Gillian's Ballet Training

My name is Gillian Stothard and I am 16 years old. I absolutely love ballet and my dream is to be a professional dancer. 
I am a late starter to ballet (I started at 13)and I am trying as hard as possible to catch up to my age group. I am currently in the Pre-Professional Division at my studio. It is very hard for late starters to become professionals, so good quality and frequent year round training and  summer intensives are extremely important for my improvement.
So far, I have been to the CPYB (Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet) 5 week summer program. CPYB is one of the best ballet schools in the United States. Thanks to my family members and friends who donated, I was able to go and learned so much! I believe CPYB was the first serious step in achieveing my dreams. 
 Next year I hope to go to a pre-professional, nationally recognized ballet school such as the Kirov Academy of Ballet or CPYB for my year round training. I also hope to go to other prestigous summer intensives to help get seen by different ballet companies. 

The reality of ballet training is that it is very expensive. My family does not have enough money to ensure that I can go to these programs. To do the things I mentioned above will require help from as many people as possible! If you could donate or pass this on to your friends, I would be very grateful. I can't imagine having any other profession then a professional ballerina, and I hope that you can help me get there. Thank you so much.


Love,
~Gillian Stothard