Dreams do come true for 17-year-old Joe Dufty from Gillieston Heights, who has been accepted into the highest level of San Francisco Ballet School - the only thing is, it's going to cost.
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Due to start in September, Joe will get to live out his dreams of studying ballet overseas, mastering his craft in classical ballet and exploring neoclassical styles.
Joe's skill and determination shone through at auditions and he has been awarded a partial scholarship into the school, which is one of the top five ballet institutions in the world.
After the partial scholarship, Joe and his family will be left with at least $40,000 of costs to cover themselves each year - and this doesn't include flights, uniforms and insurance.
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Joe and his family have set up a GoFundMe called 'Please help me get to San Francisco Ballet School' which has raised over $6,000.
The student visa he will be travelling on doesn't let him work, and Joe said without the community's help it won't be possible to get there.
"At the moment we're just doing as much as we can, and we really appreciate everyone who has helped me and my family out," he said.
Joe said he has been told by ballet teachers that if he wants a career in ballet, he needs to go overseas.
San Francisco Ballet caught his eye, as it offers everything he wants to do.
"That became my dream," he said.
A dancer since he was four, Joe said he loves ballet because he learns so much.
"You learn new things everyday that you didn't think you were going to learn, and get to push yourself creatively," he said.
"No matter what you do you're always going to learn something new."
Joe is passionate about being a role model for boys who don't 'fit the mould', and wants to reduce the stigma around ballet for boys.
"I was at Thornton in primary school, and I was doing ballet there and not many kids were very supportive of that," he said.
"I've dealt with bullying my whole life... I could go to a hairdresser and tell them that I do ballet and get weird looks."
Flight Dance Supplies East Maitland are running a fundraising raffle for Joe, urging the community to get behind him.
"Let us all get Joe to San Fransisco and onto the world stage. He is our star from Maitland," they said in a Facebook post.
Visit Joe's GoFundMe page here.
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