Invitation to the Ballet Theatre

Charlotte says she doesn't come from anywhere because she moved around a lot when she was growing up. She always wanted to be a writer and worked as a bookseller before training to teach English as a Foreign Language. This took her to the Czech Republic and Ukraine, before she headed to Zanzibar to teach English to student nurses. On her return to the UK, Charlotte moved to Oxford where she started working in publishing before going freelance and writing children's non-fiction. She now writes picture books and young fiction, both with her husband Adam, and on her own. Helen has a degree in Graphic Arts from Liverpool John Moores University and a Masters in Illustration for Children from the North East Wales School of Art. Helen lives and works in the North West of England with her partner and two young children and when she's not drawing she's planning adventurous family days out and cosy nights in.

'A well-rounded look at life in the theater'

• An invitation for you - Welcome to the theatre - In the auditorium - The costume department (gatefold) - The shoe room - Morning ballet class - The rehearsal studio - The healthcare suite - The dancers' canteen - The set-building workshop (gatefold) - The lighting department - The makeup studio - The wig room - The orchestra pit - In the wings - On the stage (gatefold) - After the performance - In the dressing room - At the stage door.