Throughout my life, it was unbearably hard for me to ask for help and accept it, but at this point, I understand that I can't do it on my own.

I am Olena Ananieva, a Ukrainian who is pursuing her dancing dreams in the Netherlands. As long as I can remember, dancing has always been a part of me. Even though I was not part of professional groups, nor did I receive pre-education, I took dance by hand throughout my entire life.

As the war in Ukraine broke in, I was forced to leave my home and try to figure out my new life in Amsterdam. When I first moved here, I stopped dancing for half a year - I didn't know where to dance, and I didn't know how to allow myself to dance; however, after a few months, I started to feel the urge to dance and understood that I simply couldn't live without it (omg such a cliche).

As I explored the dance world of Amsterdam and the Netherlands, it became clearer that one Bachelor's degree in Psychology is not enough for me, and I want to pursue a dance education. Writing my B-thesis and simultaneously going through the auditions was a fun but challenging experience, which did not turn out as well as I had hoped: I submitted my B-thesis, but I did not get accepted to any of the dance academies I applied to.

One year later, I went through the audition process and finally got accepted to AHK, which, ironically, was one of my first places to take pictures of Amsterdam. As much as I am happy about this fact, anxious thoughts started rushing through my mind the moment I heard my number on a list of future students.

As you are already aware, I do not hold EU citizenship. Thus, the tuition fees for me are at least 4 times higher than for the EU residents. I have started saving money in advance myself, and now I have one-third of the total amount. Currently, I can only rely on myself. I cannot ask my parents for such an amount of money, as we have never been a wealthy family, and they have to sustain themselves in unstable circumstances of war.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to collect the rest before the start of the school year. Therefore, I am humbly asking you to help me make my dream come true. Thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart. Your compassion and help mean the world to me.