KINGSLAND, Ga. — When the floats and the marching bands rolled down 34th Street in New York City, a young dancer from Camden County was right there — smiling, leaping and living a dream he barely dared whisper aloud in the small Georgia town he calls home.

Ezekiel Brooks, a senior at Camden County High School, wasn’t born into a dance studio legacy.

Fun fact: he taught himself.

“I’ve been dancing about 12 years," Brooks said. "My mom pulled me out of studio when I was really young, and ever since then, I’ve never stopped dancing.”

Working long hours after school and weekends at Chick-fil-A, Brooks used every spare moment to watch TV dance shows, study YouTube tutorials and practice.

“I’d watch shows like Dance Moms and try to recreate the dances," Brooks said. "Go on YouTube like, ‘Ho

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