A PENARTH-BORN artist has been selected for a leading London festival of contemporary dance, after setting up her own dance initiative.

Former St Cyres pupil Rhiannon Brace is founder and artistic director of The Ophelia Project, a female theatre group who perform work inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings of women such as Ophelia, celebrating womanhood and femininity.

The 31-year-old will present her latest dance performance, She Walks in Beauty, at the Robin Howard Theatre in London on January 10.

The performance will be presented at The Place – home of the London Contemporary Dance School and The Place Prize, through which a number of the country's leading choreographers have developed – as part of The Resolution Festival.

“The Ophelia Project is a celebration of women, which I started in August 2009,” said the Aberystwyth Drama graduate.

“It draws upon romantic images of women, such as Millais' Ophelia and other Pre-Raphaelite paintings, to create movement, and is further influenced by the work of Lord Byron, Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser.”

Rhiannon set up the project in 2009 after moving to London to develop her own personal dance skills, appearing in various projects and performances.

Speaking ahead of She Walks in Beauty Show, Rhainnon said: “The performance lies somewhere between contemporary dance and physical theatre, examining the Pre-Raphaelite's glorification of the natural world and, as women, our relationship with Mother Nature.

“We applied to perform at the prestigious Revolution Festival and, amazingly, were chosen - it’s a massive honour.”

For more information on Rhiannon and The Ophelia Project visit www.theopheliaproject.com