Talented dancer from Hove earns place at Royal Ballet School

Lara Williams, from Hove, is just a couple of months into her training as a Junior Associate at the Royal Ballet School in London after being selected from thousands of applicants.

The twinkle-toed ten-year-old has been dancing since the age of three and attends dance classes the Rox School of Dance and Drama in Hove.

Lara Williams has been dancing since the age of three

Lara said she was encouraged to send an audition tape after her teacher, Sophie Fox, told her she had a special talent.

After a nerve-wracking three-month wait, Lara said she was “very excited” to find out that she was among the 12 dancers to have been granted a place.

Lara said: “My dad got an email and he printed it out and folded it into a letter for me so I could open it and I was super excited.”

The Royal Ballet School offers elite ballet training to exceptionally gifted dancers aged between 11 and 18.

Proud parents, Edson and Anna Williams, said they always knew their daughter was talented.

Anna said: “We were very, very excited. I was so delighted and very happy for her.

Lara has been attending remote lessons at the prestigious school

“I couldn’t actually imagine how she was going to act, and I was really looking forward to the moment she would open the letter.

“She would spend hours in the living room just dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing and that’s no exaggeration.

“It’s super exciting and it’s a very special thing to get a place there.”

Edson said: “Lara loves dancing and that is the most important thing to see. It is something that she does even when she doesn’t have classes.”

Lara, aged four, with one of her first ballet certificates

Lara is currently attending remote lessons with the Royal Ballet School every Sunday.

The Pebbles Trust, an organisation that offers grants to talented young people in Brighton and Hove, is helping to fund Lara’s place at the famous school.

Lara said she cannot wait to finally attend classes in London once coronavirus restrictions are lifted and share her passion with her fellow dancers.

“What I love about dancing is that I can express how I feel and I can tell stories with my movements and I can just move freely everywhere,” Lara said.