RETIRED staff sergeant Marc Walker is putting dancers through their paces for a thought-provoking show at an army reserve barracks.

Marc, from Knutsford, is a personal trainer specialising in outdoor PT.

He is working with performers who are staging 5 Soldiers – The Body Is The Frontline, at Rusholme Army Reserve Centre in Manchester on May 29 and 30.

The intensely physical production examines the effect of combat and war on the human body, and is being presented by the award-winning Rosie Kay Dance Company in association with new Manchester arts venue HOME.

The dancers spent a week of their rehearsal schedule living and working as full-time soldiers on a military exercise with The 4th Battalion, The Rifles – initially on Salisbury Plain and then in a mock Afghan village in Norfolk for a three-day battle training exercise.

“I was a Staff Sergeant in the Royal Logistic Corps, and during my 24 years of service I was based in Germany, deployed twice to Iraq and once to Bosnia,” said Marc.

“As a sportsman I represented Great Britain in biathlon - skiing and shooting - before coaching the team to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

“I’m now a personal trainer who specialises in outdoor PT.

“I take the dancers outside of the studio to get them out of their comfort zone and to give them a real feel for military training.

“The aim of my PT sessions is to strengthen functional movement relevant to the 5 Soldiers piece, hence the tyre work and body weight exercises.

“Soldiers love competition, it creates good team work and dynamics, and during the training I create a competitive environment.

“We also perform drill outside of the studio to give them a real feel for open space and the experience of being on parade.

“Working with the Rosie Kay Dance Company was like returning to the Squadron. The dancers’ commitment is second to none, they question nothing and drill time and time again.

“Practice and teamwork is key to performance, and the dance company has got the balance right.”

Marc is a civilian retired staff sergeant, but is soon to be reinstated within the reserves.