FROM the first time Melissa Lenehan stepped on to the dance floor at her local ballet studio, her teacher says she had a determination to succeed.
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This week Melissa has been spending time with her family during a short sojurn back to Orange from her base at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne.
She's now a member of The Dancers Company, a company made up of final year students from the Australian Ballet School, who tour regional areas of Australia.
However, she is now firmly focused on preparing for her final year auditions hoping to secure a position in the Australian Ballet Company.
Her teacher Marie Cubbitt says if anyone has the determination to succeed it is Melissa.
"She is such a hard worker and has always been extremely focused," said Ms Cubitt.
Ms Cubitt said she saw Melissa at her first ballet lesson and even then she had all the physical attributes needed to excel in classical ballet.
"But she also had the determination to go with it," she said.
After a gruelling audition process almost three years ago, Melissa scored a position in the Australian Ballet School from thousands of aspiring young dancers from across Australia.
Her dedication to her craft at the school has been rewarded recently with the granting of a $3000 scholarship for Melissa to use in the pursuit of her love of ballet.
Melissa was also given a wonderful opportunity for an insight into the international ballet scene when she was selected with one other final year girl, and two male students to train with the New York City Ballet during the last holiday season.
When she was a ballet student in Orange, Melissa was a prolific winner of awards and championships at the City of Orange Eisteddfod.
