Spotlight

Ballet star Ashley Shaw is raising the barre in Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes.

WHO? The lead in the hottest Christmas ballet of the year, 27-year-old Ashley stars in Sir Matthew Bourne’s staging of The Red Shoes. Ashley, who grew up in New South Wales in Australia, has been dancing since she was three. In 2005, she was accepted to Birmingham’s prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School, and joined Bourne’s dance company New Adventures in 2009. ‘I loved it from the start. Matt is at every rehearsal. He’s approachable and so inventive,’ says Ashley. BIG BREAK Following an ensemble part in Bourne’s renowned Swan Lake (where all the swans were played by male dancers), Ashley was made the understudy for the title role in Cinderella. ‘That was my make-or-break moment,’ she says. ‘I was petrified.’ She has since danced in Nutcracker! and Edward Scissorhands – both to rave reviews. Her latest role as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty was especially tough. ‘I had to dance barefoot for the entire show and my feet constantly split and bled,’ she says. CHRISTMAS CRACKER Ashley is set to play Victoria Page in The Red Shoes, an interpretation of the 1948 film, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about a young dancer who is forced to choose between fulfilling her dream and falling in love. ‘I’ve watched the film eight times,’ says Ashley. ‘We’re sticking closely to the story and the score is inspired by golden-age Hollywood musicals.’ WHAT NEXT? Ashley longs to play Cinderella again. ‘As long as I’m dancing, I’ll be happy,’ she says.

The Red Shoes opens at the Theatre Royal Plymouth tomorrow before embarking on a national tour; new-adventures.net