In pictures: Cats star Francesca Hayward prepares for her silver screen debut

Francesca Hayward is no stranger to being centre-stage.

In her already prestigious career, the 27 year-old dancer has performed as the lead in the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. But now she is turning to the big screen for her new role as Victoria in Tom Hooper’s film adaptation of Cats – a part which was played by Finola Hughes in the 1981 West End original.​

To mark her new role, photographer Tom J. Johnson has shot her in a series of portraits that showcase her talents as a ballerina.

'I return time and time again to the world of performance.' Johnson says, describing their collaboration. 'There’s this sense of story and personality that is innately woven into the very presence of performers. Whether they’re musicians, dancers or actors, they each bring something wholly unique to set which makes the process of creating a story incredibly exciting.'

'With Francesca, it was no different,' he explains. 'We met in a daylight studio in south-west London to shoot what was at first just a personal project between the two of us. Using the soft light of late-Spring, I sought to explore the elegance and timelessness of Francesca as a dancer, but also the warmth of her personality as an individual, and look at these elements away from the scale and glamour of the main stage and as of late, the film set.'

Photography by Tom J. Johnson, grooming and make up by Luka Watabe, dresses by Alice Archer and Jo Fleming. Find Francesca on Instagram at @frankiegoestohayward

See Francesca in her new role in Cats, in cinemas December 20th.