A STUDENT has switched roles – returning to her former dance academy as a teacher.

Mary Green spent three years at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance in London, but it was always her intention to return home.

Now she has taken up a role as a dance teacher at The Performance Academy in Accrington – the very place where she honed her skills.

Katherine Marriott-Pae, Principal of the Hargreaves Street academy, taught Mary, from Bacup, from the age of two and says she spotted her potential even at such a young age.

Katherine said: “I taught her ballet and tap and she was entering competitions. She had confidence.

“When she left to go to London she said she would return once she had been trained and I am delighted to have her back in the academy, this time as a teacher.”

Mary, a 21-year-old former pupil of Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School in Waterfoot, said: “There are only 30 places awarded at the Royal Academy of Dance each year and hundreds of people from all over the world compete for them.

“To secure a place they first teach you a class, then you have to run a bit of the class yourself, have an interview and complete a test.

“It is a full-time commitment.

“You are there every day from 8.30am until 4pm with ballet classes starting at 9am.

“As well as my BA Hons in Ballet Education, I also did extra classes to pass all of the ballet exams. This included Solo Seal, the top exam.

“I didn’t like London because it was so busy.

“When you go for a weekend it is fun, but when it is all the time it is too much.

“It is also a very expensive place for students but it was the best place to learn how to teach dance.

“All my family is up here and when I left three years ago I told Katherine I would return.

“When I walked back into The Performance Academy it felt like I was returning home, nothing had changed.”

Katherine prepared Mary for the rigorous application procedure at the Royal Academy and was delighted when she got the place.

“It was also fantastic to welcome her back here,” said Katherine.

“We had all missed her and some of the older students remember her being here before.”

Besides children’s ballet and tap, Mary has introduced new classes – including pilates for adults, a new adults’ beginners tap class and mini groovers for children aged four to six. Mary added: “I always wanted to be a ballet teacher and now I am also getting to do a bit of everything including fitness. I never wanted to do anything else.”

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