HAVING grown up in Paris, where my family still lives, I moved to Glasgow 11 years ago, aged 21. I’d come to audition for Scottish Ballet and got the job. It took me a while to get used to the weather. Even now I’m still struggling without the sunshine, but I immediately thought that people were very friendly. Paris is quite a big city and I kind of like the fact that Glasgow is smaller and only has one tube that goes around and that’s it, you can’t get lost on it, and everything is easily accessible.

My first flat was on Queen Margaret Drive, and six years ago I started looking for a new home. When I came to see this one, which is in the west end, I totally loved it. It felt right. I knew right away I wanted to live here.

I really liked the living room because it is quite big and has large windows, high ceilings and lovely plasterwork and cornicing. My dad, who is an architect, immediately saw the potential for making a mezzanine in the bedroom, so there was also the potential for a project.

Now, when my parents come to visit, they often travel by car because they don’t like to leave their dog, Billy, behind. My mum helped me out with the curtains in the lounge but apart from that, all the decor is my own style. Because of the winters that we have in Scotland I wanted something nice and homely and cosy. The decor is a bit quirky I would say, with some North African influence to bring in a bit of heat. My parents met in Algeria and I went to Morocco a few times when I was a kid. I love the warmth of it.

In my lounge I study, listen to music, watch films and entertain friends. Occasionally, I rehearse in it. I just find a little spot and try to recap some stuff or if I’m creating something I can try out a few movements in there. That’s the beauty of having a big room I guess. Sometimes it is used as a guest room.

Sophie’s Laplane’s new work, Maze, will be performed as part of Scottish Ballet’s Autumn Season at venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen from September 24-October 10. See www.scottishballet.co.uk for tickets.

Tutu

This was given to me by my first dance teacher, a lady called Beatrice. It was hers from when she was younger so it was quite old. I still remember the day she gave it to me. I just felt so special. I think she believed in me and that led the way for me [to pursue dancing]. I’d got into dancing because I was quite hyperactive as a kid and my parents wanted something active that would get me tired so they put me into dance classes and tennis and I really took to dancing. I liked it and it felt right. I was around seven years old when Beatrice started teaching me. When I was 11, I did an audition for the Paris Opera and I got into the school so that was a big step. I only stayed there a year but then continued my dancing at the Conservatoire in Paris from age 13 to 18, so from a young age it became quite serious. Beatrice is still teaching in Paris.

Plant

The first thing I bought when I moved to Glasgow was this Yucca plant from Ikea. It is still alive after 11 years. Other plants have come and gone but this one is special. In my old flat, I tried to have a banana plant and coconut tree, I don’t know what I was thinking; they didn’t survive long.

Trunk

This comes from a car boot sale back in France. I had the same feeling about it that I had with my flat; I immediately knew that I wanted it. I really like travelling and there is something about trunks. This one is so cool, I love it. I like car boot sales. I like the atmosphere and I enjoy the bartering. Although I put some stuff in the trunk I have my TV on top so I don’t access it very often.

Travel guides

I have several in my living room but my most cherished is my guide to Malaysia. I went a few years back with three other dancers and it was the first time we’d been on holiday together. It was a bit of an adventure and a very memorable trip. We didn’t plan ahead, we just got there. We landed in Kuala Lumpur and ended up in the islands to the north. I really enjoy the adventure of travelling. We get four weeks holidays during the summer so I do try and travel and discover new places.

Clothes horse

Obviously I use it for clothes, but I also use it to put my iPad on when I am filming myself creating some new movements. If something pops into my head, I just put my iPad on the clothes horse and it supports it and is the right height to film.

I’m doing more and more choreography. One of my pieces will be shown during Scottish Ballet’s autumn tour, so that’s really exciting. I’ve always been interested in choreography. At school I had a teacher who pushed the students’ creativity from a young age. Every week we did workshops and the following week we had to show what we had created. When I joined Scottish Ballet I started to create more and more pieces and my interest grew. I feel nervous and excited about my first show.

Photo

This is a photo of my mum, Susan, when she was younger, in Algeria. She was there teaching English and it is where she met my dad, Jerome, who was teaching architecture. I haven’t framed this picture, so I can carry it about when we are on tour. My mum is a true inspiration for me and I love speaking to her about my projects. I am close to both my parents.