Can this Australian Muslim teen be the world's first Hijabi ballerina?

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

This was because she believed no dance company would want a ballerina who wore a hijab.

"I converted to the religion of Islam in 2010 and it brought so many positive aspects in my life, but I stopped performing because we thought there would be no way of myself becoming a professional ballerina as there were no facilitations or services targeted at Muslim girls," Kurlow notes.

Although for years the Aussie teen thought she would never be able to dance professionally again, she was soon inspired by the first female African-American ballerinas, Michaela De Prince (Dutch National Ballet) and Misty Copeland (Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre), and other hijabi women who have succeeded in their field, like the first hijabi news anchor on American television, Noor Tagouri.

Now, Stephanie is asking the world to invest in her so she can train full time at a professional ballet school to become certified, and open her own diverse performing arts school in Sydney. Her fundraising campaign on LaunchGood has a goal of $10,000, which she says will go to her ballet and tuturing tuition, ballet supplies such as dance shoes, and ballet competitions.

"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," the Sydney school girl said on the LaunchGood website.

"I will provide for our future generations a chance to express and heal themselves and others through the magnificent art of performing and creativity."

If she realises her goals, Kurlow says her dance school will cater to children and teenagers of different religions, races or backgrounds by offering special programs for specific religions, as well as support groups for youths from disconnected communities.

"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, determined to make her dreams come true despite the nay-sayers.

With 40 days left in her campaign, Stephanie has so far raised almost $3,000.