Dancers share ballet company life as tour begins

Audiences will soon be stepping into the magical world of Cinderella when a production by Birmingham Royal Ballet goes on tour.

Two ballet dancers who are in the company have been describing how they have been getting ready for the show, which started in Southampton on Thursday and will go on to Birmingham, Salford, Sunderland, Bristol and Plymouth before finally finishing in Tokyo in June.

Amelia Thompson, 22, who began her ballet career at aged three in Worcester, and fellow dancer Ariana Allen, 21, from Buckinghamshire, have filled their days with training and rehearsals.

Ms Thompson said: "I think people that have had no experience [of ballet] are shocked when they see what we can do."

She spent three years training at Elmhurst Ballet School before she graduated and joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet - it is now her fourth season with the company.

The highlight of her career so far, she said, was performing the role of Rose Fairy in The Nutcracker.

"I've watched Birmingham Royal Ballet do Nutcracker since I was very young, before I even thought I wanted to be a ballet dancer," she said.

"I remember watching some of my colleagues now doing that role, so it was a big dream to get to do that."

The prestigious ballet company has performed at the Glastonbury music festival, and also put on a production of Black Sabbath: The Ballet. The soundtrack was provided by Birmingham's heavy metal superstars.

"I think it's amazing that we're taking ballet to different places," Ms Thompson added, who was in both shows. "I actually danced at Glastonbury, and that was an incredible experience to sort of integrate the fun of a festival with what we do.

"It is really important to take it wider so that ballet doesn't get forgotten."

Ms Allen, who is with BRB2, Birmingham Royal Ballet's junior company, will also be performing in Cinderella.

She said: "Most people don't actually know that being a ballet dancer is a professional job that requires many years of strenuous training.

"It is very much like a sport combined with art."

Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of Cinderella will be at Birmingham Hippodrome from 19 February.

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