Laura's life is dedicated to dance | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Laura Beanland-Stephens reckons she is known as the girl who is over-committed.

The 16-year-old Woodford House Year 12 pupil not only dances, but plays sport, mostly hockey, and does surf lifesaving.

Now her dreams of becoming a professional dancer are a little closer to becoming a reality, having been accepted recently as a contemporary dance major for the New Zealand School of Dance Junior Associate programme.

Laura was still a tiny tot - not quite 3 - when she saw a Royal Ballet performance of Swan Lake televised at Christmas in England and decided she wanted to dance.

Her family moved to Hawke's Bay in 1999 and she started at the Briar Horrocks Studio of Dance, where she has just performed in her 12th annual recital.

For the past five years, she has also been taking classes in contemporary and jazz at the Born to Move Dance Studio, where she will also start tap lessons "for a bit of a change".

Last year, she received distinction for her Royal Academy of Dance Advanced One ballet exam and will be working for the next two years on Advanced Two.

"My primary focus is on contemporary but, in order to go anywhere with this genre, you need to have strong classical technique, therefore ballet is also a high priority."

Laura is excited to be a junior associate of the School of Dance, which means facing some intense weekend training sessions in Wellington several times over the coming year.

As an older member of the programme, she will also spend a week in class with the full-time students to get a taste of what it is really like.

The associates are also expected to attend any seminars or workshops run by the Royal New Zealand Ballet when they tour here.

Laura cannot imagine a life without dance, because it has been a part of her since she can remember, and those who know her understand that it is her passion.

"I love the feeling when your body is moving in such a way that it enables you to express all your emotions.

"Sometimes when the right dancer has the right choreography and the right music the result can be pure magic, those pieces are my inspiration."