"At the age of five or six I asked my parents if I could start doing gymnastics. They didn't want me to start gymnastics at such an early age, so sent me to a ballet class instead. I have been dancing ever since. After a few years of ballet, I added jazz and street dance to my list of hobbies. It wasn't until I was 15 that I was introduced to contemporary dance, and realised that was where my passion lay. I then got into a high school for dance where we took ballet and contemporary dance classes every day. From that point, dancing became much more to me than just a hobby."

"I grew up in Belgium and auditioned for various colleges in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and the UK. When I auditioned for Northern School of Contemporary Dance, I immediately loved the atmosphere in the building - both in class and in the communal foyer/café areas that students share. I was also excited about what the college had to offer. I agreed with the equal importance placed on the crucial elements of both technique and creativity, and felt that this college in particular would offer a demanding, inspirational training. That was exactly what I was looking for. I had also always wanted to train abroad. As a dancer, you're likely to spend time touring, which means that it's useful to get used to being away from home. I like the challenge of adapting to a completely new situation, and of course it has helped me improve my English."

"During the three-year degree course, you have daily technique classes every morning, with creative and academic classes in the afternoon. As the course evolves you are provided with more and more opportunities to experiment creatively. The course gives you the chance to improve your technique, to find out what kind of dancer you are, where your interests lie and what you want to do once you graduate.

I always knew I wanted to perform. Because I wanted to be as ready as I could possibly be for the point at which I would go and audition for performing work, I thought I would benefit very much from doing a postgraduate diploma. One of the pathways you can take at NSCD is joining Verve, the college's postgraduate performance company. This involves working with professional choreographers on the creation of new work, and touring the repertory throughout the UK and internationally.

I thought Verve would be an amazing opportunity to get that extra push and experience, so I auditioned and was offered a place. It has been the best year I've had at NSCD. I had the loveliest colleagues and met very experienced and inspiring people along the way. This year has given me physically and mentally what I felt I still needed."

"During my last week with Verve I was invited to a call-back audition with Phoenix Dance Theatre, and have been offered a job with them. I'll be working with them for nine months, learning the repertory and touring nationally. I am very excited about it and happy that I can continue performing."

"If you really want to achieve something, be determined. And keep smiling, all the hard work is worth it!"