Hi! My name is Grae Navarro. I have been given the amazing opportunity to study at CPYB's 5-week summer intensive! A summer intensive is a versatile dance training course for serious students with an emphasis on the development of a student's potential and their previous dance education.

I started dancing when I was about 3 years old. The first class I took was a class with all types of dance, even then, I always loved the ballet portion the most. It seemed to feel the most natural to me.

As I grew older I knew Ballet was where I wanted to focus. It was important to me because it gave me the space to express myself in a way that I felt comfortable and confident. As I have gotten older I've had the opportunity to dance in some amazing ballets! Marie/Clara in the Nutcracker (2021), Lou in a new ballet called Sticky Notes (2022), and most recently in a group contemporary piece with my ballet company, Ballet Chicago. All these performances have been amazing honors and opportunities to learn and perform.

My dream is to dance as a professional ballerina. I know reaching my dream will take hard work and commitment. My first big step in achieving this dream is to be accepted into a full-time year-round program. As many of these programs start at 14, I know this summer is particularly important to attend a strong summer intensive; to dedicate myself to advancing my technique so I can be the best that I can be for next year. I would love to be able to move from a year-round program, up to their company as a professional dancer. After my performing career has ended, I would love to return and teach at the school that trained me! Through teaching, I hope to give back to all the young dancers who also have big dreams, and hopefully, I can help them to achieve theirs.

Coming from a large family, this would also mean a great deal to me and my family. I am the oldest with four younger brothers and my parents work hard to provide opportunities for all of us to find our passions. I’m hoping by raising money through this campaign, I can help relieve some costs to pursue this dream.

Over the past year, my youngest baby brother Jett and my mom were diagnosed with HHT, a genetic blood vessel condition that required Jett to have 2 brain surgeries. Thankfully he is recovering well with a lot of prayers from friends and family. This experience with him made me realize how important it is to go after my passions and goals. And that life is never promised as myself and other younger brothers await to see if we are also a carrier for the same gene Jett was diagnosed with.

My parents have given up a lot for us kids, and they know how important this summer intensive is to me, so I am working extra hard to raise funds to pay for my summer intensive through this campaign, babysitting and selling family dinner packages. This money would be a tremendous help in my fundraising efforts.

Large donations are not necessary if we can get multiple people to give smaller amounts they add up quickly! I hope that you will consider joining me on this journey!

Thank You!!!!♥️