A DANCE teacher is hoping to swap her day job, teaching students at a local secondary school, for the bright lights of London.

By day Charlotte Hawkins puts dancers at Rickmansworth School through their steps.

However, she is now hoping to take her first step towards becoming a professional contemporary dancer in her own right.

Charlotte, 30, will take to the stage in the new year with the fledgling Shunt Dance Company, which is appearing at one of London’s leading dance venues.

She said: “I am so delighted to be part of Shunt’s first professional break.

“We have worked hard for two years and are all so excited that the choreography and our performance will be seen in a venue which has such a high profile.”

Shunt is a local dance company and is due to perform as part of the Resolution! season at The Place, in Euston.

The annual event showcases some of the best up and coming new talent in contemporary dance and has acted as a springboard for the professional career of many choreographers.

The company performs throughout Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and was founded by artistic director, Sadie Hunt, who until this summer taught dance at Sandringham school in St Albans.

The other members of the group are Kayleigh Randall, 22, who also teaches at Sandringham, Sian Billinge, 25, a member of the dance faculty at Hemel Hempstead School and Emma Ball, 29, who teaches dance to primary students in St Albans.

The company will perform for 20 minutes at The Place, housed within the London Contemporary Dance School, on January 16, next year.

Charlotte lives in Watford and launched her dancing career with local dance groups Gypsy Booth and Aviv Dance studios.

And on opening night she says she is hoping to see some friendly faces from the Croxley Green school in the audience.

Charlotte added: “I think it is a really valuable experience for students to see me as a performer and not purely as a teacher. It shows them firstly the passion that I have for my subject, but also that I understand the commitment and hard work required to be successful in performance, which is what I nag them about all the time.”

For further information, contact Sadie Hunt at sadie@shuntdance.com or visit the website www.shuntdance.com.