Gabriel & Serena - Summer Intensive
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Hello, this is Gabriel and Serena Canepa! We are scheduled to begin a six-week Summer Intensive Program at The Houston Ballet Academy in TWO WEEKS, but due to recent financial circumstances, are in need of assistance from family and friends for this to happen. So, we are using this site to share our story and our situation, in the hopes that we might still have a chance to attend this important training program.
As brother and sister, we have both developed and pursued our passion for dance, especially ballet, together since the ages of 5 and 7. We received years of amazing professional-level the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Clear Lake under the direction of Lynnette Mason Gregg, who was also the founder of Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theater. Amongst many performance opportunities through the years, we performed in multiple seasons of The Nutcracker in multiple roles under Ms. Lynette’s direction. She personally instilled in both of us the drive to “just keep dancing” no matter what obstacles we might face.
We are now 11 and 13, and are so grateful that our training and drive have given us BOTH the incredible opportunity to be accepted into and train with The Houston Ballet Academy. Right now, we are each facing one of many critical stages of a young dancer’s career. Serena is ready to go “En Pointe” – you know, the “toe shoes” that female dancers wear. Gabriel is ready to begin serious male ballet dancer training, with the amazing leaps and jumps that require great strength and intense training. In order to keep our training and development on track in the hopes of one day becoming professional dancers, we must participate in the 2015 Six-Week Summer Intensive training at Houston Ballet Academy, beginning June 22nd. Dancers from all over the nation audition to attend this prestigious training program, and we have been blessed with the opportunity to attend!! Unfortunately, we are now facing one of the obstacles that we were taught to work hard to overcome, so that we can “just keep dancing”. The obstacle is a financial one. Very recent circumstances in our family have derailed our plans for the Summer Intensive making it financially impossible for us to attend this critical program. The tuition for the Summer Intensive is $1,560 for Serena and $2,300 for Gabriel.
Since this summer is so crucial to keeping us on course in our training, we have set up this site to reach out to family and friends for assistance. We welcome and appreciate help in any form, whether by direct donation or by simply forwarding our story to your friends and colleagues who might be in a position to help us. We know that there are many young people out there with many dreams and passions, so if you have children whose dreams and passions you are supporting, we certainly understand that you may not be able to support our effort financially. But, just spreading the word might make the difference for us, and would mean the world to us. Every penny raised through this site will go directly to The Houston Ballet Academy for our tuition, and we will update all donors when that happens. While our ultimate goal is to raise the full tuition amount for the BOTH of us to attend the Summer Intensive, our first goal is to raise the amount for Serena to attend since it is key to being able to advance “En Pointe” next year. We are in the difficult position of having ONLY TWO WEEKS to make this happen, but we are not giving up!!!
Our shared passion for dance continues to bring us closer together as brother and sister, and we hope to continue to train and grow into amazing dancers together! Thank you so much for helping us “just keep dancing”!
Gabriel & Serena Canepa
As brother and sister, we have both developed and pursued our passion for dance, especially ballet, together since the ages of 5 and 7. We received years of amazing professional-level the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Clear Lake under the direction of Lynnette Mason Gregg, who was also the founder of Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theater. Amongst many performance opportunities through the years, we performed in multiple seasons of The Nutcracker in multiple roles under Ms. Lynette’s direction. She personally instilled in both of us the drive to “just keep dancing” no matter what obstacles we might face.
We are now 11 and 13, and are so grateful that our training and drive have given us BOTH the incredible opportunity to be accepted into and train with The Houston Ballet Academy. Right now, we are each facing one of many critical stages of a young dancer’s career. Serena is ready to go “En Pointe” – you know, the “toe shoes” that female dancers wear. Gabriel is ready to begin serious male ballet dancer training, with the amazing leaps and jumps that require great strength and intense training. In order to keep our training and development on track in the hopes of one day becoming professional dancers, we must participate in the 2015 Six-Week Summer Intensive training at Houston Ballet Academy, beginning June 22nd. Dancers from all over the nation audition to attend this prestigious training program, and we have been blessed with the opportunity to attend!! Unfortunately, we are now facing one of the obstacles that we were taught to work hard to overcome, so that we can “just keep dancing”. The obstacle is a financial one. Very recent circumstances in our family have derailed our plans for the Summer Intensive making it financially impossible for us to attend this critical program. The tuition for the Summer Intensive is $1,560 for Serena and $2,300 for Gabriel.
Since this summer is so crucial to keeping us on course in our training, we have set up this site to reach out to family and friends for assistance. We welcome and appreciate help in any form, whether by direct donation or by simply forwarding our story to your friends and colleagues who might be in a position to help us. We know that there are many young people out there with many dreams and passions, so if you have children whose dreams and passions you are supporting, we certainly understand that you may not be able to support our effort financially. But, just spreading the word might make the difference for us, and would mean the world to us. Every penny raised through this site will go directly to The Houston Ballet Academy for our tuition, and we will update all donors when that happens. While our ultimate goal is to raise the full tuition amount for the BOTH of us to attend the Summer Intensive, our first goal is to raise the amount for Serena to attend since it is key to being able to advance “En Pointe” next year. We are in the difficult position of having ONLY TWO WEEKS to make this happen, but we are not giving up!!!
Our shared passion for dance continues to bring us closer together as brother and sister, and we hope to continue to train and grow into amazing dancers together! Thank you so much for helping us “just keep dancing”!
Gabriel & Serena Canepa
Organizer
Tonya Canepa
Organizer
Houston, TX