Donation protected
My name is Kalena Tano, and I am a dancer at Southern California Ballet. I have been invited to compete at the Cecchetti International Classical Ballet Competition from July 31 to August 5 in Florence, Italy for multiple scholarships and contracts to various professional companies as well as a $5,000 grand prize, among other smaller prizes. This competition only happens every 4 years, so this is really my only chance to compete. But before I compete, I have to make my way to Florence. The budget breaks itself down (approximately) as follows:
Choreography: For my classical piece, I will be performing the Gamzatti variation from La Bayadere as selected for me by my amazing artistic director, Sylvia Palmer-Zetler. My contemporary piece has been choreographed, and I will give more updates on this solo closer to the competition date!
Costumes: $1,000 (yep.)
Airfare: $1,000 (I still need a flight back)
Hotel: $1,000 (about $150 per night for around 7 nights)
Food and other daily needs: $500
This adds up to $5,000, so that is what I set my goal to be. Keep in mind that this goal includes myself only, and adding on family members like my mom, dad, or sister would be about another $2,000 per person. But for now, I would be more than grateful to get to the competition by myself. Throughout this summer I have been teaching a couple hours a week at my studio to make some money and during the year I'll be teaching as well, but unfortunately due to the vigorous hours of my training (nearly 20 hours per week year-round), I don't have much spare time to dedicate to working to save money on top of pushing myself academically in school (my current GPA is a 4.2). You may notice I'll be putting the majority of my monthly paychecks from the studio into this campaign as well.
This competition means a chance to represent both my studio, Southern California Ballet, as well as the United States as a country, since I would be on the Cecchetti USA team at the competition. This competition could also be my "in" to the professional world, which is extremely important to me especially right now since I am entering my senior year of high school and will soon be moving on to college or, if I'm lucky, a professional company. This competition would help me greatly to get my name out just before I'm forced to jump the SCB nest and learn to fly on my own.
To anyone who considers donating, I thank you so much for your support. There is nothing that dance has taught me more than that the people who are willing to support you in life are those who you must cherish and never take for granted. Like in life, support in dance is something special, and I truly appreciate any support I am fortunate enough to receive from my friends and family, whether that support is financial or emotional.

Southern California Ballet's Website
Cecchetti USA
Thank you all so much!
Choreography: For my classical piece, I will be performing the Gamzatti variation from La Bayadere as selected for me by my amazing artistic director, Sylvia Palmer-Zetler. My contemporary piece has been choreographed, and I will give more updates on this solo closer to the competition date!
Costumes: $1,000 (yep.)
Airfare: $1,000 (I still need a flight back)
Hotel: $1,000 (about $150 per night for around 7 nights)
Food and other daily needs: $500
This adds up to $5,000, so that is what I set my goal to be. Keep in mind that this goal includes myself only, and adding on family members like my mom, dad, or sister would be about another $2,000 per person. But for now, I would be more than grateful to get to the competition by myself. Throughout this summer I have been teaching a couple hours a week at my studio to make some money and during the year I'll be teaching as well, but unfortunately due to the vigorous hours of my training (nearly 20 hours per week year-round), I don't have much spare time to dedicate to working to save money on top of pushing myself academically in school (my current GPA is a 4.2). You may notice I'll be putting the majority of my monthly paychecks from the studio into this campaign as well.
This competition means a chance to represent both my studio, Southern California Ballet, as well as the United States as a country, since I would be on the Cecchetti USA team at the competition. This competition could also be my "in" to the professional world, which is extremely important to me especially right now since I am entering my senior year of high school and will soon be moving on to college or, if I'm lucky, a professional company. This competition would help me greatly to get my name out just before I'm forced to jump the SCB nest and learn to fly on my own.
To anyone who considers donating, I thank you so much for your support. There is nothing that dance has taught me more than that the people who are willing to support you in life are those who you must cherish and never take for granted. Like in life, support in dance is something special, and I truly appreciate any support I am fortunate enough to receive from my friends and family, whether that support is financial or emotional.
Southern California Ballet's Website
Cecchetti USA
Thank you all so much!
Organizer
Kalena Tano
Organizer
San Diego, CA