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Rachel Hernon has just completed her first year at one of Russia’s premier ballet academies, the Perm State Ballet School. It’s a far cry from her Dukenfield home, but that doesn’t worry her. After all, it’s not the first time she’s moved to follow her dancing dream, as she told ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Manchester.

Rachel Hernon

"I’ve been dancing since I was four. I studied at the Dancehouse Theatre (in Manchester). When I was 11, I moved to a school in Chester and studied there for three years. After that, I went to Elmhurst School of Dance in Birmingham, which is the associate school for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, where I studied for a further three years.

"Then last summer, I was at a course in Edinburgh and one of the guest teachers was from Perm in Russia, and she invited me to go and do the diploma course there."

Despite Perm being one of the most easterly points of Europe, there are some similarities with Manchester. Like here, the city sits at the Southern foot of some mountains, though the Urals do rather dwarf the Pennines in terms of size and span, and the population is about the same size.

Perm State Ballet School

Rachel is quick to point out that that is where the similarities end, especially when it comes to temperature.

"It’s about 800 miles past Moscow, near Siberia, and it’s about minus 40 degrees in the winter through to plus 30 in the summer, so there’s a complete range in temperature. If it’s below minus 28, we can’t go to school and that happens quite often.

"It’s completely different from England. The buildings there are really lovely and there’s a river behind the school where we can walk in the summer, which is beautiful."

It’s not just the architecture that’s different for Rachel. She’s also had a language barrier to overcome, though she’s determined to follow her dream no matter what the difficulties.

As for the future, Rachel has still two years to go before she graduates from Perm. After that, she says she may well remain in her new home, though she’s keeping her options open.

"I’d love to stay out in Russia, or maybe come back to one of the major ballet companies here in Britain, but getting a job anywhere would be amazing."

Given that graduates of the school are now leading soloists for companies in Russia, Germany, Turkey and the USA, the world is hers for the taking and one thing is pretty certain; her Dukenfield dancing days are over.