For former Taree resident Cersha Burn, this dancing dream has come true and soon she will depart Australia to attend the renowned Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Professional Division in New York City.

Cersha fell in love with New York after touring the city and Los Angeles last year.

In July of this year she sent in an audition tape to the elite contemporary company and by early August she had received her acceptance letter.

For 12 months Cersha will live and dance in New York, where she will focus on improving her technique and performance skills.

She is hoping the experience will challenge her and open a new perspective of dance on an international stage.

"This will be an opportunity to completely round myself as a student and as an artist," Cersha said.

Cersha is describes herself as an all-round dancer and has been trained in ballet, hip hop and ballroom, although her primary style of dance is contemporary.

"I love the earthiness and grounded style that is contemporary dance," explains Cersha.

"The fact that it can be soft and you can also attack the movement is why I love it.

"The ability for one genre to have so many different levels of emotional meaning with a story and also be just pure dance technique and art keeps me alive."

Cersha showcases her contemporary technique in Youtube video 'Goodbye Australia' a heartfelt goodbye she choreographed at Brighton Le Sands in Sydney, where she has been living.

Cersha was born and raised in Taree, where she attended Lansdowne Public School and Taree High School.

She began ballet at Andrea Rowsell's Academy of Dance at age four-and-a-half. Since then she has never stopped dancing.

During high school Cersha studied dance for her Higher School Certificate and went on to study and complete her bachelor of dance at Wesley Institute in Sydney.

She completed her bachelor in 2011 and went on to perform independently with Sydney Fringe Festival, indiDa Dance Company, Blank Slate Collective, Trigger Residency with Shaun Parker and Company, Jupiter's Moons Dance Company and DirtyFeet Residency Sydney. She has also had the opportunity to experience company life with Australian dance companies Sydney Dance Company, DanceNorth and TasDance.

"In retrospect, I didn't realise how significant dance was for me until I was 17 and finishing high school," said Cersha.

"Contemplating what the world had in store and what my choices could be, I knew that, more than anything, I needed to pursue a career in dance and performance.

"I was determined to continue dancing, training and learning as much as I could to pursue my love for dance, and make it into my career.

"It is my ambition to continue to broaden my development."

Some of Cersha's closest friends have set up a fundraising page to help her on her way this September at www.gofundme.com/kfezpyys