A 16-YEAR-OLD with a passion for dance has had the opportunity to showcase her balletic talents to a wider audience.

Azerley Keller is part of the English National Ballet's 'Dialogues With Giselle' film project, inspired by choreographer Akram Khan's new interpretation of the iconic romantic ballet Giselle.

The film was screened as a curtain raiser to the English National Ballet's performance of Giselle at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.

"We made a stylised short film almost in the style of Wes Anderson (film director)," said Azerley, who lives in Kirkby Lonsdale. "The idea behind the dance is this idea of being possessed and having to incorporate that character and having to use that as part of a dance as well as the acting, which was fun."

Azerley has been dancing since she was 10, making her a late starter in ballet terms.

"I know people who started when they were two," she said. "I think the hardest bit was when I first started was that I was put with people who were a lot lot younger than me and that was quite off-putting at times.

"I think because they were put in for dancing because of their parents, whereas I did the dancing because I'd always wanted to dance - I hadn't been told I had to do it, it was something I really really wanted to do."

The teenager puts in hours of training every week in order to continually improve at both ballet and jazz. Whilst she is at school this often means two full days of training at the weekend but during the holidays she might train every day for two weeks.

"It's really horrid at times when you're in pain from stretching and you've got muscular pain everywhere and popped muscles," she said. But that's part of it and it makes it more enjoyable and worthwhile when you do get accepted."

She hopes to attend a performing arts school where she will study for her A-Levels at the same time as developing her dance skills.