My name is Grace and I have wanted to be a dancer ever since I was a little girl.  I tried ballet, tap and even hip hop but it was physically difficult and my self-esteem was very low because I felt like I just couldn't succeed at dancing. When I was 6 years old I had 3 brain surgeries for a cyst on my cerebellum and hydrocephalus. Before the cyst was diagnosed I was having trouble walking and with balance. I am told it looked like my legs were like rubber bands. After my surgeries I was always a little off balance and developed migraines with associated vertigo. I had a fourth surgery when I was 10 years old and it was successful to date. But it is still difficult when I move too fast and I still battle with migraines from the vertigo. 

My true desire was to ballroom dance. I was able to find a class held at a gym but was not close to home and I was scared of the spinning dizziness. It just made me feel worse about myself.
Finally a Fred Astaire Studio opened in my home town. I forced my fears down and knew that if I could cope with the dizziness then my dancing passion would be achieved. Thankfully I have been ballroom dancing for almost 3 years. It is the best experience of my life! It is also amazing to me that I am able to dance or spin on the dance floor.  But it is the joy of my life and makes me feel like I can overcome these daily physical obstacles.  My dance instructors are fantastic and have helped me cope and learn to deal with these struggles.

My instructors have guided me to competition level dancing in such a short time. It is truly the most fulfilling thing I have done in my life. But unfortunately it is expensive to train and go to the dance competitions. I attended a competition last year in Washington, DC and came in first place for all for the dances I performed and earned a championship scholarship.

The NY/NJ Dancesport Challenge Competition will be held in June. This may be my last competition for a while. I will be going to West Chester University in August 2018 to earn a degree in Spanish with a minor in American Sign Language. College is expensive and I honestly need help to afford the competition before going away to school. I have worked throughout my 2 years at community college but I need help to allow me to compete in June. I won't be able to dance as frequently while at school and this competition means the world to me. But that also means that I feel I must earn my way there independently.

So I am asking for any contribution you can make toward the dance competition to make this dream come true. Any contributions will be more than appreciated and I promise I will do my best to make you proud.