Ballet Dancer in Training

Ballet Dancer in Training

Sunday, September 21, 2014

I Need Your Vote - AMP People's Choice Scholarship




Hi everyone, I am needing your help and your votes.

This year, I have applied for the AMP “Do Your  Thing” People’s Choice Scholarship in which people vote for you and whoever gets the most votes will win the scholarship of $10,000. Voting is on Facebook and is open from Monday 22nd September until closing on October 13th. 

Unfortunately only people with a New Zealand IP address can vote. I would love it if you voted for me and share this with others. Voting starts tomorrow and I will have details listed on my page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-Salem-Foxx/270946429720441


I am hoping to win this scholarship so I can continue learning more about dance, performing and choreographing more. So far I have choreographed seventeen dances. 


I also want to put together a boy’s ballet class so that young boys can have the chance to try ballet with other boys and not feel like it is a girly thing to do. This year I have been teacher’s assistant for a grade one ballet class and also held a very successful boy’s only ballet class with the Waikanae Dance School. 


I loved teaching both. But I really want to concentrate on getting a boys class going first, as boys learn so differently than girls and male technique is quite different. I have had to unlearn quite a bit myself and am very lucky to be taught male technique by the Trimmers. Sir Jon has said that a good way of cementing what you have learnt, is by teaching it to others. 


If you want to find out more information about me, please check out my YouTube channel Ballet Boy NZ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWosTjBuKQhhucPJMxSK7Xg where you can see lots of my dances. 


Thank you for your support


Salem Foxx


Friday, September 19, 2014

Contemporary Exams Next Week




Yes, it's that time of year again, the NZAMD exams.
This year Salem is doing his Level 3 Contemporary exam along with his Senior Bronze Contemporary medal.
For his medal he is doing the exam dance and a shortened version of his own contemporary dance "In the Shadows".




His contemporary classes at Hayley Johnson's have been going well, he had his last exam practice on Tuesday so now it is just practice, practice, practice!!!!!




Next year he will be getting back into NZAMD jazz, goodness knows what level he will be.
And would like to do medals for tap as well.

Level three has been a nice change music-wise as the two levels before were very monotonous.  But he is getting sick of it now especially as he picks up different sounds, like booking chickens and waterfalls, which end up distracting him.

Looking forward to Wednesday!!!!!!!!!

Monday, September 15, 2014

In the news - Attitude Awards Finalist




We had a look on-line and found two news articles about Salem being a finalist for the Attitude Awards in the Artistic Achievement category.

Here are the articles:


Finalist artists in Attitude Awards 2014
19 August 2014
An actor, a dancer and a visual artist are this year’s finalists in the artistic achievement category of the Attitude Awards. The winners will be announced on 3 December, World Disability Day, at the Auckland Viaduct Event Centre.

Sponsored by the IHC Foundation, the Artistic Achievement Award finalists are Paul Barrett of Auckland, Salem Foxx of the Kapiti Coast and Yaniv Janson of Hamilton.
Paul Barrett is an established actor, musical director, vocal coach and comedian. He has appeared in more than 140 theatrical productions in New Zealand, Australia and Britain, and has been the musical director of another 40 more productions. He also lives with Tourette syndrome.
Salem Foxx is a 14-year-old ballet dancer who has worked with the Royal New Zealand Ballet in its
productions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and The Nutcracker.
He began dancing as a toddler, soon after being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.  He combines his love of ballet with contemporary dance, jazz, lyrical, tap and acrobatic dance.
Yaniv Janson is another young artist. Aged 22, his work has received international attention. He has participated in more than 50 exhibitions, including in Israel, France and Canada.
When he was 17, Yaniv became the youngest-ever artist to be a finalist in the Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award and the Wallace Trust Art Award in the same year.

Social and environmental issues

His works focus heavily on social and environmental issues. Like Salem, he lives with Asperger’s syndrome.
The 2014 Attitude Awards mark the seventh year that the work and achievements of people living with disabilities have been recognised.

Press Release – Attitude Awards
Media release September 15, 2014
Award spotlight shines on passionate Kapiti Coast dancer
As a toddler with Asperger’s Syndrome, Salem Foxx would communicate by hitting and screaming.
Now 14-years-old, Salem takes the stage as a disciplined ballet dancer, expressing himself through his talent and passion for movement.
The Kapiti Coast dancer is a finalist in the Artistic Achievement category in the 2014 Attitude Awards. The national awards celebrate the excellence and achievements of disabled Kiwis.
Salem’s talent has seen him earn distinctions in dance exams, win top placings in dance competitions and be selected by the Royal New Zealand Ballet to perform in four of its productions. Not limited to just one style of dance, he combines his love for ballet with contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap and even acrobatic dance.
This year marked a pinnacle in Salem’s achievements. After auditioning alongside hundreds of other hopefuls, he was selected by the New Zealand School of Dance as a Junior Associate in contemporary dance. He was one of only three contemporary juniors chosen and the only male.
A role model to other young dancers, Salem’s blog balletboynz is read by passionate dancers worldwide and is being included as resource material at the prestigious London Boys Ballet School. Salem’s dream is to forge an international dance career for himself. He says: “Even though I have Asperger’s Syndrome, I won’t let that get in my way of my goal.”
Salem being an Attitude Awards finalist is testament to his determination. He will find out if he has won the award at a black-tie gala on World Disability Day, December 3 at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre.
There are eight categories in the 2014 Attitude Awards: Sport Performer of the Year, Courage in Sport, Artistic Achievement, Youth, Spirit of Attitude, the Attitude ACC Employer Award, Making a Difference award and the inaugural Attitude Junior Award. The overall winner of the Attitude ACC Supreme Award is selected from the category winners and a People’s Choice winner and a Hall of Fame inductee are also announced on the night.
Attitude Awards Trustee Dan Buckingham, a member of the elite national wheelchair rugby team the Wheel Blacks, says: “This is such an exciting time for everyone at Attitude Pictures because we find out who the finalists are. We have started travelling the country to film the finalists and even though this is the seventh year of the awards their stories continue to amaze us.”
Dan encourages everyone to visit AttitudeLive.com, an innovative web platform created by Attitude Pictures, in early November to see the short films of the finalists and to vote for the person most deserving of the coveted ‘People’s Choice Award.’
The Artistic Achievement award is sponsored by the IHC Foundation. Other sponsors supporting the awards include: Invacare, Barfoot and Thompson, Westpac, Drake Medox, Ministry of Health, Air New Zealand and Wayne Francis Charitable Trust.
Chief Executive of ACC Scott Pickering says ACC is proud to be principal sponsor of the awards for the seventh year, including sponsorship of the Attitude ACC Employer Award and the Attitude ACC Supreme Award.
“I’m really looking forward to this year’s Attitude Awards, which are a significant event on New Zealand’s calendar. Through celebrating excellence in the disability community and the important contributions made by New Zealanders with disabilities, the awards have the power to shift perceptions and to enhance lives.”
For tickets to the Attitude Awards gala evening on Dec 3 contact Sue Wales-Earl at sue@attitudeawards.org or phone 09 377 6280.
For all the latest on the Awards and the Attitude Programme:
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Friday, September 12, 2014

Lots of Exciting News


Salem with his Ballet Exam Certificates.


It's been a very exciting time for Salem lately, He's had his ballet exam results back. 
He passed with distinction with a mark of 96%. I am so pleased for him as he really worked hard. Because he got over 90%, he received a BTDA Platinum Award too.


Preparing for his exams

We have had lots of good feed back from the documentary about Salem on Attitude, you can watch it online at http://attitudelive.com/blog/dan-buckingham/documentary-salems-ballet .
We have people coming up to us to say hello and how much they enjoyed the doco.
There was a lot of lovely footage of him dancing.


At practice at the studio at City Fitness.

Salem is also a finalist in the Attitude Awards for Creative Achievement so they will be flying us both up to Auckland in December for the awards which is a black tie event. 
I will have to get Salem a new suit as he keeps growing out of all his other ones.
His old "Bond on Bond" suit is so small on him.




A film crew will be interviewing him some more in just over a week so he will be on TV again in October and December.  
You can check out the finalists at http://attitudeawards.org/2014_awards.html.




We have just found out yesterday that Salem is a provisional finalist for the Pride Awards for Creative Achievement and Innovation (Senior) Awards. He will be interviewed for that in the next week or so.  http://www.prideawards.org.nz/.


Tired out at the gym after having a fun practice in a grass skirt.


Plus Salem have two competitions coming up, the first in two weeks time up in Palmerston North where he will get to perform his new jazz solo for the first time. He's very excited about that, it's quite a funny dance. 
Then the next one in October, which is modern and tap up in Upper Hutt, Salem will be doing his first ever tap solo.  He has choreographed a tap dance and it is looking great.


Warming up at the Auckland BTDA Festival.


Straight before that he has his contemporary exams. 
For his medal exam he gets to do one of his own dances, "In the Shadows" which we have shortened.  He has to do two dances for the medals.


Waikanae Dance School Exam Awards Presentation


At his dance school in Tawa, Hayley Johnsons Academy of Dance, Salem been cast as Daddy Warbucks for the end of year production of "Annie". 
It's going to be very busy in Term 4!!!!!!