Keep Meghan Dancing: Italy
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Meghan Kelley. I just turned 19 today!( May 31st, 2021). In March of this year, I was offered my first professional contract with Etoile Ballet Theater in Piacenza, Italy! I have just completed two years of study with the Richmond Ballet Company in Virginia. I’ve trained since I was three years old to become a professional ballet dancer, and now I’m one step closer to achieving my lifelong dream.
I have already accepted a nine-month contract, which officially begins on Sept. 25, 2021, and runs through June 27th, 2022. However, as with many entry-level contracts in the performance arts, especially during this time, this position is currently unpaid. The other costs associated with this contract are: Room and Board; Professional Fees & Supplies; Personal Expenses (Phone, etc.),; and Travel, (I will have to leave Italy and the EU every 90 days due to My VISA). Calculating all the costs for nine months, the expense totals $40,000 USD. Which is a big, scary number! But if I have learned anything, it is that nothing is impossible with God. The details on how you could invest financially in me and my God-given dream, will be after the FYI. I have split the information into three parts: "My backstory", "About Italy", and "What you can Do". Thank you in advance for reading it.
FYI, I’ve created a blog --- https://www.vitadaballerina.com --- to keep my friends, family and supporter/investors up-to-date on my ballet journey, and living in Italy in general. (I will be posting on there closer to my move but feel free to go check it out and subscribe! ) Please also forward / repost this go fund me link and my blog to others who love the arts and might be willing to join my “Get Meghan to Italy” Team. If you have any questions or want further details, please reach out through gofundme. Also feel free to follow My instagram -- meg.lea_
MY BACKSTORY:
I’ve felt called to be a professional ballet dancer ever since I knew you could have that as a job. It’s hard to explain, but this divine feeling erupts in me when I dance. It’s like Olympic sprinter Eric Liddell expressed in the film Chariots of Fire, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”
My mom,dad and my brother stood by me and always have. We moved from Georgia to Florida, when I was 10, which allowed me to study at Orlando Ballet School , one of the best ballet schools in America. That doesn’t mean, however, that things have always been easy. At 13, I developed an eating disorder that derailed my ballet career and seriously threatened my health. Ironically, it had nothing to do with ballet --- actually, I believe my God-given love of ballet gave me something to fight for and ultimately saved me. For years, my mom provided for my family as a labor and delivery nurse. She was always working, even after she began to suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is a disease that attacks your nerve endings, causing numbness that gets increasingly severe. My mom suffered a severe exacerbation of her MS in October 2018 I’ll never forget seeing her in a hospital bed, unable to walk. Because she could no longer work, our family eventually had to declare bankruptcy.
Since then, we’ve had to make difficult financial decisions, but my desire to pursue a career in ballet never waned. Last summer, I got a scholarship to a dance intensive where I and other candidates sought an invitation to a “traineeship,” the first step in a professional ballet career. I was offered a trainee position in Richmond, Va, at the end of the intensive! When I told my parents, they said, "Ok, we have no idea how we are gonna do this because we cant help you, but you have to accept.”
I had four weeks to move to Virginia. Then an email came saying that I had received a 100% trainee scholarship. I remember saying, "Wow, God, thank you! But how am I going to pay for an apartment and groceries?” A second email came --- because my mom lost her job and I was a minor (17 at the time), I got social security money to pay for groceries and other things I’d need. Then the last phone call came --- my grandma in Denver felt God was telling her to help, and that turned into rent for my apartment! So, I said again, "MY GOD, thank you." That’s how it’s been for me these past two years, when I have a need that seems insurmountable,God meets it in different and exciting ways!
I’m so thankful for my two years in Richmond, and in particular, for my friends. My teachers and my training in ballet with Richmond Ballet were amazing. However, two years is all you get as a trainee here. So the next step for me was seeking a position as an “apprentice,” or second company member, the initial fully professional positions in an actual ballet company.I filmed an audition video before winter break. Once I edited it, I sent it out to every ballet company under the sun, here in the United States and abroad. I got lots of rejection letters: “Too short,” “Too young,” “Can’t accept you because of COVID,” or just plain “No.”
ABOUT ITALY:
This January (2021) Through a 21-day challenge with my church, I fasted and prayed, "God put me where you want me,I trust you." But it was hard. I started getting antsy. I started making “contingency” plans. On day 15, a guest speaker at my church’s prayer and worship night prophetically confirmed to me from God that ballet IS in my future and that God IS going to surprise me and even broaden my horizons outside of ballet. He envisioned me using my love and compassion for healing with children in developing countries.
Fast-forward to the end of January (2021), when I received an email from Etoile Ballet Theater saying that they were interested in me. After a few initial emails, they officially offered me an “apprentice position”! I had two weeks to respond. It was disorienting because I had assumed I’d be going somewhere in America, the safe option, but I hadn’t yet received many emails back from American Companies. I prayed for only one of the two doors to open --- confirmation for Italy or a company in America. I wanted God's will to be so abundantly clear that I had no choice but to follow it. At the end of February,everything was pointing to Italy being the right choice,So, I signed my new contract.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
That’s the short version of my story, anyway, and it leads me back to why I sent you this message.I need to figure out how I’m going to pay for everything, because my parents are still unable to help, and my grandma can no longer offer financial assistance. I need to raise most of the money (preferably all) by September 15!
I’d prefer to be the one donating to another worthy cause, but I realize with humility that right now I am the one who needs donations. I’m trusting, God will provide for my needs, just like every other time these last few years!
Would you be willing to invest in my dream and be part of God’s provision for my ballet apprenticeship in Italy by donating toward my $40,000 USD total goal? If so, Thank you so much !
Ciao,
Meghan Kelley
I have already accepted a nine-month contract, which officially begins on Sept. 25, 2021, and runs through June 27th, 2022. However, as with many entry-level contracts in the performance arts, especially during this time, this position is currently unpaid. The other costs associated with this contract are: Room and Board; Professional Fees & Supplies; Personal Expenses (Phone, etc.),; and Travel, (I will have to leave Italy and the EU every 90 days due to My VISA). Calculating all the costs for nine months, the expense totals $40,000 USD. Which is a big, scary number! But if I have learned anything, it is that nothing is impossible with God. The details on how you could invest financially in me and my God-given dream, will be after the FYI. I have split the information into three parts: "My backstory", "About Italy", and "What you can Do". Thank you in advance for reading it.
FYI, I’ve created a blog --- https://www.vitadaballerina.com --- to keep my friends, family and supporter/investors up-to-date on my ballet journey, and living in Italy in general. (I will be posting on there closer to my move but feel free to go check it out and subscribe! ) Please also forward / repost this go fund me link and my blog to others who love the arts and might be willing to join my “Get Meghan to Italy” Team. If you have any questions or want further details, please reach out through gofundme. Also feel free to follow My instagram -- meg.lea_
MY BACKSTORY:
I’ve felt called to be a professional ballet dancer ever since I knew you could have that as a job. It’s hard to explain, but this divine feeling erupts in me when I dance. It’s like Olympic sprinter Eric Liddell expressed in the film Chariots of Fire, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”
My mom,dad and my brother stood by me and always have. We moved from Georgia to Florida, when I was 10, which allowed me to study at Orlando Ballet School , one of the best ballet schools in America. That doesn’t mean, however, that things have always been easy. At 13, I developed an eating disorder that derailed my ballet career and seriously threatened my health. Ironically, it had nothing to do with ballet --- actually, I believe my God-given love of ballet gave me something to fight for and ultimately saved me. For years, my mom provided for my family as a labor and delivery nurse. She was always working, even after she began to suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is a disease that attacks your nerve endings, causing numbness that gets increasingly severe. My mom suffered a severe exacerbation of her MS in October 2018 I’ll never forget seeing her in a hospital bed, unable to walk. Because she could no longer work, our family eventually had to declare bankruptcy.
Since then, we’ve had to make difficult financial decisions, but my desire to pursue a career in ballet never waned. Last summer, I got a scholarship to a dance intensive where I and other candidates sought an invitation to a “traineeship,” the first step in a professional ballet career. I was offered a trainee position in Richmond, Va, at the end of the intensive! When I told my parents, they said, "Ok, we have no idea how we are gonna do this because we cant help you, but you have to accept.”
I had four weeks to move to Virginia. Then an email came saying that I had received a 100% trainee scholarship. I remember saying, "Wow, God, thank you! But how am I going to pay for an apartment and groceries?” A second email came --- because my mom lost her job and I was a minor (17 at the time), I got social security money to pay for groceries and other things I’d need. Then the last phone call came --- my grandma in Denver felt God was telling her to help, and that turned into rent for my apartment! So, I said again, "MY GOD, thank you." That’s how it’s been for me these past two years, when I have a need that seems insurmountable,God meets it in different and exciting ways!
I’m so thankful for my two years in Richmond, and in particular, for my friends. My teachers and my training in ballet with Richmond Ballet were amazing. However, two years is all you get as a trainee here. So the next step for me was seeking a position as an “apprentice,” or second company member, the initial fully professional positions in an actual ballet company.I filmed an audition video before winter break. Once I edited it, I sent it out to every ballet company under the sun, here in the United States and abroad. I got lots of rejection letters: “Too short,” “Too young,” “Can’t accept you because of COVID,” or just plain “No.”
ABOUT ITALY:
This January (2021) Through a 21-day challenge with my church, I fasted and prayed, "God put me where you want me,I trust you." But it was hard. I started getting antsy. I started making “contingency” plans. On day 15, a guest speaker at my church’s prayer and worship night prophetically confirmed to me from God that ballet IS in my future and that God IS going to surprise me and even broaden my horizons outside of ballet. He envisioned me using my love and compassion for healing with children in developing countries.
Fast-forward to the end of January (2021), when I received an email from Etoile Ballet Theater saying that they were interested in me. After a few initial emails, they officially offered me an “apprentice position”! I had two weeks to respond. It was disorienting because I had assumed I’d be going somewhere in America, the safe option, but I hadn’t yet received many emails back from American Companies. I prayed for only one of the two doors to open --- confirmation for Italy or a company in America. I wanted God's will to be so abundantly clear that I had no choice but to follow it. At the end of February,everything was pointing to Italy being the right choice,So, I signed my new contract.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
That’s the short version of my story, anyway, and it leads me back to why I sent you this message.I need to figure out how I’m going to pay for everything, because my parents are still unable to help, and my grandma can no longer offer financial assistance. I need to raise most of the money (preferably all) by September 15!
I’d prefer to be the one donating to another worthy cause, but I realize with humility that right now I am the one who needs donations. I’m trusting, God will provide for my needs, just like every other time these last few years!
Would you be willing to invest in my dream and be part of God’s provision for my ballet apprenticeship in Italy by donating toward my $40,000 USD total goal? If so, Thank you so much !
Ciao,
Meghan Kelley
Organizer
Meghan Kelley
Organizer
Winter Garden, FL