance studies, Shannon has helped establish a new non-profit organisation called "dream BIG performing arts Foundation (dBpaF)" which provides a formal platform for talented students, like her, who have been accepted to study at top institutions but cannot afford to attend. The Foundation not only provides a formal platform for sponsors and donors but it also assists students with fundraising projects. Shannon is running a fundraising project called World Online Dance Competition through the Foundation. People can enter their dance photos and videos and use social media to nominate others and vote for entries.

There are several ways you can help Shannon. 
(1) Donate through this site - It's safe to use your credit card and you can donate in any currency.
(2) Donate to dream BIG performing arts Foundation NPO http://wodancecompetition.com/to-sponsor/
(2) Enter a dance photo or video in the competition www.wodancecompetition.com

The Foundation is also appealing to public and private companies as well as private individuals to assist, either with donations or sponsorships (goods/services)  to assist our approved applicants. Please support us in our drive for nurturing excellence in the performing arts.

SHANNON'S VISION, PURPOSE & PLAN
Shannon knows that she has been created to dance. She envisions herself performing on Broadway, in film and television. She also knows she will use her God-given talents to be of service to the global dance community, to bridge the existing divides and to intentionally build a sustainable dance platform for the next generation.

She has a clear understanding of what drives her and how her value system influences the choices she makes. She is a positive role model to other dancers. She is always encouraging others to reach for their dreams.

She is passionate about storytelling through dance. One of her most joyous moments was in New York in 2013 when she received a special award for Excellent Storytelling for her contemporary dance which told the story of Nelson Mandela's rise from prisoner to president. Search "Long Walk to Freedom" or "Shannon Weir"on YouTube for the video.

She is inspired by people like Nelson Mandela - he was just one person, yet he had such a massive positive impact on South Africa and on the world at large. She believes that change on a large scale happens because of a ripple effect of actions, starting with an individual who impacts their family or group of friends; change in these small units cause changes in their local communities; changes in local communities impact a nation.

As a performing artist, she wants to make a positive impact on the dance community, especially in places where dance tuition is non-existent such as the many underprivileged communities in her home country, South Africa. She is working on some ideas to grow dance in South Africa and believes they will work elsewhere in the world too! She believes that learning from the best in either of these prestigious New York institutions will put her in the best possible position, together with her network of contacts in South Africa and New York, to implement a program that will transform the dance landscape for many youngsters, for the better, both in South Africa and beyond.

She hopes you feel inspired to change the world, like she does.

MORE ABOUT SHANNON'S ACHIEVEMENTS:
Shannon only discovered her passion for dance when she was almost 13 years of age, and after 6 years of training on average 5 hours a day, she has achieved TWO solo Adult World Championship wins (one for Ballet (Poland) in 2013; and one for ShowDance (Germany) in 2012). She has also won numerous South African dance championships (Ballet, Modern, Jazz, SlowDance, ShowDance, etc).

She is trained in various dance styles including ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, irish, freestyle, slowdance and hiphop.

She finished her Grade 12 school-leaving examinations at the end of 2013 and is presently enrolled in her 2nd year of a full time tertiary dance/study program at Cape Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA), based in Cape Town South Africa, to learn dance styles like tap dancing and to take up drama, voice and musical theatre lessons as well as to continue with her ballet, modern, contemporary and jazz training. Shannon was awarded Top 1st Year student and Top Drama student at the end of last year.

God-willing, she will start her dance degree in New York in September 2015 if she has raised sufficient funds.

THANKS:
Shannon extends heartfelt thanks to all her fabulous teachers for everything they taught her, and to her parents for the hours and hours of driving and for the sacrifices they made to enable her to reach this point.

She is also enormously grateful to her friends for their love, support and encouragement throughout the years.

To all those people that have made donations and/or prayed for her, she sends her love and thanks.

Thanks you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on to anyone who can help.


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Donations 

  • Lindy Wingrove-Gibson
    • $20 
    • 10 yrs
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Organizer

Shannon Weir
Organizer
Marshfield, WI

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