YOUNG dancers from Bradford are being coached by the principal dancer in a professional production of Giselle, coming to Bradford next month.

Australian dancer Amy Drew stars in the title role of the English Youth Ballet show and is working closely with soloist dancers Yvette Levine, 15, Abigail Calvert, 14, and Alice Olby,14, who plays Giselle's friends.

The cast includes six international principal dancers and 97 aspiring young dancers aged 8 - 18 from West Yorkshire, all selected in a competitive audition.

"Life as a principal dancer is full-on," says Amy. "We teach and choreograph for the young dancers in the company then dance principal roles in the ballets. I have found a real love for teaching since dancing with EYB, it's come as a lovely surprise how much I have enjoyed working with the children.

"In our production Giselle is young governess who makes a journey from being a naïve young woman to falling in love and being betrayed then going insane - all in the first act!

"In the second act Giselle rises from her grave. The choreography is ethereal and challenging as the ballerina has to take on very stylised, precise movement. This is something I'm trying to pass on to the young dancers.

"The girls are getting on really well, they had to learn an enormous amount of material very quickly with detail and precision.

"They have company classes in the morning then work for the next five hours intensively. They have to learn quickly and take it on themselves to go away and practice between rehearsals. They also have to understudy other dancers."

* Giselle is at St George’s Hall on June 5 and 6. For tickets call (01274) 432000.