NORTH Yorkshire dancer Jack Thomson will be appearing in Phoenix Dance Theatre's Triple Bill 2016 at York Theatre Royal tomorrow and Friday at 7.30pm.

Born in York, Jack grew up in the Selby area, taking his early dance steps at Selby Dance Studios under the tutelage of Mr and Mrs Hargreaves before starting his training at The Hammond School in Chester.

"I did some pantomimes in York at both the Theatre Royal and the Grand Opera House when I was young and then went to The Hammond School from the age of 12 to 16 because it had a strong focus on dance and the performing arts," he says.

Jack progressed to the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London at 16, graduating with first class honours at 19. "I graduated on the Friday and started on the Monday in my first show, Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s INALA," he recalls.

"They described it as a Zulu ballet, and it was a new show with a new concept, where they took dancers from Ballet Rambert and the Royal Ballet to share the stage with Ladysmith Black Mambazo's singers. We opened at the Edinburgh International Festival, had a week at Sadler's Wells and ended up doing an excerpt at the 2014 Royal Variety Performance."

Jack joined Phoenix Dance Theatre last October as a graduate dancer, funded by the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries, ahead of the Leeds company's 35th anniversary in 2016. "Growing up in Yorkshire, I kind of always knew of Phoenix and I came to do some classes with the company and then attended auditions, when at the time they were only looking for a female dancer," he says. "But a few months later an opportunity came up when they were seeking a dancer for the Jerwood bursary.

"They specifically wanted someone who had graduated in the last three years, to give a young dancer a chance to work with the company for 12 months and then stay with them after the year's bursary and I'll definitely be staying till Christmas."

Tomorrow and on Friday, look out for 21-year-old Jack dancing in Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili's dynamic, claustrophobic piece Until.With/Out.Enough and Caroline Finn's Bloom, a quirky, darkly comic expression of life and humanity. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk