'I can bring people together through dance': The schoolgirl who dreams of becoming the world's first professional Muslim ballerina to dance in a hijab

Stephanie Kurlow stopped dancing when her family converted to Islam
She thought wearing a hijab would stop her from being a professional dancer
The Sydney schoolgirl is now raising funds to attend a ballet school
She wants to start a performing arts school for people of different cultures

By Lauren Ingram For Daily Mail Australia ^[1]

Published: 19:59 EST, 1 February 2016 | Updated: 20:34 EST, 1 February 2016

Fourteen-year-old Stephanie Kurlow had been dancing since she was a toddler, but stopped when her family converted to Islam in 2010.

The Sydney schoolgirl thought that she would never be able to dance professionally after becoming a Muslim, because no company would want a ballerina who wore a hijab.

Stephanie, who lives with her Australian father, Russian mother and two brothers in Campsie, in Sydney's south-west, struggled to find a school where she could both dance and practice her religion. She had all but given up on her goal to dance as a career.

Reach for the stars: Stephanie Kurlow hopes to become the first professional Muslim ballerina

But in the end, her dreams won out after being inspired by women of colour who were succeeding in their fields all over the world, like Noor Tagouri, the first American news anchor to wear a hijab, or Michaela De Prince and Misty Copeland, the first African-American ballerinas.

Now Stephanie has started a fundraising campaign on LaunchGood ^[2] so she ca n train full time at a professional ballet school.

She wants to raise money to prove that your religion doesn't have to be a barrier to being involved in performing arts.

'In this day and age there is a lack of facilitation for youth who are disengaged or of a different religion or race.

On pointe: Stephanie is hoping to raise $10,000 so she can train professional for a year

Sky is the limit: Stephanie hopes to one day open a performing arts school for people of diverse backgrounds

'I plan on bringing the world together by becoming the very first Muslim Ballerina so that I can inspire so many other people to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams,' she wrote on her fundraising page.

'I want to encourage everyone to join together no matter what faith, race or colour. To bring harmony and a world of acceptance for future generations. YOU can help me achieve this dream.'

Stephanie hopes to raise $10,000 initially to pay for a year's tuition to a top ballet school where she can train the 30-45 hours a week needed to become a professional dancer.

In the future, she wants to open up a performing arts school that caters to young people of all different races and cultures.

Determined: Despite some people not believing in her, Stephanie won't let anything get in the way of her dreams

'This means everything to me': Stephanie has been dancing since she was two years old

'I will provide for our future generations a chance to express and heal themselves and others through the magnificent art of performing and creativity,' Stephanie said. The young girl wants to have programs that cater for people of specific religions, as well as support groups for youth from disconnected communities.

She believes that performing arts can be a way to bring people together,and is determined to make her dream come true, despite some people saying she can't make it.

'I've gotten those looks or those little whispers from people saying that I can't do it, and there are some parts of the ballet world that only see me for the clo thes I wear, or the beliefs I have,' Stephanie told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'But this means everything to me. I think I can bring people together through dance and inspire some young people from different races that might be a bit disengaged,' she said.