In the Newspaper Again for the Attitude Awards

It's not long now until we fly up to Auckland for the Attitude Awards.

We fly up on Wednesday morning and the awards are on that night.  Salem is really looking forward to the whole experience.  His first "black tie" event.

Attitude Awards finalists: Recognising extraordinary talent

LIAM HYSLOP

November 26 2014

The Attitude Awards acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who live with disabilities.

There are seven categories featuring people whose extraordinary talents have often failed to be recognised by the rest of New Zealand.

Sportsmen and women such as Mary Fisher and Sophie Pascoe are nominated, as well as a host of others who do remarkable things while living with intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities or mental health issues.

This year's awards will be held at the Auckland Viaduct Events Centre next Wednesday.

The Attitude Awards, which were first held in 2008, are the only national awards that celebrate achievement in the disability sector across all disabilities. 

To view all of the finalists and vote for them in the People's Choice award, go here.

Salem Foxx - Artistic Achievement Award finalist

As a toddler Salem couldn't communicate with anyone other than by screaming and hitting. But after joining his older brother's dance classes, Salem found his passion and a way to work through the frustrations of living with Asperger's syndrome.

The Kapiti Coast-based 14-year-old has his sights set on an international dance career and combines his love of ballet with contemporary dance, jazz, lyrical, tap and even acrobatic dance.

And he's very good.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet has chosen him four times for their productions and this year the New Zealand School of Dance selected him from a list of hundreds to be one of only three junior associates in contemporary dance.

He also receives private tuition and feedback from New Zealand Ballet royalty Sir Jon and Lady Jacqui Trimmer.

He also writes a blog called Balletboynz, which is read around the world and has been included as resource material by the London Boys Ballet School.He Salem said the blog enabled people to get an insight into how he thought.thinks,.

"It helps people understand how I think and how other people with Asperger's think and how they can understand me a bit more," Salem said..

He got a huge thrill out of performing on stage.

"I really love performing on stage with lots of people watching," he said.

"It's just amazing, it really is."

THE 2014 ATTITUDE AWARD FINALISTS:

Attitude Courage In Sport Award

Tupou Neiufi

Neelam O'Neill

Matthew Weir

Attitude Sport Performer Award

Mary Fisher

Sophie Pascoe

Corey Peters

Attitude Spirit of Attitude Award

Craig Jessop

Pam MacNeill

Julie Woods

Attitude Making a Difference Award

Lyn Cotton

Petronella Spicer

Brendan Tourelle

Attitude Youth Award

Mary Fisher

Jessica Quinn

Jazz Thornton

Attitude ACC Employer Award

Fairfax Media NZ Ltd

Pacific Helmets (NZ) Ltd

Selwyn Cook, SSC Service Stations (licensed retailer for Z Energy, Waikato)

Artistic Achievement Award

Paul Barrett

Salem Foxx

Yaniv Janson

Attitude Junior Award

Nicholas Brockelbank

Muskan Devta

Oceana Olsen

 - Stuff

Passion for dance pays off - News Paper Article

Top attitude: Kapiti dancer Salem Foxx is a finalist
in the artistic category of the Attitude Awards.

A teenage Kapiti dancer thriving despite the challenges of Asperger's Syndrome is among a small field of national finalists in the Attitude Awards.

The awards celebrate New Zealanders with a disability who are achieving excellence in their fields, and Salem Foxx, 14, has been named in the Artistic Achievement category.

"It's really exciting, and the recognition is good," he said.

Salem lives and breathes dance, especially ballet, and practices for two hours, six days a week, including weekly private classes with celebrated Royal New Zealand Ballet veterans Jon and Jacqui Trimmer.

"It is my life. I want people to know that boys dance too," he said.

Salem's mother Michelle Foxx said having Asperger's Syndrome meant Salem faced challenges communicating, and sometimes his enthusiasm had been misread for "naughtiness", so he was now home schooled.

As a toddler, he would communicate by hitting and screaming, but from an early age he made it clear he wanted to dance, she said.

"When I was really little my older brother did dance classes and I just wanted to get up and go into class and so as soon as I was old enough I did," Salem said.

"It was a mission to keep him off the dance floor," Michelle Foxx said.

"Often we would have to leave the studio, and it's been all go ever since."

"He loves it; it's his passion, it's what he loves doing, and why not have that as his profession, and if he can he'll be a good role model to others, to show that it's not a girly thing."

Earlier this year Salem was accepted into the New Zealand School of Dance junior associate programme in contemporary dance.

He was one of only three young dancers chosen for the development programme from throughout New Zealand.

He has also collected a haul of top prizes from dance competitions, and top exam results, and performed in four Royal New Zealand Ballet productions.

Salem had also become a role model for many others through social media, which connected him to other ballet enthusiasts worldwide, Michelle Foxx said.

His blog balletboynz had about 18,000 readers, he has about 3.5 million connections on Google Plus, and 47 YouTube dance videos loaded, she said.

"Lots of young boys see it, and they are inspired to keep on dancing, even if it's other types of dance, and kids actually try to copy his dances."

Salem's blog has also been included as resource material for dancers at the London Boys Ballet School.

This year Salem had also been named as a provisional finalist in the senior Creative Achievement and Innovation Award in the Pride Awards, and for the last three years had received a Variety Gold Heart Scholarship, which allowed him to fund his lessons and competitions.

He has also entered the AMP Do Your Own Thing People's Choice Scholarship, which is decided by public votes.

To vote for him, visit Support Salem Foxx on Facebook, by October 13.

Videos of all the Attitude Award finalists will be screened on TVOne at 8.30am on October 26, and the final category winners will be announced at a black-tie ceremony in Auckland, on December 3.

KAROLINE TUCKEY

- Kapiti Observer

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.

Award spotlight shines on passionate Kapiti Coast dancer

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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