A FINAL year dance student from Hampshire will be performing with the renowned dance company Ballet Central on their welcome return to touring this spring.

Polly de Lotbiniere, from East Meon, will be joining the company on a four-month, 11 venue tour across England, starting April 22.

The tour starts in Hornchurch, Essex and will also stop in Birmingham, Cambridge, Guildford, Newbury, London and more.

Polly, 19, attended Portsmouth High School for Girls and began her training at Liss Forest Ballet School while attending the Central School of Ballet Associate Programme on Saturdays.

She is now in the final year of a three-year BA (Hons) Professional Dance & Performance degree at the Central School of Ballet in London.

Polly said: “I am really excited to perform on stage with Ballet Central alongside my friends who I have trained with over three years.

"It will be gratifying to showcase all the hard work at Central we have put in. It will also be very fun to explore new places that we will get to work in.

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"Learning new pieces was a challenging process, however achieving the end results was extremely satisfying. We were treated like a company rather than a school.”

Ballett Central will be presenting a new cast of exceptional dancers, performing a mixture of original pieces from distinguished choreographers and a restaging of an existing contemporary work.

Under the artistic direction of artist-in-residence Mikaela Polley and artistic director Kate Coyne, three new pieces will be presented.

Kate said: “Joining Ballet Central and the experience of performing on tour distinguishes our dancers and supports their future employability.

"Performing is the ultimate goal for professional dance students so the chance to bring all their training to a peak in front of a live audience fulfils ambitions and stimulates new learning.

"It’s a joy for our dancers and audiences alike.”

Hampshire Chronicle: Hampshire student dancer to perform across England on the four-month Ballet Central tour

Mikaela’s new piece, Unbound involves the entire company, created as a celebration of the dynamism of the ensemble.

Mikaela said: “The experience of working with renowned choreographers in the creative process is invaluable for student dancers.

"They learn to absorb, understand, and interpret the story of each piece and the choreographers’ different ways of working.

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"This accelerates their growth as future professionals and helps to prepare for the transition into company life when they graduate in July.”

Ticket prices for all shows are deliberately low to make the tour widely accessible.

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