KINGSLAND, Ga. — This young performer from Camden County found himself amidst the spectacle of New York City’s iconic parade, grinning, leaping, and savoring a dream he once quietly nurtured in his small Georgia hometown.

Ezekiel Brooks, a senior at Camden County High School, didn’t grow up in the shadow of a dance studio legacy.

Remarkably, he is self-taught.

“I’ve been dancing for about 12 years,” Brooks shared. “My mom took me out of formal lessons when I was very young, but that didn’t stop me. I’ve continued to dance ever since.”

Balancing schoolwork and a job at Chick-fil-A, Brooks seized every free moment to immerse himself in dance through TV shows, YouTube tutorials, and relentless practice sessions.

“I’d watch shows like Dance Moms and try to recreate the dances,” Brooks said. “Go on YouTube like, ‘How do I do this?’ And I’d learn it.”

He never thought dancing would lead him to Manhattan.

“It’s something I always wanted since freshman year, and after being in the school marching band, my parents were finally like, ‘Okay, you can audition for the team,’” Brooks said.

After putting together an audition tape one night in January, tired and doubting himself, he surprised himself even more when he got the acceptance email.

“It was 9 at night. I didn’t like my video, so I just got up and improvised. I submitted it thinking, ‘That was so bad’ — and then I got the email saying I made it,” he said.

Of 300 hopeful dancers, only 27 were selected. It marked the beginning of a whirlwind Thanksgiving week unlike any other he — or his family — had ever known.

“We looked out the window and there was New York City. It didn’t feel real,” he said.

Brooks says the trip wasn’t just about him, adding he felt the weight of that support: the hopes of family, his school his community.

“Chick-fil-A paid for my flight. The Board of Education sponsored my trip. It really did take a village,” Brooks said. 

And the moment he danced down the parade route with cold toes, early call times and all, he felt something shift.

Brooks knows what this moment means for kids back in Camden County, Georgia, all over the First Coast and across America — especially those who’ve never seen someone who looks like them on a giant parade float or a national broadcast.

For him, this performance is more than a milestone — it’s a message: passion and persistence can lead to possibility. And he’s not done dreaming.

Brooks says this is only the beginning as he hopes to purse a career as a lawyer, journalist and/or dancer.

He also has a message for other young dancers trying to break in:

“Just keep going. You’re not in that room on accident — you’re there for a reason,” he said.

Brooks will be performing in the Camden County High School “Nutcracker” performance in early December. More information on show timings and tickets can be found on the school’s website.