A WEYMOUTH schoolgirl has won a prestigious place on a national dance scheme.

Following a tough selection process, held at the Rambert Dance Company in London, 15-year-old Imogen Gray has won one of only 35 coveted places as a Young Creative Associate.

The programme is a national scheme run by Youth Dance England in partnership with Rambert, the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Opera House for young choreographers and dancers who show outstanding promise.

To win the place Imogen, who has been studying dance at June Hornby’s Weymouth Dance Studios since the age of two and a half, had to choreograph and dance for a panel of judges drawn from the international dance world.

Imogen will now be attending a week long residential at The Royal Ballet School in London where she will work in a small group to create a brand new dance which she will then perform to the public at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in April.

Imogen has been dancing with the Weymouth studio since she was two-and-a-half. She said that she is “absolutely thrilled” to have won the “incredible and prestigious opportunity”.

Her family say they are extremely proud and they will be travelling to London to watch her perform in April.

Dance teachers Keely Shaw, Lesann Barber and June Hornby said they were also very proud of her and all her hard work and they would watch her future progress with interest.