Northern Ballet opened its doors to families who use Martin House Children’s Hospice at Boston Spa for a photography exhibition documenting their time spent with the ballet company as part of the START Hospices project.

The project, supported by The Prince’s Foundation For Children & The Arts, enables families to take part in arts activities that they would normally miss out on.

The initiative is designed to give young people with life-limiting illnesses and their families the chance to enjoy arts activities as a family away from the demands of their daily lives.

The families from Martin House took part in creative workshops, including dance and photography, and saw performances of Northern Ballet’s Three Little Pigs and Cinderella, where they were able to meet the dancers.

The Hitchens family, Fiona and Carl and their daughters Emily and Grace, both eight, were one of the families selected to take part in the project.

Fiona, who also had a son who passed away from the same illness her daughter Grace has now, said: “We felt very special to be chosen for the project.

“It’s great because it is something we could do as family. We were all so excited on the first day when we attended the rehearsal of the Three Little Pigs and Grace and Emily were captivated.

“It was lovely going in to a dance studio and taking part in activities which really seemed to involve Grace.”