"I'm Annie Rose Grantham and I’m 22 years old. I was born in Doncaster and grew up in West Cowick. It was lovely growing up there, I had very supportive friends and family.

I was *always* dancing and singing in my house whilst growing , so for my third birthday, my mum took me to a dance lesson. I clearly enjoyed it because I kept going back! I danced with regular children all through my childhood and was never made to feel any different to anyone else, always finding a way to achieve the same as them.

I loved dancing. I did a variety of styles. in the early stages of growing up I always looked up to my half cousin who was at the same dance school. When I got into secondary school, and it was around then that I knew it was what I wanted to do professionally. I was nearly 15 when I was accepted for the Centre For Advanced Training Scheme at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. It was a style of dance I hadn’t trained in before. It was new to my body and very advanced; the training was intense. It required physical strength and stamina and it let me explore more creative ways of developing movement, as well as increasing my own knowledge in Ballet technique classes.

With StopGap Dance I was doing a bit of work experience, but then I joined the Frock production as a StopGap Artist. I love working with Stopgap. They’re so friendly, and the work pushes my boundaries and helps me progress as a dancer and puts me closer to the league of more experienced dancers.

The impact of the work is positive; it shows the public and society in general, that there is no difference in what people can achieve, even when their bodies appear to be different. The disabled label isn’t helpful: it contains a judgement and there is no boundary between what I can achieve vs anyone else."