A special gala performance evening will be held to raise much-needed funds to help injured 21-year-old dancer Tom Elphick move out of hospital and into home care.
The event will be held on Sunday 9 August at 5:00pm at the Shore School, Smith Auditorium on Blue Street in North Sydney.
An elite athlete, Tom was in his final year as a contemporary dance student at the respected Codarts Rotterdam when he sustained a severe injury to his spine rendering him paralysed from the neck down.
The goal of the gala performance fundraiser is to financially help Tom move out of the Spinal Care Unit at Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital and into his family home in Sydney’s inner-west.
Tom was on a holiday in Portugal when an innocuous dive into the waves off a beach in Lisbon saw Tom hit his head on a hidden sand bank.
In the intervening months, Tom has begun to write his own remarkable recovery story with the support of professionals and friends.
As a classical ballet graduate of Tanya Pearson’s Classical Coaching Academy in St Leonards, Tom is a valued member of the Sydney City Youth Ballet, performing the role of the “Prince” in the 2011 production of Cinderella. Tom was a student of St Andrews Cathedral School and the Newtown School of Performing Arts.
The special gala will feature performances from talented dancers including So You Think You Can Dance’s Lauren Seymour and her sister Emily who has recently joined Houston Ballet, Stephanie Lee Goldhahn and Daniil Kolmin from the National Theatre in Belgrade, Kealy Fouracre from the Melbourne City Ballet and Shayarne and Aaron Matheson, Audrey Freeman, Harrison Lee, Analeise Malachowski as well as Sirens Dance Group.
There will also be a silent auction fundraiser held on the night.
Tickets are now on sale for an early bird rate of $40.00 each for one week only or until sold out, and thereafter $45.00. To purchase tickets visit http://www.tomsgala.com/
