Hi! My name is Sabrina, and I am pursuing a career as a professional ballet dancer. Ballet has been a constant love of mine as far back as I can remember. I truly believe ballet is an art through which so much goodness, beauty, and truth about the human experience can be portrayed, and I have dedicated my life to pursuing a detailed refinement of its craft. I have recently been invited to complete a term of study in the English National Ballet School's Graduate Artist Program, and am in need of financial aid to get there.

I'd like to share a bit about my journey so far. Although it is usually recommended serious students seek a professional training program around the age of 16, I was unable to attend a professional conservatory school for ballet until after I graduated from high school. At 18, I was very fortunate to find myself at Ballet West Academy in their Professional Training Division. In my first year there, I suffered an injury to my lower spine in the spring semester. It was the first time I had ever had to stop dancing due to an injury. I was out for 3 months, but I was determined to come back stronger. Through great support from the school, my peers, and my family back home, I managed to do just that and continued the start of my graduate year in the program right on track. However, come December, I began experiencing symptoms of what I would later find out was an extreme case of anemia. When this was finally discovered in February, I was very ill and had to undergo several rounds of IV iron transfusions. Unfortunately, the recovery process for this was less clear and required more support than that of my spine injury. With the support of the school, I went home until the very end of the spring term, at which my directors let me finish out the year as a choreographer in the program's Emerging Choreographer's showcase. I was devastated, but still undefeated. If I had done it before, I could do it again. It was more difficult this time, as it felt like my body was fighting back, but I finally found a doctor that could help me treat the root of the issue and was making progress. The next fall, I started as a trainee with Chevalier Ballet under the direction of Sara Knight in Manhattan, NYC! It was a very exciting move and has been a wonderful home to me these past two years. I am incredibly grateful to Mrs. Knight, who has helped me step into my potential in a greater way than I thought possible, especially when I first arrived and was still on the road to recovery. Training under her was wonderful, and I completed my time in her program in the spring of this year. I am very fortunate that, during my time training with Chevalier, I was also able to do my first freelance work with other small dance companies around NYC. My next steps since the spring have been primarily freelance related, which has proven to be somewhat turbulent.

It is my goal to one day settle into an established ballet company where dancing can be my primary source of income, and I was recently presented with an opportunity that would make such a competitive position significantly more attainable-- my invitation to the aforementioned English National Ballet School Graduate Artist Program (ENBS GAP). The English National Ballet School is credited as being one of the top schools of its kind worldwide and is located in London. The course load will be Monday through Saturday, roughly 25-30 hours a week. Due to the nature of my stay, I will not legally be able to work to support myself. I have a very small amount of money saved, but would be unable to afford the venture on my own. The amount I have summed in this GoFundMe will cover tuition, mandatory health insurance, student-rated travel, housing at a hostel run by the Religious of Mary Immaculate, food, and pointe shoes.

My road to a career in ballet has been neither traditional nor linear, but it has always been perseverant. I truly believe ballet can be a means to connect deeply and empathetically with people of all backgrounds, and I am determined to be, as a dancer, the greatest conduit of that that I can be. I love ballet and I strive for excellence in it. And I firmly believe that study in ENBS GAP is the best next step in that pursuit. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read through my story, and I am incredibly humbled by anything you may be willing to contribute to help me achieve my dreams.

To keep this fun, I thought it might be nice to have some fundraising incentives!

Milestone incentives (updated with achievement):

**FIRST GOAL: Reach $5000 by Oct 31

**REWARD: mega embarrassing Best (Worst) stage and studio blooper reel posted on all platforms!!

Individual incentives:

Every donor will have their name written on the inside of my flat shoes.

If a patron donates more than $130 (the cost of a pair of pointe shoes), their name will be written on the soles (aka the shank) of my pointe shoes.

Every person who shares this link will have their name written on the inside of my dancer bag in sharpie.

Not only will you be sending me on this journey, but I will physically be taking you with me. :)

Most sincerely,

thank you,

Sabrina

Watch Me Dance!

Please feel free to watch this clip of me dancing in some recent footage from in the studio!