Crawley Down dancer joins the professionals on stage

Spokesman Ben Garner said: “Francesca Boon is an extremely talented dancer from Crawley Down. She is part of the cast of English Youth Ballet’s Gala Evening Of Ballet & Music.

“She was selected to join EYB in a competitive video audition earlier this year. She is currently experiencing the life of a professional dancer in rehearsals. The whole cast of young dancers are super excited as they will perform alongside EYB’s international professional dancers and soloist dancers from the Royal Ballet Company in English Youth Ballet’s gala at the Bromley Churchill Theatre at 7pm on Sunday, June 19.”

Francesca goes to Imberhorne Lower School and is training at the Roshe School of Dance. She said: “I started dance when I was three years old. I started due to a neighbour telling my mum that I would love the dance school her daughter went to. My mum decided to sign me up and from the moment I walked into the room and saw all the other girls skipping around the studio wearing pretty pink dresses, I knew that I wanted to be a dancer and have loved every moment of it ever since.

“One of the best feelings about being a dancer is the feeling of being able to be yourself; instead of using words to describe you and your feelings you can use dance movements. Another great thing about being a dancer is the feeling you get when you step onto a stage. It’s as though everything that’s going on just stops and you are able to enjoy what you are doing and there is no other feeling like it. I have been really enjoying my rehearsals with English Youth Ballet so far. It’s a great experience and I have learnt new things already and have also made some new friends as well, I can’t wait for the performance as I know it is going to be so much fun and my favourite thing to do is dance on stage. I think because I’m always at the hall with my dance school after school and at weekends and I get to try different dance styles, I don’t really have time for any other interests, If I could be there all the time with my dance teachers and my dance friends I would!”