One young ballerina's love for dance has taken her from success to success, most recently being accepted into one of Sydney's most prestigious ballet schools.
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Lara Smith began practicing ballet at the age of 5 and grew from a simple fascination with tutus to a love of the art and movements.
"I like how I can express myself through movements, I just have a love for ballet," the 15-year-old said.
Miss Smith was chosen as one of 19 other hopeful ballerinas from all across Australia and internationally to attend the Tanya Pearson Academy.
Established by Tanya Pearson more than 45 years ago, the school has produced many graduates of international acclaim including Lucinda Dunn who is now the academy's artistic director.
"This has been my dream school to go to for a long time," Miss Smith said.
"I've been there for a summer school before and really enjoyed it but this was my first time auditioning and I got through so I'm so happy."
Starting on January 28, Miss Smith's day-to-day routine is about to receive a shake-up.
With 35 hours a week of dedicated ballet classes, the young ballerina will also have to manage her normal schooling by distance, taking after-hours tutoring three days a week.
For mum Benita, the news came as a shock.
"We weren't expecting Lara to get in out of so many people, so I was very shocked but very proud," she said.
Miss Smith has high hopes for the future, and studying at Tanya Pearson Academy is the first step.
"I want to become a professional ballerina and hopefully join a company one day," she said.