Posted on 03/06/2014 10:09:20 AM PST by OneVike
My fellow FReepers. My granddaughter, Grace, is one of three semifinalists competing for a modeling position with a company that makes dancing apparel. The company, California Kisses, is located in Irvine California and they are allowing anyone to vote. There will be three contestants a Month for February, March, and April, for a total of nine contestants. My beautiful and most talented granddaughter, Grace, is one of the first three competing against each other for the Month of February. That is where I need your assistance, to vote and vote often for her. I told my daughter we could help Grace win this.
Grace getting
ready for class
I beg you to vote for Grace by following this link or by clicking on any picture.
The links will take you to Grace's profile page where you can vote for her. You do not have to register, just click the vote button towards the bottom right of her picture. They made it simple by not having any tracking software other than checking for cookies to keep people from voting more than once.
Since I became a FReeper in February of 1998 I have joined together with you, my fellow FReepers, to change the outcome of various polls. Through the years we have proven that, when thousands of us vote together, we make a difference. Today, I humbly come before you, with my proverbial hat in hand, to beg and plead for you to help fulfill my granddaughters wish of winning the model search contest. If she does wins for February, then each girl who won their perspective Month will compete against each other.
My daughter Tanya &
granddaughter Grace
In June we will learn if your vote helped her win the semi final. If she does, I will then come back to plead and beg you to vote for her one more time so she can win the contest and become the next California Kisses model for 2014.
My granddaughter is only 11 years old, but she has been training for more than 7 years to become the best dancer she can be. Here is a video to see how good she is already (If I Die young). Her ultimate dream is to be a professional dancer, either in LA or NYC as a commercial or Broadway dancer. Even if she fails to become a dancer at the level she dreams of, she would then like to travel and teach other young girls to dance. Right now she trains with the best dance studio in Texas, the Rise Dance Company in Round Rock. She has even had lessons with one of the best choreographers in the business, Kevin "Tokyo" Inouye.
My two granddaughters,
Hope on left and Grace
on right. Hope is the
younger one
My granddaughters career is before her, but she has already done modeling in and around Austin Tx where she lives, but winning the California Kisses model Search competition will help advance her future plans along with helping her parents pay for her college tuition. After all, 7 years is not that far away, and the price of a good school is just going to be more and more expensive as the years go by.
So, without any further rambling on by this proud grandfather, I ask again to please vote for my granddaughter to win. There is no registering at the site and I made it very simple to get there. Just click on any picture below and it will take you to Grace's profile page where you can vote. Below is a screen shot that I edited to show where the vote button is, and after you finish a thank you will pop up to let you know you voted.
Done. Do you have a twitter account to tweet a request for votes? She is a pretty girl :)
I voted for Grace because I liked her best. Good luck, OneVike.
I was a little disturbed by that pose as well.
But I blame the photog and the promotion company.
The girl is, what, 6? 8? And the adults in her life are taking photos as if she’s a full grown woman using her sex appeal to promote herself?
Vike - last photo in to post, bottom right. As a father, I find that inappropriate for a little girl. I would interrupt the photo session at that point, or reject that photograph from being published.
I understand your feelings, and while I do have some reservations about it as I shared with GeronL, sadly it is the business of the dance world. Grace is 11, and they needed a new portfolio for her to enter the next stage of dancing from Juniors to the Teen level.
I am guessing the photographer they used was one recommended by the other parents and the dance school. That is why I posted a few pics to show her innocence as a child.
I do trust my daughter and her husband Mark to make the right choices for her. Although I admit this next stage of her dancing lessons and career will be the one to test her personally since as she enters her teen years she will start to emerge from her former child stage.
Her love is Ballet, not modeling, nor the Hip Hop style dance which is the craze. The model gigs will help pay for her college tuition which will be extremely expensive in 7 years when she is ready. Although I can see her doing quite a bit of modeling since the career she is choosing is not that lucrative unless you are at the top.
However, may I suggest Christie Brinkley as an example of how a lady can become big in the industry and still keep her morals about her.
Plus, the more advanced she gets, the instructors and dance schools become more expensive. My daughter and her husband are not wealthy, they are mere mortals like us, and thus they need to find ways for Grace to realize her dream to become a professional Ballet dancer.
I ask you MRb, along with my other fellow Freepers to keep me and my family which includes her in your prayers. The future we are entering is going to be difficult even for those children who do not have a dream, but are willing to fall into what ever comes their way when the time for tough decisions need to be made.
Grace is dedicated, she studies hard to be approved by those keeping an eye on her. She has been dedicated since she was a tike. Those around her tell her parents that she is different from the rest, she has something only the best have.
My daughter shared some good advice for me to consider when thinking of the industry she desires to enter, we always get bombarded by the bad apples in any sector of society you can choose to scrutinize, however, when do we hear about the tens of thousands of dancers, singers, etc. etc. etc. who never have problems and stay away from the seedy side of the business? We only hear about the few that go the Miley Cyrus road.
Oh I do have a few problems with some of her answers to the questions, but again, she is 11, and I would hope that as she enters her teens she will see that those she thinks are rebels like Lady Gaga and all really are not the role models for a young girl. Time will tell, and prayers are powerful weapons to help ward off the evils of the world for our young ones.
Anyway, thanks for your concern, and please help me keep them in prayers, after all, she has a younger sister whom I can see being almost, if not as good as she is, but she enjoys the Hip Hop part more I believe. I can see Hope surprising everyone by becoming quite the standout once she hits her teens.
God has blessed my daughter with two very beautifully talented girls, so far I think her choices for them has been remarkably good.
God bless you MRb
Chuck
The photos are from a “dance” photo shoot and were not part of a model shoot. They were taken to showcase her talent as a dancer, for a dance portfolio. The photo is to display her flexibility, specifically in her back in this pose. If you have ever been to the ballet you would see ballerinas in similar poses and understand that flexibility is required to excel as a dancer. Nothing more.
To even state that a child would have sex appeal is quite appalling in itself.
I understand I am a visitor to your page, and I respect your right to do and state what you feel. I am only offering to clarify the portrait, so you may understand.
Thank you
I understand you are not a father of a dancer and would not initially understand the pose.
It was part of a dance photo shoot, not a model or fashion shoot. All the poses and images were taken to showcase her technique and abilities as a dancer, nothing more.
Thank you for your concern, I understand your intent.
Thank you, and all others who have chosen to vote. :) Grace and I appreciate your support. We understand there will always be those who do not understand or support and we have no issues with those who choose to not vote.
There is no way to go into detail and defend every comment or negative post. Grace is a very talented and amazing child. When Grace started to to pull ahead of other dancers in class, at the age of 7, through tears she asked why God did not make all people nice. You will never understand how hard it is to explain to a 7 year old that some people will be mean to you, for no good or valid reason, other than jealousy or not understanding.
Being bullied by other children and parents is nothing new to Grace or myself. But, we choose joy.
We understand we all have our reasons for supporting or not supporting and we respect you all.
Thank you for letting me troll and post on your site. I will not post again, but I wanted my voice to be heard, and I want it understood we are not exploiting our children.
Vote Early! Vote Often! (I feel so Democratic) I did, and I will.
Thank you.
I love my girls.
I obviously erred in a few details, but being the trooper she is, my daughter has set things right.
You know what they say, never get between a mother and her young.
My daughter is and always be a woman of honor, something she has instilled into my granddaughters.
Vike, it doesn't get any better than this!
Another one for Grace from the class of ‘98.
What a sweet face! Here’s one more vote. Hope we see Grace again soon!
Vote cast for Grace. Hope she achieves her dreams!
Shameless! I voted.
Your granddaughter is very athletic.
She looks like a quintessential California Girl from the sixties.
Done! What a beautiful little girl! Best wishes to you all. :)
“I know this is a shameless plug..”
I don’t see it that way. I see it as you reaching out to friends and “family” for support of your granddaughter. I voted and thank you for letting me into your family fun!
I watched the video of your granddaughter dancing, she is very talented, I wish her the best!
Voted
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