THE premier dancers at Leeds-based Northern Ballet will take a leave of absence from the company to pursue new opportunities.

But the company has confirmed Martha Leebolt and Tobias Batley will return as resident guest artists to perform in Northern Ballet’s Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet from September to October.

Martha joined Northern Ballet in 2001 and worked her way up through the ranks to become a premier dancer in 2009.

In 2010 she won a National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance (Classical) for her performance as the Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons.

Tobias joined the company in 2004, becoming a premier dancer in 2012. He was nominated for National Dance Awards in 2010 and 2012 for Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) and for Best Male Dancer in 2015.

Northern Ballet artistic director David Nixon said: "Martha and Tobias have had an extraordinary journey with Northern Ballet from very young dancers in the corps, to the leading artists they are today.

"Through their hard work and commitment they have made a significant contribution to both my work and the company.

"There comes a time, especially when a dancer has been in the same place for a long time, that artists needs to go out and discover new things which will enrich them and take them to new heights.

"This isn't about saying goodbye forever and I'm pleased they will still be doing some performances with the company next season."

The pair will perform in Wuthering Heights at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in September, followed by Romeo and Juliet which tours to Sheffield, Canterbury, Belfast, Woking and Bradford during September and October.