Eleven-year-old Raveena Dhillon Starblanket achieved some impressive milestones in dance this past year. Success she credits to the support she received from her family, her community and Creative Kids.

Creative Kids support enabled Raveena to take additional classes to furtherher development as a dancer. Thisyear, she will compete as a soloist in contemporary and lyrical categories at dance competitions for the first time. And, this past year, her dance teams also placed highly at three competitions.

“The Creative Kids funding has made so many incredible things happen,” says Raveena. “It brings a sense of validation and motivation, knowing that an organization believes in my potential and is willing to invest in my creative journey.”

In addition, in honour of her Plains Cree heritage, she also became a youth advocate for climate change and presented a resolution to the First Nations Chiefs during a Treaty Four gathering. Raveena confidently says, she is a proud member of the Star Blanket Cree Nation and proud of her Punjabi-Sikh heritage.

Her mother, Ariane Starblanket, says, all of these accomplishments are directly connected to the confidence, discipline and the many other skill-sets she has gained through her experience with dance. “Dance really helped build her resilience and her ability to face challenges head on,” she says. “It’s wonderful that she’s learning and developing these many important life-skills through something she loves.”

Raveena’s journey with dance began as a tiny tot jingle dress dancer. At the age of four, she started ballet and tap lessons at Valley Dance in Fort QuAppelle. A year later, she began lessons with SaskExpress in Regina where Raveena says she has spent, “countless hours being mentored by very skilled teachers in a professional, nurturing environment…gaining many skills.” Each year, as Raveena’s passion and talent for dance grew, so did her interest in different types of dance. She added more classes, such as musical theatre, jazz and hip hop. By eight-years old, she was competing and doing well in dance competitions.

As her daughter’s interest in dance grew, Ariane searched online in the hopes of finding some financial aid to help with increasing dance expenses. She discovered Creative Kids and applied.

Ariane says she’s thankful for the Creative Kids support and for the donors that make that support possible. “Investing in kids’ futures is incredibly important, and it’s heartening to see organizations such as Creative Kids making such a positive impact. Their support helps nurture talents, build confidence, and open up opportunities that might not have been accessible otherwise. Creative Kids has influenced my daughter’s journey immensely.”

Raveena is also thankful for opportunities that this support has given her that have contributed to her big dreams. “I want to become a doctor or a scientist. Also, to own my own dance studio to teach children and youth to dance, so they can express themselves positively.”

She adds that, “By supporting young talents, Creative Kids helps to nurture the next generation of artists, performers and thinkers.”