Summer at SAB

Hello again!

Thank you to all of you who have already helped Shylee on her way to her dreams over the years.

Shylee has again been accepted to The School of American Ballet for the summer. Her biggest dream right now is to be asked to stay for winter term, but first she has to get through summer! As she gets older everything gets a little harder and more expensive! This year proves to be the hardest year so far.

Shylee has had a lot of success already this year, winning the Youth America Grand Prix in Argentina and then The Aspire Award at Universal Ballet Competition in Denver. She has the rest of the competition season to finish up and we look forward to seeing her shine on stage.

Shylee trains over 35 hours a week in all styles of dance, hoping to achieve her dream of being a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, along with dreaming of the Broadway stage or movies! SAB is just a small step in the right direction for her and we appreciate any help that we can get.

Shylee will be working on other ways to help raise money as well including some personalized artwork. If you have other helpful ideas for fundraising we are open to any suggestions!

We thank you so much for being part of Shylee's village.

Here is a letter written by Shylee too:

Dear whom it may concern,

My name is Shylee Sagle. I am a dancer, actor, and singer, I am 14 years old, I am in 8th grade, I live in Aurora, Colorado, and I go to school in Denver. My personal goal for dance is to be a principal ballerina with New York City Ballet. To do that, I have to go through the School of American Ballet’s (SAB) summer program and winter program in Manhattan, New York. I have gone to the SAB summer program previously and this will be my fifth year, including the junior intensive. This is a stretch for my family this year, but I do not want to give up on my dreams. If I do not go to SAB this year, I will most likely not be able to attend again next year, or get accepted in. I know that I have the talent and work ethic needed to succeed, but I need help to receive the training that can’t be taught anywhere else. I am hoping that I can appeal to people who would like to see me go as far as I can.

Ballet and dance have been a part of my life since I was two, and I have loved every moment of it. I started as a competition dancer, but when I was eight I moved to a ballet studio. At my ballet studio we have ballet, pointe, modern/contemporary, character, music theory, acting, variations, and stretching/conditioning. The program has grown a lot, I started with going to school and going to my ballet studio at night. Then, in 2020, I started their conservatory program which consisted of all the same classes, but from 12-4 everyday. This meant I could continue other styles of dance at night, I also started doing online school. I take a minimum of 37 hours of dance a week, while having straight A’s in school! (I know it’s a lot) As a dancer I believe you should be very versatile and multifaceted. I have always wanted to be known as a triple threat, whatever way people want to interpret that. I also do singing and acting and I have been in 4 musicals. I also tumble and do acro. Even though I take many styles and dance all the time, ballet has always been my favorite. Something about how you can express yourself, I feel like ballet is so much fun to watch when you really understand it. If I had not started ballet I would not be where I am today. I love that when I am feeling down and sad, ballet is the light in my day. Yes, sometimes it can be super hard, and super self critical but once in a while if you just let it all go and really enjoy the performance then it is amazing. One of my favorite things is performing, especially in ballet.

Some other goals I have are to be on Broadway, be in movies and tv shows, and do some more commercial work. I want to be an inspiration to many young dancers, with not just my dancing but my mindset and personality. If you would like to see who I am, what I can do, and what I love doing, you can find me on [email redacted]le. I really appreciate you reading this, and thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Shylee