COURTNEY McCLURE, for The Standard
KAWARTHA LAKES/NORTH DURHAM: A local teenager from Fenelon Falls is competing with her dance team for the World Cup, in an international dance competition, hosted in Monterrey, Mexico.
“I was mostly in shock, but I was really excited,” she said. “I told everyone.”
Jaliyah (Gia) Power, 14, dances with the Port Perry Dance Academy. In her spare time, Gia is also a model for Harley Gs in Port Perry. In the autumn, she is going into Grade 10 at Fenelon Falls Secondary School.
Gia has been dancing since she was three years old and competitively since she was seven. She doesn’t practice one specific type of dance; she does different kinds. Some of the styles she practices are tap, acro and jazz.
She’s won many awards. On Saturday, July 30th, she danced on a live stage for the first time in two years. During this performance, Gia won two Platinum awards for her performance.
She is dancing with the CREO Dance company, affiliated with Team Canada, and auditioned for a spot on the team in April. Gia found out she would be competing with Team Canada in Mexico.
“To watch her dance on the world stage, representing her country, makes me so incredibly proud of all of her hard work and dedication,” stated Gia’s mom, Tamara Power.
According to Ms. Power, Team Canada is organizing the team’s accommodations. So, Gia must pay for a plane ticket, mandatory team apparel and many other fees which go along with the competition.
That’s why Gia and her mom are asking for help from the community, via a GoFundMe link. The GoFundMe page, labelled ‘Help Jaliyah Represent Canada 2022’, has a goal of $3,000.
If you wish to support Gia by donating or sharing, you can check out the link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jaliyah-represent-canada-in-2022.
Harley Gs in Port Perry is also accepting donations, on Gia’s behalf.
Ms. Power and Gia are also accepting sponsorships for Gia, if any companies are interested. They are offering receipts and sponsorship letters for anyone who needs them. You can contact Ms. Power by email, at giasteamcanada@gmail.com.
According to Ms. Power, Gia must also go to Brampton and the west end of the GTA every weekend for training. Since the family lives in Fenelon Falls, this is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive.
Sometimes, they must be in Brampton five days in a row, so Gia and Ms. Power need to pay for a hotel for a few nights, so they don’t have to drive back and forth multiple times in one week. These training sessions are to prepare Gia for the competition in Mexico next year. Being committed, these costs can add up.
On the bottom of the GoFundMe page, it says, if the event in Mexico gets postponed because of COVID-19, the funds will be banked until the rescheduled date. So anyone donating can rest assured their contribution will not be wasted.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]