AN aspiring dancer from Knutsford has been plucked from a group of 200 young hopefuls to perform with the award-winning English Youth Ballet.

Lauren Batt, 14, from Astley Close, will appear in a production of Coppelia at the Plaza Theatre in Stockport from June 13-14.

The Grange School student will dance alongside EYB’s international principal artists in the three-performance stint and gain an insight into what life is like as a professional ballet dancer.

Lauren, a member of Sue Morris School of Dance, said: “I started doing ballet when I was around the age of five. I wanted to do it because I absolutely loved how graceful it was. I loved the way dancers could stand on their toes and do things that don’t seem possible – I like the prospect of that.

“It’s my first time being in English Youth Ballet and I am looking forward to the experience and learning the choreography. My nana is battling cancer at the moment and she inspires me to try my best and I am doing it for her.”

Lauren will join the cast as one of 100 young dancers selected from across the north west. She and her fellow cast members have just completed a 10-day, 60-hour, intensive rehearsal process alongside EYB’s six principal dancers at Stockport Grammar School.

Australian principal ballerina Amy Drew said: “Lauren is so lucky – I wish there had been something like EYB when I was training. I feel very privileged to be a principal with the EYB as I get to work with some of the UK’s most talented young dancers. I find them incredibly inspiring.”

English Youth Ballet is one of the UK’s largest ballet companies and previously won The Stage Award for special achievement in regional theatre.