Help Cameron-James Complete Vocational Training
Donation protected
My name is Cameron-James Bailey. I am an 18 year old ballet student at English National Ballet School in London. I have decided to set up this Go Fund Me to help my parents raise the money to pay for my final year of ballet training. I have been in vocational training since the age of 11 and it has got harder and harder every year for my parents to raise the money to pay for top up fees etc, but now with a change in their jobs and business it is going to be almost impossible for them to find the money; so we have decided to contact charities, organisations and industry professionals to ask for a donation of just £20 and I would like to ask the same thing of you, my supporters reading this story.
I made the decision at a very young age to be a ballet dancer, I understood the hard work involved and I am fully committed and very passionate about a future in ballet. My family have sacrificed so much for me, and personally I have willingly given up a normal child hood to train very hard at school.
Please read all of my story. It includes my CV, financial needs and other funding options my parents and I are looking into.
My Story
I left my home in Lancaster aged 11 to follow my dream and attend Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham. I was fortunate enough to have an MDS government scholarship, but my parents had to pay substantial top up fees for the five years I was there. I did, however, have a successful time at Elmhurst.....here is my CV:
Elmhurst School of Dance: 2013 to 2018
Academic Year 7
• Cameron-James was selected to perform in “The Nutcracker” with Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre.
• Selected by Sir David Bintley to perform with Birmingham Royal Ballet again in “The Prince of the Pagodas” as the “Young Prince”. He toured with the company, performing at Salford, Plymouth, Birmingham and the London Coliseum.
• Attended the Royal Ballet’s White Lodge Summer School.
• Offered a place for year 8 entry to White Lodge after attending the Summer School. (declined and he stayed at Elmhurst).
Academic Year 8
• Selected by Sir Matthew Bourne to perform with his Company in a curtain raiser performance for “Edward Scissorhands” at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre.
• Awarded the Most Promising Boy award at Elmhurst.
• Awarded the “David Blair CBE Scholarship” for boys at the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School.
• Attended the Royal Ballet’s White Lodge Summer School.
Academic Year 9
• Successfully passed his Year 9 Assessment and offered continued training for two years.
• Awarded the Most Promising Boy award at Elmhurst.
• Awarded the Academic Achievement award at Elmhurst.
• Awarded a scholarship to attend the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School for one week.
• RAD Intermediate Exam – Passed with a distinction of 92 marks
Academic Year 10
• Cameron-James was selected by the UK Cecchetti Committee to represent the UK in the Cecchetti International Ballet competition in Florence, Italy. He was awarded a bursary to travel and compete of £1,000.
• Awarded a scholarship for the “Masters of Ballet” Easter school by Olga Semenova.
• Offered a place at RBS White Lodge Summer School.
• Awarded Academic Achievement awards for English and Science at Elmhurst.
• Successfully represented the UK at the Cecchetti International Ballet competition in Florence, Italy. Awarded a scholarship to attend a six-week duration intensive training course at Oklahoma City Ballet in 2018 (unfortunately unable to accept on financial grounds).
• Cecchetti Intermediate Ballet exam – passed with Distinction of 90 marks
• RAD Advanced Foundation Ballet Exam – passed with Distinction of 80 marks.
Academic Year 11
• Cameron-James achieved 10 GCSE passes, including 3 subjects at level 9, 5 at level 8, 1 at level 7, 1 at grade A 1 at grade B. Copies of his certificates are in the appendices section.
• Successfully passed his Year 11 Assessment and offered continued training for three years.
• Successfully auditioned for English National Ballet School and decided to accept their offer of a place with a DADA scholarship.
• RAD Advanced 1 Ballet Exam – Passed with Distinction of 87 marks.
English National Ballet School: 2018 to present
Academic Year 12
• Cameron-James has risen to the challenges of very demanding programme. Alongside his dancing training, he is studying for a Level 6 diploma in classical ballet and professional dance. He has been successful in his mid-year assessments and has secured a place at ENBS for Year 13.
• Cameron-James was awarded a bursary from The Arts and Sports Trust.
Before Ballet School
I started Ballet when I was 3. I followed my sister to dance classes and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed dancing in competitions and,when I was 9, I successfully auditioned for the Royal Ballet School Junior Associate program; which I attended on a bi-weekly basis for three years. When I was 10, I asked my parents to allow me to audition for vocational school. Thankfully they allowed me to follow my dream and have supported me every step of the way. I was very lucky when I auditioned for the four major ballet schools as I was offered a funded place at three out of four and I chose to attend Elmhurst.
Final Steps Towards a Career in Ballet
After 5 years at Elmhurst, I successfully auditioned to English National Ballet School in London. I have moved further away from my family, but places are ENBS are hard sought after and I feel very lucky to be one of only 20 boys chosen internationally to train at the school.
I was just 16 when I moved to London and I am no longer in a boarding school, but in a home stay where I do my own cooking, washing and basically live independently. I attend school 6 days a week, Monday to Saturday and my days are generally 8am-6.30pm. It is extremely hard work but very rewarding and I know ENBS will make me into the best possible dancer I can be.
I study : ballet, contemporary dance, choreography, pas de deaux, dance styles, variations and repertoire. Alongside my dance is academics. I am working towards a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Ballet and Dance. This includes dance history and Benesh notation.
As I head into my final year, the training will get harder and longer as we are being prepped for job auditions in order to obtain a contract as soon as we graduate in 2021. My ambition is to secure a place in a touring company and then progress my way through the ranks towards Principal. The pinnacle would be to have a new work choreographed on me.....this is my absolute dream.
Why I Am Asking For Financial Support...
So.....here we are. The reason I am asking for donations. Ballet is expensive, and my parents have done everything they can to support me. But, in their words, "the pot is empty" and, as it stands, they wont be able to pay for me through third year. My parents have paid over £80,000 in top up fees over the last 7 years. They have taken personal loans, school fee loans and remortgaged our house but now there are no more options for this.
I do have a government scholarship, DADA, which reduces the cost of my school fees. However my parents have to pay for everything else.
I have started teaching ballet during my school holidays to help pay towards my food bills. Although I enjoy teaching and exploring a new skill, it is hard on my body as it means I am not having the "down time" required in the holidays to help my body recover.
Here is a basic list of the costs:
School Fee Contribution: £1,500 per year
Health Insurance: £1,100 per year
Vitamin D testing and injection: £50 per year
Dance Uniform: approx £1,000 per year including wear and tear and ballet shoe replacement.
Rent £170 per week over 43 weeks: £7,310
Laundry £4 per week over 43 weeks: £172
Train travel to/from home: approx £300
London tube travel approx £10 per week: £430
Food three meals a day £10 per day: £3,010
These are the basic day to day costs. Sadly during my final year, there will be added costs as I will be living in a shared house that will be a 12 month contract with added bills. Also, there will be audition costs. Graduate students have to have audition photographs and videos before even applying for jobs. Once I secure an audition, I will have to pay an audition fee, travel costs and accommodation. It is likely that flight costs will also be included. It is impossible to put a price on these costs but it will certainly be in the £2,000+ category.
SO....I THINK YOU CAN SEE WHY I AM ASKING FOR HELP.
IF YOU COULD BE SO KIND AS TO DONATE £20 TO MY FUND THEN IT ALL HELPS TOWARDS MY THIRD YEAR OF TRAINING.
I AM, OF COURSE, GRATEFUL FOR ANY AMOUNT THAT ANY PERSON IS GENEROUS ENOUGH TO DONATE.
I CAN PROMISE THAT YOUR DONATIONS WILL NOT BE WASTED AS I INTEND TO MAKE THE MOST OF MY TRAINING AND WORK HARD IN MY CAREER.
HOPEFULLY I WILL BE IN A POSITION IN THE FUTURE TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF.
What Else am I Doing to Secure Funding?
Over the last two years, my parents and I have been searching for charities and organisations that allow individuals in the Arts to apply for financial help. These organisations are few and far between, and we continue to search. However here are some organisations that have helped in the past:
E and R Wilson Trust.
The Arts and Sports Trust
The Lancaster Round Table
I am in the process of reapplying to The Arts and Sports Trust, and several other organisations that look promising to a ballet student. With my parents help we are writing 2000 letters to 2000 charities, organisations, industry professionals and businesses asking for a small donation of £20.
I am pleased that we have had a little success already, and a private donation of £500 has already been made: for which I am very very grateful.
In due course I will be linking my new blog. This has even more background information and I intend to update it as regularly as possible.
Finally, my parents also support my older sister who is studying for a Masters Degree in Chemistry at Durham University.....so they really are struggling. Mum and Dad are very hard working people and do everything they can to support Charlotte and Me. I am hoping that this Go Fund Me will be my way to help them too.
THANK YOU.....THANK YOU......THANK YOU......THANK YOU
I made the decision at a very young age to be a ballet dancer, I understood the hard work involved and I am fully committed and very passionate about a future in ballet. My family have sacrificed so much for me, and personally I have willingly given up a normal child hood to train very hard at school.
Please read all of my story. It includes my CV, financial needs and other funding options my parents and I are looking into.
My Story
I left my home in Lancaster aged 11 to follow my dream and attend Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham. I was fortunate enough to have an MDS government scholarship, but my parents had to pay substantial top up fees for the five years I was there. I did, however, have a successful time at Elmhurst.....here is my CV:
Elmhurst School of Dance: 2013 to 2018
Academic Year 7
• Cameron-James was selected to perform in “The Nutcracker” with Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre.
• Selected by Sir David Bintley to perform with Birmingham Royal Ballet again in “The Prince of the Pagodas” as the “Young Prince”. He toured with the company, performing at Salford, Plymouth, Birmingham and the London Coliseum.
• Attended the Royal Ballet’s White Lodge Summer School.
• Offered a place for year 8 entry to White Lodge after attending the Summer School. (declined and he stayed at Elmhurst).
Academic Year 8
• Selected by Sir Matthew Bourne to perform with his Company in a curtain raiser performance for “Edward Scissorhands” at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre.
• Awarded the Most Promising Boy award at Elmhurst.
• Awarded the “David Blair CBE Scholarship” for boys at the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School.
• Attended the Royal Ballet’s White Lodge Summer School.
Academic Year 9
• Successfully passed his Year 9 Assessment and offered continued training for two years.
• Awarded the Most Promising Boy award at Elmhurst.
• Awarded the Academic Achievement award at Elmhurst.
• Awarded a scholarship to attend the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School for one week.
• RAD Intermediate Exam – Passed with a distinction of 92 marks
Academic Year 10
• Cameron-James was selected by the UK Cecchetti Committee to represent the UK in the Cecchetti International Ballet competition in Florence, Italy. He was awarded a bursary to travel and compete of £1,000.
• Awarded a scholarship for the “Masters of Ballet” Easter school by Olga Semenova.
• Offered a place at RBS White Lodge Summer School.
• Awarded Academic Achievement awards for English and Science at Elmhurst.
• Successfully represented the UK at the Cecchetti International Ballet competition in Florence, Italy. Awarded a scholarship to attend a six-week duration intensive training course at Oklahoma City Ballet in 2018 (unfortunately unable to accept on financial grounds).
• Cecchetti Intermediate Ballet exam – passed with Distinction of 90 marks
• RAD Advanced Foundation Ballet Exam – passed with Distinction of 80 marks.
Academic Year 11
• Cameron-James achieved 10 GCSE passes, including 3 subjects at level 9, 5 at level 8, 1 at level 7, 1 at grade A 1 at grade B. Copies of his certificates are in the appendices section.
• Successfully passed his Year 11 Assessment and offered continued training for three years.
• Successfully auditioned for English National Ballet School and decided to accept their offer of a place with a DADA scholarship.
• RAD Advanced 1 Ballet Exam – Passed with Distinction of 87 marks.
English National Ballet School: 2018 to present
Academic Year 12
• Cameron-James has risen to the challenges of very demanding programme. Alongside his dancing training, he is studying for a Level 6 diploma in classical ballet and professional dance. He has been successful in his mid-year assessments and has secured a place at ENBS for Year 13.
• Cameron-James was awarded a bursary from The Arts and Sports Trust.
Before Ballet School
I started Ballet when I was 3. I followed my sister to dance classes and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed dancing in competitions and,when I was 9, I successfully auditioned for the Royal Ballet School Junior Associate program; which I attended on a bi-weekly basis for three years. When I was 10, I asked my parents to allow me to audition for vocational school. Thankfully they allowed me to follow my dream and have supported me every step of the way. I was very lucky when I auditioned for the four major ballet schools as I was offered a funded place at three out of four and I chose to attend Elmhurst.
Final Steps Towards a Career in Ballet
After 5 years at Elmhurst, I successfully auditioned to English National Ballet School in London. I have moved further away from my family, but places are ENBS are hard sought after and I feel very lucky to be one of only 20 boys chosen internationally to train at the school.
I was just 16 when I moved to London and I am no longer in a boarding school, but in a home stay where I do my own cooking, washing and basically live independently. I attend school 6 days a week, Monday to Saturday and my days are generally 8am-6.30pm. It is extremely hard work but very rewarding and I know ENBS will make me into the best possible dancer I can be.
I study : ballet, contemporary dance, choreography, pas de deaux, dance styles, variations and repertoire. Alongside my dance is academics. I am working towards a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Ballet and Dance. This includes dance history and Benesh notation.
As I head into my final year, the training will get harder and longer as we are being prepped for job auditions in order to obtain a contract as soon as we graduate in 2021. My ambition is to secure a place in a touring company and then progress my way through the ranks towards Principal. The pinnacle would be to have a new work choreographed on me.....this is my absolute dream.
Why I Am Asking For Financial Support...
So.....here we are. The reason I am asking for donations. Ballet is expensive, and my parents have done everything they can to support me. But, in their words, "the pot is empty" and, as it stands, they wont be able to pay for me through third year. My parents have paid over £80,000 in top up fees over the last 7 years. They have taken personal loans, school fee loans and remortgaged our house but now there are no more options for this.
I do have a government scholarship, DADA, which reduces the cost of my school fees. However my parents have to pay for everything else.
I have started teaching ballet during my school holidays to help pay towards my food bills. Although I enjoy teaching and exploring a new skill, it is hard on my body as it means I am not having the "down time" required in the holidays to help my body recover.
Here is a basic list of the costs:
School Fee Contribution: £1,500 per year
Health Insurance: £1,100 per year
Vitamin D testing and injection: £50 per year
Dance Uniform: approx £1,000 per year including wear and tear and ballet shoe replacement.
Rent £170 per week over 43 weeks: £7,310
Laundry £4 per week over 43 weeks: £172
Train travel to/from home: approx £300
London tube travel approx £10 per week: £430
Food three meals a day £10 per day: £3,010
These are the basic day to day costs. Sadly during my final year, there will be added costs as I will be living in a shared house that will be a 12 month contract with added bills. Also, there will be audition costs. Graduate students have to have audition photographs and videos before even applying for jobs. Once I secure an audition, I will have to pay an audition fee, travel costs and accommodation. It is likely that flight costs will also be included. It is impossible to put a price on these costs but it will certainly be in the £2,000+ category.
SO....I THINK YOU CAN SEE WHY I AM ASKING FOR HELP.
IF YOU COULD BE SO KIND AS TO DONATE £20 TO MY FUND THEN IT ALL HELPS TOWARDS MY THIRD YEAR OF TRAINING.
I AM, OF COURSE, GRATEFUL FOR ANY AMOUNT THAT ANY PERSON IS GENEROUS ENOUGH TO DONATE.
I CAN PROMISE THAT YOUR DONATIONS WILL NOT BE WASTED AS I INTEND TO MAKE THE MOST OF MY TRAINING AND WORK HARD IN MY CAREER.
HOPEFULLY I WILL BE IN A POSITION IN THE FUTURE TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF.
What Else am I Doing to Secure Funding?
Over the last two years, my parents and I have been searching for charities and organisations that allow individuals in the Arts to apply for financial help. These organisations are few and far between, and we continue to search. However here are some organisations that have helped in the past:
E and R Wilson Trust.
The Arts and Sports Trust
The Lancaster Round Table
I am in the process of reapplying to The Arts and Sports Trust, and several other organisations that look promising to a ballet student. With my parents help we are writing 2000 letters to 2000 charities, organisations, industry professionals and businesses asking for a small donation of £20.
I am pleased that we have had a little success already, and a private donation of £500 has already been made: for which I am very very grateful.
In due course I will be linking my new blog. This has even more background information and I intend to update it as regularly as possible.
Finally, my parents also support my older sister who is studying for a Masters Degree in Chemistry at Durham University.....so they really are struggling. Mum and Dad are very hard working people and do everything they can to support Charlotte and Me. I am hoping that this Go Fund Me will be my way to help them too.
THANK YOU.....THANK YOU......THANK YOU......THANK YOU
Fundraising team: Fundraiser Team (3)
Penny Bailey
Organizer
Graham Bailey
Team member
Cameron Bailey
Team member
