IDENTICAL twins Kathryn and Georgia Bullen have celebrated their graduation from the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) to begin working as professional ballet teachers.

The 21-year-old duo, of Tynewydd Road, in Barry, have set up their dance academy, in Barry - Les Jumelles Academy of Dance meaning "The Twins" in French.

The twins were dance coaches for Superstars In The Making (SITM) alongside their brother SITM founder and director, Christian Bullen before training.

The former Bryn Hafren Comprehensive pupils got their RAD results earlier this month, November.

Their ballet training started, aged three.

They both began their dancing career with the Wendy Summerell School of Dance before teaming up with RAD teacher Kim Tulloch and they continued to follow their passion – training for the past two years with RAD to become qualified teachers.

Georgia, the youngest by four minutes, said: “My study experience was challenging, as the course is distance learning and so required a lot of independent study.

“It was important to be self-disciplined to ensure assessments were submitted on time however, the course has been rewarding and I have learnt many new skills."

Kathryn said: “I found the Intensive Study Period at RAD headquarters the biggest challenge during my study, as it was 10 days of intensive training and learning of the syllabus, which was physically demanding because everything was included within the 10 days.

“The experience however enabled me to work with other trainee ballet teachers and share our training methods which was a great opportunity.

“Now we are fully qualified RAD teachers we have established our own dance academy called Les Jumelles Academy of Dance meaning "The Twins" in French.

“The academy currently offers professional RAD ballet training and will shortly be offering a range of dance styles to ensure our students are given the best possible opportunities and are prepared if they wish to pursue a professional career in dance.

“We are hoping to attract students from the age of 3+ to young adults.

“Whether it be as a hobby, or to obtain a professional career in dance, anyone can benefit from the skills gained through our classes.”

The pair are based at St Johns Hall Barry, Beryl Road, in Barry.

Kathryn added: “We are both very excited to introduce a fresh, new dance academy to the public.

“We are looking forward to putting all of our new knowledge and training into practice to ensure our students achieve their desired results.

We would like to thank our ballet mentor Kim Tulloch for all of her guidance and support along the way.

“We would also like to thank our family for encouraging us to achieve our goals.”

For details, visit lesjumellesacademyofdance.com, email lesjumellesacademyofdance@outlook.com; visit Facebook or Twitter @LesJumellesAOD