An Irvine lad will be pirouetting his way on stages in Ayr and Dumfries next month.

Craig McFarlane, 18, a student at the Central School of Ballet in London, will be part of the upcoming Ballet Central tour.

The starlet has been involved in dance since he was a young boy and it is something he has always been passionate about.

Craig said: “When I was young, I used to watch Cats every week and I started copying their dance moves.

“I then went on to start at the Janice Marshall Dance School in Irvine, when I was five.

“After that I moved up to Glasgow to go the Dance School of Scotland and I was there for four years.

“Now I’ve been in London for three years studying at the Central Ballet School.”

Craig loves performing and although his main focus is ballet, he is trained in jazz and contemporary dance too.

He said: “My favourite part is the adrenaline you get from performing, you get to show people what you can do.

“We are in the theatre from 9am setting up for the show, laying the floor, doing lights and sound. “It takes a lot of stamina as some of the tour dates are really closed together.”

Craig has secured a spot at the Olomouc dance company in the Czech Republic for a year after he graduates.

The repertoire for this year’s tour features Act 2 of Highland Fling by Matthew Bourne, Indigo Children by Royal Ballet artist-in-residence Liam Scarlett, and a new version of the ballroom scene from Romeo & Juliet by former English National Ballet’s Jenna Lee amongst others.

Christopher Marney, Artistic Director of Ballet Central said: “The Ballet Central 2017 tour will this year visit ten new venues reaching from Penzance in Cornwall to Dumfries in Scotland and bringing the next generation of talented dancers to your hometown.

"This year’s performance showcases the best dance theatre from current industry professionals and gives you the chance to see newly-commissioned work and refreshed classics from the world’s top choreographers.

“With renewed artistic vision, this is an opportunity to see the future stars of dance as they launch their professional careers”.

Join Craig and fellow dancers at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr on May 11 and at the Theatre Royal in Dumfries on May 12.