Friern Barnet schools are teaming up with professional ballet dancers for two performances this week and next.

Tomorrow each school will perform two pieces before taking part in a joint performance of based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of The Royal Ballet School’s Advance Project.

The students have been working over the last three months on this project, creating a dance set to music by Mendelssohn and focusing on the amateur actors and fairies in the forest in Shakespeare’s play.

Royal Ballet School lead artist-in-education Bim Malcolmson said: “The Advance Project is a vehicle for young people to be creative and meet new people – most importantly it enables myths of the ‘other’ to be dispelled.”

Then, on Thursday, 30 March students from Copthall School and Friern Barnet School will perform alongside students from Hammersmith Academy, Hampstead School, ENBYouthCo and Royal College of Music Junior Department in a matinee performance by English National Ballet at Sadler’s Wells.

Students from each school have been working throughout the Spring term with ENB Associate Artists to devise a brand new dance piece, REFRESH\\RESET, as part of Dance Journeys Matinee Takeover at Sadler’s Wells.

Both projects are designed to give students the chance to extend their knowledge of ballet and socialise with one another as they choreograph dances and learn new moves.

For more information about the performances visit www.royalballetschool.org.uk and www.ballet.orf.uk/learning/enbyouthco/enbyouthco-upcoming-performances/