Tani’s 2018 Performing Arts New York Trip

Hello readers,

I am a 16-year-old art and performing arts student who is currently studying in my final years of secondary school, towards completing my GCSEs. In addition to my core subjects, I study Fine Arts and Dance as creative subjects are what I am most passionate about. I chose dance as a subject because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone.

All my life, I have always been shy, reserved and skirted around the idea of trying new things; terrified of failure. However, since making the choice to pick a subject I had limited knowledge about, but somehow felt drawn to enabled me to explore this new topic, and I soon grew to adore dance. My 3 teachers are continuously encouraging and are part of the reason I never wished to drop the subject! On the way, I have discovered my limits and learned my strengths. This led me to explore other styles of dance and even consider pursuing a career in it!

Due to my exams fast approaching, I find myself spending most of my time after school hours in the dance studios and thinking about what new subjects I am going to choose for A-Level. After much time deliberating, I have decided on:
- Fine Art
- A-Level Dance
- BTEC Performing Arts

My school is hosting a week-long trip to New York for those taking A-Level performing Arts subjects in January 2018 (During Half-term). I would love to attend but my (single) mother currently does not have the expenses to provide this experience.
This trip will be for educational purposes, allowing us students to engage in drama & dance workshops. This will help us to learn vital skills from professional Broadway performers that we will need to work in the creative workforce.

The expenses also cover the broadway show that all travellers will be attending. This gives us a chance to observe what a large scale production looks like.

In addition to the educational aspects of the trip, the school has also organised leisure activities to do throughout the trip. We will be:
- Visiting the 'Empire State' building
- Shopping (Donation not contributed to this)
- Spending an afternoon in Central Park

Total expenses also go towards:
- Dinner from Resturant (Daily)
- Hotel Room (Shared)
- Flight
- Alvin Ailey Dance workshop
- Drama Workshop

*I have already missed the first and second deposit for the trip, however, I have been informed that I still have time to pay before the last deposit in late 2017.
This subject means a lot to me, and I would be very grateful if you considered joining the fundraising!

**Right now, the trip organizer is contacting the company planning the trip to find out if they are able to add another person. If I am able to be added, my Head-of-Year has informed me that I need to write a letter to my Headteacher to tell him about my lack of funds and he will later inform me about the options the school can give me. Some of these options include:

- The school being able to use their free school meals funds to assist my mother in funds
- Start fundraising in school

As lots of schools in the UK are experiencing budget cuts as of recent, there's a chance that they may not be able to provide me with financial assistance. However, they may be able to help me with fundraising in school with things such as bake sales, non-school uniform days, ext...

For lack of a better option right now, I currently cannot decrease the campaign goal as of yet, like I would like to.

Thank you for reading,

Tanisha H