Our Heroes: Tianna twirls into top ballet school
Tianna, who has been dancing nearly all of her life, will be starting a junior associate course at the Royal Ballet School in September, after impressing instructors during auditions.
Mum Ruth Carter is so proud of her daughter that she has nominated her in the Bright Young Thing category of The Sentinel's Our Heroes awards.
Ruth, aged 32, used to be a ballet dancer herself when she was younger, but she admits that her daughter has already surpassed her own achievements
She said: "I used to dance, and I used to teach dancing. As soon as Tianna was old enough I took her along to the Marilyn Jones Dance Centre in Newcastle, and she loved it. She's been dancing ever since then.
"Her teacher asked her to audition for the Royal Ballet School.
"She went on a summer school last year with her dance teacher's son, who danced with the Royal Ballet.
"He was able to give her lots of little tips, things that you wouldn't even think of, and it seems to have worked."
Despite her tender age, Tianna is already used to appearing on stage, having performed in both runs of Never Forget at the Regent Theatre, and in numerous shows produced by her dance school. So Tianna was well prepared to face the audition for the Royal Ballet School, where she was up against hundreds of other youngsters.
Ruth, of Stratford Avenue, May Bank, added: "I think 3,500 children auditioned all over the country, but only about 100 were offered places.
"Tianna really enjoyed the day of the auditions. There were hundreds and hundreds of children there, so we didn't really think she would get through, but it was just such a wonderful opportunity and a fantastic experience.
"When the letter came saying that she had been offered a place I had to re-read it a few times to check it was right before I told Tianna."
From September, Tianna will be attending the Royal Ballet School classes in Manchester every other week for a year, after which she will have to audition again.
September will be a busy month for Tianna, as she will also be making her West End debut, appearing at the Shaftsbury Theatre alongside her fellow students from the Marilyn Jones Dance Centre.
But Tianna, who attends St Wulstan's Primary School in Wolstanton, is taking it all in her stride.
She said: "I felt really happy to get a place at the Royal Ballet School. The auditions were fun, and not that difficult because it was all things I'd done before.
"I was really excited when I found out I'd got through."
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