Five-times British champion gymnast Frankie Jones has picked a routine for her Olympics attempt created by Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Matthew Lawrence.

Welsh-born 21-year-old Jones is the only British individual rhythmic gymnast to compete at the 2012 Olympics, and will unveil her new routine at the Rhythmic Gymnastics British Championships on 29 June in Stoke in Trent. The four days of rhythmic gymnastics competitions at the London 2012 Olympic Games in which Frankie will be competing take place between Thursday 9 and Sunday 12 August at Wembley Arena. 


Lawrence, a principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet since 2008, said of his time choreographing the routine for Frankie: "It's both exciting and scary working with Frankie, because in creating a piece, you realise only your imagination is holding you back, as her body can create any imaginable shape or movement. A rhythmic gymnast takes elements of ballet, and then stretches it to the extreme. It's like the disciplines are related, but each has evolved on different planet.

"The routine is about dealing with the transitions of life. Frankie and I are kindred spirits in this respect, as we're both nearing the point of transition in our life stages. The piece has a melancholic tone, spiked with hope for the future, yet tinged with trepidation of uncertainty."

Rhythmic gymnastics is a combination of gymnastics and dance with the use of balls, hoops, ribbons, ropes and clubs, and is rapidly growing in popularity in the UK and around the world.

Jones has been British gymnastics champion three times in 2006, 2007 and 2009, and medal-winner twice in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. In a recent BBC interview she confessed that she needed to improve her "expressiveness" and performance side, and hoped her new routine would aid this.

Lisa Higgins, Frankie’s rhythmic gymnastic coach commented, "Frankie and I have certainly gained an immense amount of support from Birmingham Royal Ballet, from both Matthew Lawrence who has choreographed Frankie’s routine for the Rhythmic Gymnastics British Championships, and from Body Conditioning Instructor Jennifer Mills. Frankie has reaped the benefits and we hope that we can continue to have a link with Birmingham Royal Ballet in the future."