Lucinda van Raad has been practising ballet since she was four years old, much of her training being undertaken in Mudgee before she attended boarding school in Sydney.

Wanting to pursue ballet further, Ms van Raad applied to four schools in America and was accepted at all of them.

After visiting them all in May with her mother, the talented dancer settled on The Washington Ballet in Washington DC.

“The standard is very high, probably the highest out of the four. Washington is a great city,” Ms van Raad said of her new school.

She will start there in September and hopes it will put her closer to her dream of being a professional ballerina.

“The school is attached to a company, so I will be training for two years and then hopefully I will be in the company, which is paid work,” Ms van Raad said.

She has established a GoFundMe page to help her family raise money for the cost of tuition, airfares, accommodation and living expenses.

Anyone who would like to help Ms van Raad achieve her dream of being a ballet dancer can donate via www,gofundme.com/2dbw3jw.