INSPIRED by a trip to Cuba, York's globe-trotting dance teacher Lesley Ann Eden presents her new show, The Music Box, at the Grand Opera House, York, on Sunday evening.

"It's a new 'choreodrama' I've written and choreographed after taking a musical dance course where I experienced the real Cubanismo rhythm as I travelled the country, " she says, introducing the York School of Dance and Drama performance.

"The storyline is about a music box owned by a little girl called Martha, who, through the magic of the music box, travels through time from the Victorian era to our present time and makes friends with a group of children that shows her how different things are today."

According to Lesley, pictured above, The Music Box shares Forrest Gump's momma's belief that "life is like a box of chocolates".

"This show is similar in that it contains memories both good and bad, and those memories are danced out in unique ways.

"York School of Dance and Drama is renowned for adventurous and exciting choreography that uses unusual methods, and this presentation will certainly entertain and stimulate the audience's imagination, especially in the ghost pirate scene, " she says.

"Special lighting effects and pyrotechnic devices will delight, too."

Lesley is particularly proud of one choreographic feat, her mini-ballet of The Sorcerer 's Apprentice.

"My pupils of all ages have learnt the complete score and will present it unabridged for the first time in York, " she says. "Stick fighting is one of the techniques they have been taught to make the show an amazing extravaganza."

Look out too for Lesley's fusion of "hot tap" with flamenco.

"It's an exciting blend of tap rhythm and flamenco steps that I've developed from my travels abroad, chasing the dance and forever seeking new ideas to challenge my pupils, " she says.

"In The Music Box there'll be numerous dance styles, songs, a 'choreodrama' and short drama extracts performed by young children, teenagers and adults, all designed to thrill and surprise. It's great family entertainment - a show for everyone."

York School of Dance and Drama, Music Box, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 6pm. Box office: 0870 606 3595.