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What's your background?Rishan Benjamin: I grew up in south London, and when I was eight, the Royal Ballet came to our school as part of its Chance to Dance programme. Before that, I did athletics, like running and football, but had never done any dancing. I was invited to join weekly classes. From there I ended up going into the Royal Ballet Associate programme. What was it about ballet that you liked so much? I found the shape and look of pointe shoes fascinating, which made me question what it would feel like on my feet while dancing en pointe.Who do you most admire?A friend of mine in my year, Natasha. Her choreography has been picked to go in the school show for the first time ever. You can just tell she loves what she does by the way she moves and by her ideas. She’s excellent at contemporary dance and she inspires me to push myself. What do you wish to do in the future?I’d like to continue with ballet and contemporary dance, perhaps neoclassical contemporary ballet. Ideally I’d like to join a touring company because I’d love to go round the world and show audiences what dance is.You've been sponsored by The Arts Society for two years. How has it helped?Last year I lived at home and travelled to class on a daily basis, but this year I knew my day would be longer and I’d be finishing later so I decided to move into student accommodation nearer the school. The funding has really helped a lot, with food, equipment – and transport in particular. Next year Rishan will join the school’s Ballet Central Company performing in theatres across the UK. centralschoolofballet.co.uk1-3 Rishan Benjamin training at the Central School of Ballet, LondonTRAINEE BALLET DANCER, CENTRAL SCHOOL OF BALLET, LONDONRISHAN BENJAMINFACTBallet shoes often need weekly replacement; each pair costs £35–£50 2124IN THE STUDIOThe Arts Society ReviewAutumn 2017