A 19-YEAR-OLD ballet student has teamed up with 27 fellow dancers across the world to create a film - despite being locked down at home in Maidenhead.

Jake Milston is a final year student at Central School of Ballet and had been due to go on a five month tour of venues across England with the touring company Ballet Central, cancelled when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Instead he was invited to take part in a film for YouTube, made through Centrally Connected Performs - Central's learning, teaching and training initiative established to ensure continuity for dance students while studios are closed.

It supports 117 students in 12 countries, alongside providing online training for Central’s Junior, Prep and Pre Senior dance students.

The online YouTube project was specifically created to allow final year dance students the chance to demonstrate their skills while locked down at home in their own countries - in lieu of the Ballet Central touring experience.

Each student was given the challenge of choreographing and performing a solo to a specially created and coronavirus-inspired piece of music by Central’s composer-in-residence Philip Feeney.

Jake said: “I am so grateful for the training and all the work towards our degree programme that we are continuing to do online through Centrally Connected. It is such a privilege to have the opportunity to dance alongside other dance students in my year in this piece of choreography even though we are separated and back at home. The choreography project has been a great way to maintain our artistry during these different times.”

Jake will complete his degree this July at Central School of Ballet. Selected from hundreds of candidates, Jake was one of a few to secure a coveted place on Central’s three year BA (Hons) degree in Professional Dance and Performance.