Scarborough's Charlotte wins coveted place at Northern Ballet School

Charlotte O’Sullivan, 17, started dancing at the age of four at the Yorkshire Coast School of Ballet in Scarborough.

“When I was younger I did it for fun, then I realised how much I enjoyed dance,” Charlotte explained.

She attended Scalby School and applied to the Northern Ballet School earlier this year.

The school only takes around 40 students each year but Charlotte impressed enough to secure a place.

She said: “[The audition] was nerve-wracking at first but then it was just fun.

“It’s best to enjoy it.”

At the school Charlotte is studying a three-year dance programme which includes modules in dance, performance and contextual studies.

“It’s quite different to normal school,” Charlotte said. “I’m dancing all day which can be tiring and the body conditioning can be hard, but the teachers know what’s best.”

The class schedule is intensive and can involve dancing from 8.45am until 5pm.

As well as getting used to the physical demands of the new course, Charlotte has also had to move away from home and lives in student accommodation in Manchester.

She said: “It was quite hard at first because you can’t rely on anyone but I come home in half terms and at Christmas.”

In the first year students at the school go through general dance training including different styles such as modern and tap before choosing to focus on classical ballet or jazz in the second and third.

Charlotte said: “I like contemporary and jazz but ballet’s always been my passion.”

Charlotte will perform in an upcoming show at the ballet school’s theatre and says her favourite Christmas ballet is The Nutcracker.

Though only at the start of her time at the school, she has big ambitions for the future.

She added: “The biggest dream would be to dance professionally on stage.”