WALES’ only professional ballet company said moving into dedicated premises for the first time since its launch nearly 30 years ago will be “a dream come true”.

Ballet Cymru is putting the finishing touches to its offices and rehearsal studios on Wern Industrial Estate off Chartist Drive, Rogerstone, which have cost more than £280,000.

The award-winning company, formed in 1986, had rehearsed its UK productions at the Riverfront Theatre in Newport for more than a decade.

“Having our first ever own premises is a dream come true,” said a Ballet Cymru spokesman.

“It has been so exciting watching the transformation of the empty shell into our new dance space.”

Ballet Cymru won the award for best large scale dance production for Romeo and Juliet at the Theatre Critics of Wales Awards in January 2014.

The company currently employs five core staff as well as eight dancers and two technicians.

Ballet Cymru was able to buy the new premises on the Wern Estate and pay for the internal works thanks to a grant from the Arts Council of Wales.

A company spokesman said the core expenditure included buying the premises for around £230,000 and carrying out the works for the studio at a further cost of £50,000.

The ballet company hopes to move into the new premises at the end of this month.

Company development officer Patricia Vallis said: “We received a grant from the Arts Council of Wales to bring together under one roof our admin, technical and artistic team.

“We are in the middle of building a partition for our dance space where a state-of-the-art Harlequin sprung dance floor will be laid next week and all our dance activities will be held.

“The space will be ready to use at the end of March when the dancers return for the new season but we still need ballet barres, mirrors and a sound system.

“We have three offices, a kitchen and a green room as well as space for our props and costumes.

“We are hoping to have an opening with some VIPs.”

For more information on the company, visit welshballet.co.uk