Celebrity dancer gets creative to help families in her Ontario hometown
From the Grammys to the Brit Awards to dancing next to some of the world's biggest stars, Allie Laliberte is proving no dream is too big to achieve.
"You have to really have thick skin and just believe in yourself more than anything," says the Midland, Ont. native.
Taking her footwork to international stages and now calling Los Angeles her home, the 26-year-old has come a long way from her roots in Simcoe County.
"I didn't really know what was out there. I remember my first dream was I wanted to move to the big city of Barrie, and that was, like, the biggest city I could think of. We didn't travel much," Laliberte says.
And while her own story evolved beyond her hometown, she wants to give back to the dance community where it all started.
"As I got older and got back to Midland, I realized there were children like me who could have used a little bit more assistance with their dance fees or just a little bit more opportunity in that way," Laliberte says.
So she created Brass Ring Dance, a non-profit organization to help offer financial support for dance-related programming in smaller communities.
"It's thousands of dollars a year for one single dancer," she says. "Dance is so expensive, so we just wanted to get people dancing as much as possible."
In just a few months, the organization helped to fund dozens of dance-related programs in Midland. And through a partnership with local dance studios, it's also helping to cover enrolment fees for students facing financial barriers.
Georgian Bay School of Dance owner Stephanie Gendron says she's hopeful the program will allow more aspiring dancers to explore their talents.
"It's just been so special seeing the excitement and seeing the relief from parents, too, in knowing that there are programs like this that are going to help," Gendron says.
Laliberte says this is just the beginning for Brass Ring Dance. She has plans to expand her organization into other small towns and inspire the next generation to chase their dreams, no matter how big.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.