Young Norden ballerina gains place on prestigious dance programme

A young dancer from Norden has taken a huge leap forward in her future career after gaining a place at a prestigious dance programme in Leeds.

10-year-old Ava White will attend Northern Ballet every Friday, getting tips and instruction from leading experts for the next year.

The Caldershaw Primary School pupil, who attends Dansworks Dance Academy of Performing Arts in Bacup, was previously a Junior Associate at Ballet Theatre UK in Leicester but will now be focusing on the Northern Ballet.

With dreams of becoming a ballerina, Ava earned her place in the Junior Associate Division of the Academy of Northern Ballet after last year being placed on the reserve list.

Her mum Tracey said: “She has worked so hard. When you think of how little time she has had in the studio because of the pandemic, she has been able to achieve this thanks to Karen and the dedication of Dansworks, and the five years that she has been attending lessons.

“She has always enjoyed dancing, never really interested in toys. She gushes for ballet, and she comes alive when she ballet dances from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

“When she got the place, she shed tears of joy and was over the moon. She has always wanted to be a ballerina.”

Principal of Dansworks, Karen Connearn said: “Ava has her sights set on becoming a Ballerina while Alexis is more into Contemporary Dance, and she will be very welcome to teach for me in my studio when she is older.”

 

 

Another student at Dansworks, nine-year-old Alexis Connolly, has also gained a spot on the Leeds programme.

A dancer at the Bacup school since she was four-years-old, she wowed the audition assessors at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance so much that she was given a place in the higher age group for 10 to 12-year-olds.

Karen added: “They are both really hard workers and really dedicated. Their talent was pretty obvious right from the beginning, and both are impressive at improvisation.

“Ava is so incredibly focused. When she got on the reserve list last year she said, ‘Royal Ballet next. She has her own exercise programme that she devised, and she practises every single day.

“I wish them both all the very best with their future dancing careers.”

Alexis’ mum Kelly said: “She has always had natural aptitude for dance and picked up on it quite early on that this was not just going to be a hobby for her.

“Dale and Karen have been fantastic and throughout the pandemic, Dansworks has been consistent and have managed to keep things going.

“Alexis wants to be a dancer and to have her own dance studio.”