At just 20 years of age, I was given the most incredible opportunity; to complete a six month contract in India. This entailed working in Bollywood films, dancing in live shows and corporate events and gave me the opportunity to meet people from around the world.
I started dance training when I was three years old and over the years I have learnt jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, basic Bollywood and LA Style Salsa On-1. In year 11, I changed schools and went to The McDonald College, which is a Performing Arts High School. There I learnt that one can have a career in dance, and a viable one at that. The school’s philosophy was simple: in order to make art our future, we need to support it with education. Therefore, whilst enhancing our dance technique we also focused on our studies and channelled our energy towards completing our Higher School Certificate (HSC).

When I left High School, I was determined not to become one of those people who trained as a dancer but did nothing with it. So I started performing in children’s shows. In one of the shows, the sound man was so impressed with my positive and professional attitude, that he offered me an opportunity to be a singer in a three piece band that he was forming. Unfortunately, after eight months of tireless training, we decided that it wasn’t going to work out.

During that year, my dream of becoming a professional entertainer seemed to slip away. I became desperate and poured myself into anything that came my way. I thought that if I became a better singer, I would have an edge over the other girls when applying for a dance job, or maybe if I learnt burlesque, or learnt to salsa; maybe this, maybe that – all I knew is that I had to learn some extra skills. So on top of learning these, I drove myself crazy working four jobs and attending every single social event I physically could. Looking back now, I realise that my desperation for a professional contract made me overload myself with work, which helped me block my fears of never actually getting that first dance job.

This desperation led me to my first crossroad; am I fighting something I shouldn’t be? Regardless, I decided to give my love for dance one last shot. I auditioned at Ev and Bow Dance School and was accepted into their Full Time Course.

Physically conditioning my body was a challenging and emotional experience and I was still pressuring myself about getting a job. So I auditioned for a cover band called Frogs on Toast. After attending one week of rehearsals, fitted around my full time dance schedule, I was thrown onto the stage as a singer, actor and dancer. After two months of struggling with the pressures of doing a full time show, they mercifully fired me. In this time, the band and I realised that I didn’t have the time to attain the skills required for the show. None-the-less, I learnt that my passion for dance is very strong and that I have the guts to give it a go.

At the end of 2010, I graduated from Ev and Bow. On the Monday after I graduated, I contacted an agent who contracts entertainers for work on cruise ships. Only two hours before my call, my agent received an opportunity for dancers to work in India. She booked me in for an audition on Thursday, and a week later, I was on a plane, flying half-way across the world, feeling completely at peace knowing that this was meant to be.

In returning to Australia, I can feel how much I’ve changed in the past six months of experiencing some of the most life challenging situations. I have learnt that with patience, my heart’s deepest desires will come true. I learnt that things might not happen when I plan them to, but in pursuing my passions, my dreams will eventually realise themselves. Creating healthy competition helped me generate even bigger expectations of myself. Competitions also created short term goals in my time of growth as a performer. They ensured that I stayed fit and healthy and maintained a high performance standard.

I am an individual who always strived, and continues to strive towards, pushing limits and expectations. Once this stage was complete, the audition faze began. It is here that I had to make the transition of dreaming my dreams and actually doing something about them. This would have to be the hardest stage of becoming a performer because out of 100 auditions, you will be knocked back 99 times and accepted once. I've been through this defeat stage, and I found it a test of strength between yourself and your passion for your art. Currently I have been fortunate enough to be on contract with Universal Studios for a year.

This contract has made me learn so much about myself that I never came to consider. Living alone for the first time, in a different country, is a large responsibility.

It's very easy to lose focus of your goal by being overwhelmed by your environment. When I was younger, someone wise once told me; 'Never trust anyone'. This phrase has remained with me unexplained, until now. It's taken me ten years to understand that in this life, we can only trust ourselves. I believe that we need to be selfish in a way where we are accountable for ourselves because if we are not going to take care of ourselves, who will? I can proudly say that I have legitimately made my dream come true and have begun living my dream and not just dreaming it anymore.