Fund a Need! Support Chuma to attend Alonzo King LINES’ pre-professional training program year round
by Kristine Elliott
I am thrilled to announce that our summer program sponsoring a South African student to attend Alonzo King LINES four-week intensive dance training has produced amazing results. Chuma Mathiso has been invited to attend LINES’ year-round pre-professional training program starting in September 2024 on a full scholarship!
We need your help to realize this life-changing opportunity for Chuma. We’re raising $35,000 to support the living costs associated with a year of study in San Francisco.
The money we raise will go towards procuring visas, flights, housing, food, health insurance, medical and dental care, phone, dance equipment, and money for fun with friends.
Chuma is now 19 years old—a critical time for a dancer, at which he has a limited window to bridge the technical and artistic gap from student to professional. Thus it is imperative for him to seize this opportunity. Attending the Alonzo King LINES year-round pre-professional training program would change Chuma’s life dramatically.
Honing his skill under the watchful eyes of some of the best teachers of modern ballet technique, being exposed to different styles of teaching and dance forms, bumping up against talented peers to compete with in a healthy way, and observing the professional company at work will transform Chuma into a dancer ready for a professional career.
During his summer at the LINES intensive training program, Chuma improved at an astonishing rate. In only a month, his technique grew precise, his artistry bold, and his movement confident. He shone in the summer showcase with a solo choreographed by Carmen Rozestraten.
We know attending a year-round training program produces results. The last student we sponsored for year-round training at Houston Ballet’s pre-professional training program, Aphiwe November, just signed his first professional ballet contract with Cape Town City Ballet in South Africa. This provides him a path out of poverty and a career he is passionate about.
Chuma’s transformational year of study is only possible with your support. At this critical juncture in Chuma’s training, your donation can change the trajectory of his entire life.
Please make your donation online at http://www.gugulethuballetproject.org/donate/ or by mailing a check to Gugulethu Ballet Project at P.O. Box 620465 Woodside, CA 94062.
Thank you again for your support changing lives through dance.
Ubuntu and Warmest Regards,
Kristine Elliott
Director, Gugulethu Ballet Project
Building Pride through Dance