Help Ayden live his Dream! You Did It!

Update August 8th, 2011: Ayden had an amazing time at Canada's National Ballet School's month long audition. He's made some wonderful friends and it was an experience he will never forget. Thank you again to everyone who helped make this possible. There's no way we could have done it without you! Unfortunately though he was not offered a spot in there full-time program for the fall but he's not giving up! He'll be working hard for another year with Performing Dance Arts & his private lessons with Miss Sonia so hopefully next year will be his year!


Hello everyone,

Thank you for visiting our site. Our son Ayden has a dream. He wants to be a professional, classical ballet dancer when he grows up. We are trying to help him make this dream a reality but we need your help! Ayden auditioned for Canada's National Ballet School back in January and was offered a spot in the next stage of the audition process - a mandatory, month long audition. You see, he has to attend this audition camp if he hopes to be offered admission to the school for September. The school calls is 'summer camp' I think in an attempt for it to be less intimidating then having the kids know they will be going through a month long of testing and auditioning. You can learn more about this school here.

Ayden first fell in love with dance when he came to watch his younger sister in one of her classes. He was eager to try a few classes and loved every one of them. However, he was reluctant to take ballet. The staff at the studio and I let him know that if he decided to enter the competition program then he would be required to take ballet. He decided to give it a try. That was it! On the way home after that very first class he expressed how much he loved ballet. How much he loved it over all the other classes.

He has worked very hard and is a natural performer. He absolutely radiates on stage. After a year at a local studio we realized that this wasn't a passing fancy for Ayden. We started looking at options that would give him the opportunity to work with the best Canada has to offer. We switched him to Performing Dance Arts in Vaughan.

About the same time we discovered Canada's National Ballet School. As soon as he realized he could make ballet his life, he was determined to see his dream become a reality. I have never met anyone so young who was so clear in his focus and goal (to be a professional, classical ballet dancer). However, the school is expensive and not something we had anticipated needing to cover so soon. The NBS website assured all who tried out that financial assistance was available - that no one was turned away based on ability to pay.

However, once we completed the audition we were told that the second stage is the month long intensive/audition/"camp" and that no assistance is available for it. We had not counted on this expense and although we worked very hard to try and use our own resources, we just have not been able to come up with the balance still owing. NBS tried to help us cover this expense but their budget is just too over stretched! (Update** NBS has pledged $1000 towards Ayden's audition! That leaves us with $2217 to raise.)If you would like to donate directly to the school click here. I'm not sure if you can earmark the funds for Ayden though. If you can please include a note of 'Ayden Brockington'.

To see a video of Ayden dancing, please click here.

This is why we are appealing to all of you today! Ayden will be 11 in the fall. That sounds very young for most of us but in the professional dance world he needs to start with his training at this age so he can be molded and shaped into a world class dancer. Please help us make Ayden's dream come true! The amount is relatively small - only $3,217. (Update** NBS has pledged $1000 towards Ayden's audition! That leaves us with $2217 to raise.)Any little bit will help and you can safely donate through the PayPal button on the upper left of the screen. You can use credit cards or a bank account and do NOT need to be a PayPal member! This is an urgent appeal as we need to confirm with the school by Friday, we were only told on Thursday (June 2nd) that funding wasn't available ...remember, every little bit helps.

If you would like to visit Ayden's page on Facebook you can click the link on the upper left of your screen or click here. Be sure to click 'like' and 'share' on your own page. This is a simple step but a huge one for getting the word out.

Thanks to everyone who has already donated! We actually have a little bit over so can buy Ayden the necessary dance wear for the audition (shoes, tights, leotard etc.)! If any more donations are made, we will set it aside to help with his tuition (if he is offered a spot) and if he isn't able to get in then we will set it aside for next year's audition.

*Someone made a donation to NBS via an online charity group. Unfortunately the school cannot earmark this money for Ayden as our efforts are considered paying a balance instead of donating to a recognized charity. The funds will still go to help Ayden, and others, through bursaries etc. available through NBS. I'm sorry that we were not able to add your name to the following list. Please feel free to contact me with all the information and I will...

Nicole August........$25
Bonnie Annis.........$10
Julie-Ann Lee........$10
Anonymous............$10
Jonathan Fike........$50
Ryan Dejczakiwskyj...$25
Anonymous............$500
Hilary Corbeil.......$200
Anonymous............$500
George Chung.........$100
Andrea Skinner.......$50
Larissa Fike.........$60
Sylmadel Coke........$100
Anonymous............$100
Shelley Raker........$30
Jennifer Patterson...$25
Cayra Deluna.........$20
The Holistic Parent Store $20
Karen Derrah.........$20
Kathryn McDonald.....$100
Charlotte Hamilton...$20
Deanna Adamson.......$10
Janine Zeck..........$40
Tomoyo, Steven, Scott & Neil...$50
Grandma & Grandpa Brockington..$50
Wendy Cameron........$40
Kari Norman..........$20
A Chisholm...........$7
Nathalie Cliche......$50
Carolyn Hastie.......$50
Cybervision MMX Inc..$25
Karen Ava............$30