Giovanny Garibay, center, and other actors performing in The Sorcerer's Apprentice are seen on stage during dress rehearsals at the Centralia College Corbet Theatre in this April 2018 file photo.
Giovanny Garibay, left, watches as Lola Montee, 25, left, is seen performing on stage during dress rehearsals for the Sorcerer's Apprentice at the Centralia College Corbet Theatre in this April 2018 file photo.
Giovanny Garibay, right, and Jaysten Barada left, are seen performing on stage during dress rehearsals for the Sorcerer's Apprentice at the Centralia College Corbet Theatre in this April 2018 file photo.
Giovanny Garibay dances as the Nutcracker Prince in the Ballet Theatre of Washington's production of "The Nutcracker" in this 2017 file photo
Ken Johnson has had several students from Lewis County dance for him at Ballet Northwest in Olympia, where he and his wife are artistic directors. Every time, he said ,he’s been impressed by their work ethic and polite attitudes.
This year, when Giovanny Garibay, 14, of Centralia, danced in Swan Lake, he was no exception.
“He’s an incredibly talented, dedicated and just a well-rounded kid,” Johnson said.
That’s why when Johnson heard Garibay needed to raise $5,000 by June 10 to participate in the Joffrey Ballet School’s summer intensive program, he jumped in and helped the family create a GoFundMe page. Johnson explained Joffrey, located in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the premiere locations for ballet in the nation and features world class teachers from all over the world
“It’s really somewhat of a necessary step for someone who has the ambition to do this for a career,” Johnson said. “It’s great for these kids to be able to go away and experience that high-quality training. They’re dancing all day so they make great strides in their ability during these experiences.”
Garibay has been dancing just two years but has already trained in the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s summer program and placed in the top 24 at the Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition. This young dancer has already decided he wants to make a career out of dancing, ultimately hoping to dance for the Royal Ballet in London. This year, he received a full scholarship to the Joffrey program. But before he can attend the experience, he needs to raise $5,000 to pay for his airfare, housing and living expenses during the training.
Chehalis piano teacher Karen Monroe said she feels Garibay is certainly deserving of assistance in making the Joffrey experience a possibility. Garibay has been taking piano lessons with Monroe for five years and last year received an “unranked honorable mention” designation in chapter playoffs. Monroe said she is impressed that while excelling in dance, he also finds time to participate in other activities. Monroe noted that Garibay also runs track and competed at the state competition this year. Though sometimes his myriad activities mean he doesn’t practice his piano as much as he should, Monroe said he is a pleasure to have as a student.
“He’s very kind and he loves to play and he catches on very quickly,” Monroe said.
Mick Gunter, who owns Centralia Ballet Academy with his wife, Nancy, said Garibay is not his only student who was accepted for such an honor. Dancer Daniel Hawkins will be having a similar experience with Oregon Ballet Theatre and Jaoxquin Ruiz is working to raise money for an invitation to New York.
“It allows them to experience the bigger dance world,” Gunter said of the value of such programs. “What I love, though, is when our kids go to these things we always hear about how nice our kids are and how they treat the younger dancers really well and they’re really friendly and willing to help out.”
Unfortunately, Gunter noted, the cost is a barrier for many families to allow their students to participate in these programs. In response, Centralia Ballet plans to offer a couple of intensive experiences locally this summer.
“We try to do as much as we can for our students locally,” Gunter said. “During the year we try to take them to Seattle and Portland for shows or master classes whenever possible."
