TEN-year-old Harriet van der Vliet, of St Germans, has had a whirlwind six months, during which she has danced live on children's television, and been selected for the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain.
Harriet gained her national place after 1,700 dancers from all over the UK competed for just 90 places.
She attended their summer school in Sevenoaks, Kent and travels to London to rehearse with them every weekend.
In this year's productions she will be appearing as a child in 'Hansel and Gretel', a new ballet being premiered, and the lamb in 'Toad' which is based on Wind in the Willows.
Harriet is touring with the National Youth Ballet this autumn starting at The Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, and then travelling to Croydon for six performances before dancing at the Royal Gala evening at Sadlers Wells, London.
At the end of last month she spent the day filming at BBC Television Centre at Shepherd's Bush, London.
She danced live on Blue Peter that evening, the show later repeated on BBC2. A pupil at Plymouth College preparatory school she is taught dance by Mrs Lyndon and Mr Jurek Sroka at the Jurek Sroka School of Dance, Plymouth.
Harriet, who has been dancing since the age of three, has been involved in two pantomime seasons at The Theatre Royal in Plymouth, dancing with Danny La Rue, Brian Conley, Gary Wilmot and John Inman.
During 2001 she has also found time to win numerous cups, medals and trophies for ballet, tap and modern dance at dance festivals in Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and Plymouth.
Contest
She became the first dancer ever to receive a dance bursary from The City of Plymouth Festival in July.
Over the past six months she has also got through to the finals of the All-England Dance Competition, a contest lasting two years.
Dancing in London's West End she was in the final 12 tap dancers in the country for her age group, while in August she appeared in Swan Lake for a week in Christchurch, taking the role of a cygnet.
Tomorrow she will be on stage once again - dancing with Wayne Sleep in Torquay.