POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Lila Maley and Lyla Serrian go to the Crimson Academy of Performing Arts every day after school.
Both girls have dedicated their lives to dance.
Last week, these dancers found out that spending countless hours in the studio can lead to great things as both learned they had been admitted into the Joffrey Ballet School summer intensive program.
Dancers in the industry say it's like getting into an "Ivy League" level ballet school.
"I was like, I didn't think I would get in. And I was just so happy, and I'm just so grateful that I got in," Serrian said.
"Auditioning for a major ballet company is something new for them, so getting in is a huge accomplishment," said Leandra Maley, Crimson Academy co-owner.
Both girls got into Joffrey's Ballet School after making it through an intense audition process against dancers from across the country.
"Since it's such a high-level school, just to get in there, it's pretty hard to get in there," Serrian said.
"You can see that there are a lot of other girls that are in the room too, and you can see that she's good too, and the teacher is looking at every one of you, and they're always writing down notes, and you wonder what they are writing down," Lila Maley added.
Leandra Maley says this is a first for the dance community in Schuylkill County, inspiring the other dancers at Crimson Academy and other studios in the area.
"We're from a small town, and to see something like this happen to the girls, coming from such a small community, is really awesome," Leandra Maley said. "We're hoping that the other dances in our studio here will now take this and say, 'OK, they got in, I can work just as hard, I'm just as dedicated as they are, I'm going to go for it next summer,'" Leandra Maley said.
Once the school year is through, both dancers will get ready to spend time in New York City this summer.
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