A local ballerina is hoping to attend a prestigious school in Russia.
Riley McGuire has been invited to dance at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy next school year — at a cost of $30,000.
A GoFundMe page has been set up in an attempt to help her reach her goal.
The 18-year-old says she has only been dancing for four years.
"Most girls start when they are nine or 10, so I started really late, but with my training and teachers, they've really helped me and helped me grow and help me to get to where I am today," says McGuire. "And now we're here, I've been accepted to one of the best ballet schools in the world."
McGuire trains six days a week.
"From 4:30pm until about 9:30pm some nights, so about 30-hours a week," she says. "I really owe a lot to my mom and my family first of all, for supporting me and always bringing me over the border because I train in America, but also a lot to my teacher, all of them together have got me to where I need to be today."
McGuire is hoping to raise the money as soon as possible.
"I need to contact the academy and they need to set up a visa for me and I need to have tuition paid before I go. Their school starts September 1st over there so I would have to be there in about late-August."
On top of tuition, there are the additional costs of plane tickets and the regular ballet expenses like point shoes.