Donation protected
My name is Katie and I grew up studying dance in Indiana beginning at age 5. I attended Dancers Studio, a dance school devoted to classical ballet and modern dance, and studied ballet at various summer intensives including Louisville Ballet, Ballet San Jose and Interlochen Arts Academy. I graduated from Purdue with a Dance Minor. I began to teach children's dance classes when I was 16. I have now been teaching dance for 7 years and LOVE to share this passion!
In March 2014, I visited Haiti for the first time. I went Imagine Missions Orphanage in (Despinos) Croix des Bouquet which provides for about 100 orphans and learned that the little girls and boys LOVE to dance ballet, but of course have no formal training. Imagine Missions changed my life, so I keep going back! (www.imaginemissions.org). Through 6 trips since then (a total of 10 weeks) I have worked with the kids to teach them basic ballet steps/terminology and choreograph basic dances for them to perform at church.
My good friend Estephanie, who is 9 years old (and pictured above), has always wanted to do nothing more than to learn and practice ballet every day that I visit! She has picked up the steps quickly and with fluidity, and has beautiful stage presence when we perform at church. Her 'mother' Melissa, and 'father' Pascal, the directors of the orphanage, noticed how much potential she has and want her to receive some formal training. She was brought to the orphanage with her brother when she was 6 years old, and has lived there 3 years. (I believe her father had died and her mother could not afford to feed and send them to school.) Estephanie is a very hard worker- she is a top student in school, and her English comprehension is very good although she may be shy to speak it to new people.
Stretching!
Practicing Pirouettes!
Enjoying some expressive modern dance with my good friends Michelle and Carolyn! (July 2016)
Estephanie (right) performing at church with her sisters Lovely and Chalanda in 2015.
This Thanksgiving (2016), I went to see my friends in Haiti and through a recommendation from my Haitian friend Alissa, we (Pascal, Melissa, and I) visited a ballet school in Petionville, which is quite a distance away. It is called the Institut de Danse Lynn Williams Rouzier and has been teaching ballet in Haiti for 50 years.
After learning a bit about the school, Melissa and Pascal decided to register Estephanie for dance classes! She visited the school, met a few teachers, and gasped when she saw how beautiful and clean the dance studios are- she has only seen rooms for dancing like that in my photos of Dancers Studio in America! Estephanie was signed up for the typical schedule for a 9-year-old at the Institut, which includes 2 ballet classes, one Haitian Folk, and one hip hop class each week. I returned to the school with Pascal and Estephanie on Thursday and she tried the folk class- she had a blast and fit right in!
With the ballet (left) and hip hop (right) teachers!
Having fun at the ballet barre after her first 'real' dance class- Haitian Folk! At the orphanage, we just use the church benches, but here, there are real metal barres!
At the entrance to the school!
Because she lives so far away, Estephanie will need to ride a moto with her dormitory mother at the orphanage at least an hour or more each way when she comes to dance. This is will be a significant cost (an additional $120 per month in addition to the cost of classes/uniform/enrollment). The total cost of pursuing some formal dance training at a ballet school will be ~$3000 per year. This is no small sum, especially since at her home orphanage (like many), every bit of money counts in order to feed all the children each day, keep them safe, and send them to school.
Estephanie dancing with 5 of her Imagine Missions sisters in their dorm... There are 100+ youth supported through this special orphanage, each are so valued!
Estephanie's brothers and sisters at the orphanage are so excited for her-- this is a huge opportunity for her to receive an arts education, develop her dance skills, and learn a beautiful discipline in a formal setting, which she has dreamed of since we began to dance together! Her 'mom' Melissa and 'dad' Pascal have made this decision to sacrifice time and money up front in the faith that God will provide a way for them to continue to pay for this opportunity for her. I have been so fortunate to receive generous financial assistance from lovers of people and the arts in the past both to dance and to travel to Haiti, and I believe I share excitement with many others for Estephanie as she begins this journey. My hope is that as she learns, I can help foster in her a love of teaching the orphans and community children around her so that this gift of dance extends far beyond just one young girl in Haiti. My parents sacrificed so much for me to dance as a girl, and it has shaped who I am and now has even shaped Estephanie's experience. How many more young children in less-than-priveleged circumstances can Estephanie's experience shape?!
Estephanie (in the pink dress, left) helping me with ballet class for little brothers and sisters at Imagine Missions.
I would be so grateful for you to join Melissa and Pascal in contributing even just $5 or $10 towards this big dream. Or you can give in other meaningful ways:
$12 will pay for a dance class
$30 will pay for transportation for a week of class
$30 will pay for her ballet shoes (school-required)
$40 will pay for a ballet outfit (school-required)
$40 will pay for a folk or hip hop outfit (school-required)
$50 will pay for a week of classes
$80 will pay for a week of transportation AND classes
$120 will pay for a month of transportation
$200 will pay for a month of classes
Your help is so appreciated, and I would love if you could share this story with any ballerinas, dancers, artists, and supporters of youth and the arts that you know. (A donation in honor of your favorite dancer may be a great gift as well!)
Art should not just be for the financially priveleged, but ALL young girls and boys who can find hope, beauty, and empowerment through it in this crazy world.
Thank you!
In March 2014, I visited Haiti for the first time. I went Imagine Missions Orphanage in (Despinos) Croix des Bouquet which provides for about 100 orphans and learned that the little girls and boys LOVE to dance ballet, but of course have no formal training. Imagine Missions changed my life, so I keep going back! (www.imaginemissions.org). Through 6 trips since then (a total of 10 weeks) I have worked with the kids to teach them basic ballet steps/terminology and choreograph basic dances for them to perform at church.
My good friend Estephanie, who is 9 years old (and pictured above), has always wanted to do nothing more than to learn and practice ballet every day that I visit! She has picked up the steps quickly and with fluidity, and has beautiful stage presence when we perform at church. Her 'mother' Melissa, and 'father' Pascal, the directors of the orphanage, noticed how much potential she has and want her to receive some formal training. She was brought to the orphanage with her brother when she was 6 years old, and has lived there 3 years. (I believe her father had died and her mother could not afford to feed and send them to school.) Estephanie is a very hard worker- she is a top student in school, and her English comprehension is very good although she may be shy to speak it to new people.
Stretching!Practicing Pirouettes!Enjoying some expressive modern dance with my good friends Michelle and Carolyn! (July 2016)Estephanie (right) performing at church with her sisters Lovely and Chalanda in 2015. This Thanksgiving (2016), I went to see my friends in Haiti and through a recommendation from my Haitian friend Alissa, we (Pascal, Melissa, and I) visited a ballet school in Petionville, which is quite a distance away. It is called the Institut de Danse Lynn Williams Rouzier and has been teaching ballet in Haiti for 50 years.
After learning a bit about the school, Melissa and Pascal decided to register Estephanie for dance classes! She visited the school, met a few teachers, and gasped when she saw how beautiful and clean the dance studios are- she has only seen rooms for dancing like that in my photos of Dancers Studio in America! Estephanie was signed up for the typical schedule for a 9-year-old at the Institut, which includes 2 ballet classes, one Haitian Folk, and one hip hop class each week. I returned to the school with Pascal and Estephanie on Thursday and she tried the folk class- she had a blast and fit right in!
With the ballet (left) and hip hop (right) teachers! Having fun at the ballet barre after her first 'real' dance class- Haitian Folk! At the orphanage, we just use the church benches, but here, there are real metal barres!At the entrance to the school!Because she lives so far away, Estephanie will need to ride a moto with her dormitory mother at the orphanage at least an hour or more each way when she comes to dance. This is will be a significant cost (an additional $120 per month in addition to the cost of classes/uniform/enrollment). The total cost of pursuing some formal dance training at a ballet school will be ~$3000 per year. This is no small sum, especially since at her home orphanage (like many), every bit of money counts in order to feed all the children each day, keep them safe, and send them to school.
Estephanie dancing with 5 of her Imagine Missions sisters in their dorm... There are 100+ youth supported through this special orphanage, each are so valued! Estephanie's brothers and sisters at the orphanage are so excited for her-- this is a huge opportunity for her to receive an arts education, develop her dance skills, and learn a beautiful discipline in a formal setting, which she has dreamed of since we began to dance together! Her 'mom' Melissa and 'dad' Pascal have made this decision to sacrifice time and money up front in the faith that God will provide a way for them to continue to pay for this opportunity for her. I have been so fortunate to receive generous financial assistance from lovers of people and the arts in the past both to dance and to travel to Haiti, and I believe I share excitement with many others for Estephanie as she begins this journey. My hope is that as she learns, I can help foster in her a love of teaching the orphans and community children around her so that this gift of dance extends far beyond just one young girl in Haiti. My parents sacrificed so much for me to dance as a girl, and it has shaped who I am and now has even shaped Estephanie's experience. How many more young children in less-than-priveleged circumstances can Estephanie's experience shape?!
Estephanie (in the pink dress, left) helping me with ballet class for little brothers and sisters at Imagine Missions.I would be so grateful for you to join Melissa and Pascal in contributing even just $5 or $10 towards this big dream. Or you can give in other meaningful ways:
$12 will pay for a dance class
$30 will pay for transportation for a week of class
$30 will pay for her ballet shoes (school-required)
$40 will pay for a ballet outfit (school-required)
$40 will pay for a folk or hip hop outfit (school-required)
$50 will pay for a week of classes
$80 will pay for a week of transportation AND classes
$120 will pay for a month of transportation
$200 will pay for a month of classes
Your help is so appreciated, and I would love if you could share this story with any ballerinas, dancers, artists, and supporters of youth and the arts that you know. (A donation in honor of your favorite dancer may be a great gift as well!)
Art should not just be for the financially priveleged, but ALL young girls and boys who can find hope, beauty, and empowerment through it in this crazy world.
Thank you!
Organizer
Katie Bridgeman
Organizer
Columbus, IN