Let's Get Leah To Ohio Star Ball!

Hi All!

Please join me in getting Leah Solimine to the Best of the Best DanceSport Challenge at the Ohio Star Ball being held on November 14th-18th, 2017. The Best of the Best DanceSport Challenge is a yearly competition between some of the top pro/am couples in the country. The Grand Finale this year will be at the Ohio Star Ball, and Leah has been invited to compete.  

Leah and I were recently competing at the Hawaii Star Ball as amateurs, and I was over the moon happy to see her win the Best of the Best in both American Rhythm and Smooth categories. As a result of her success with her professional teacher, Danas Jaksevicius, she has an amazing opportunity - she has been invited to represent the Hawaii Star Ball at the upcoming Ohio Star Ball in the Best of the Best DanceSport Challenge.



She has kindly given me permission to sponsor this campaign (actually, it took significant persuasion to get her to agree). It is uncomfortable for her to share with us that given the short notice between receiving the invitation and the Ohio Star Ball, she will not be able to go to the competition without our assistance. We can't let this happen! If you could see her dance, as I have, you would know that her inner light shines so brightly it is magical to watch her. This is such an amazing opportunity, I wanted to reach out to all of you supporters of dance, art and dreams - let's send this amazing dancer to Ohio to fulfill her dream of competing at the Best of the Best DanceSport Challenge. 

She needs $3750.00 to cover her travel costs, competition entry fees and related competition costs. Her total costs will be $4750.00 plus food & incidentals.  Leah is able to cover $1000.00 plus her food  & incidentals, leaving only $3750.00 for us to raise. Yay!!!! 

We do need these funds quickly so Danas can enter Leah in the competition and work with her to prepare (we need the majority of the funds by 10/25 so they can register and start their planning/prep work). Please contribute today and share this with everyone you know that is a supporter of dance/art & dreams. We can use the power of love and community to get Leah to Ohio. Any dollar amount makes a difference, and if it isn't feasible to donate, sharing this gofundme opportunity will be a HUGE contribution. Your help, through donations and/or sharing the campaign, is so, so appreciated 

I would like to share why this opportunity is so very special to Leah:
Leah has always had a love for dance. Her grandparents, Mary and Robert, had this same love of dance and instilled it in her at a young age. She remembers growing up watching Fred and Ginger dance across the television with them, and it was love at first sight. She saw her first  ballroom dance competition on PBS, and it was the Ohio Star Ball (a competition started 40 years ago by Sam Sodano, who has since developed it into the largest pro/am competition in the world today). Since that time she has dreamt of what it would be like to be there dancing under those lights, sharing the floor with all of those amazing dancers. 


She started dancing at the age of 4. She has always loved performing for people and later developed a love for competing. Since she began competing, she has excelled - captivating the hearts of those that watch her with her true love of dance. If you ask her why she loves dancing so much, you will hear her say that it continually pushes her to be the best person she can be.  She feels so blessed to learn from the best dance professionals and often shares how important learning to dance and being part of the world of ballroom is to her. 

Leah works hard on and off the floor to support her love of ballroom dance and competition, often taking on extra work and carefully using her resources to take advantage of opportunities to work with her teachers, coaches and to compete. She needs our help to get to the Ohio Star Ball - let's make it happen together!

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