AS Northern Ballet's critically acclaimed 1984 arrives in Southampton tomorrow ( Wednesday May 4) Martha Leebolt has lifted the lid on her role as Julia and her extraordinary career as a premier dancer.

Choreographer Jonathan Watkins’ is bringing the cult classic1984 - ‘The ballet equivalent of a page turner’ (The Stage), to the Mayflower Theatre for just six performances on its UK tour.

1984 famously portrays a dystopian society dominated by Big Brother’s surveillance, subjugating the individual mind and experiential truths to Party lines perforce. The hero, Winston, enters into a rapturous love affair with his co-worker Julia, only to find himself trapped for betraying the system; under torture his will is broken. Though the book’s concepts are household names – thought crime, Big Brother, Room 101 – it might seem a tough story to express in movement alone; and more disturbing is the idea that some might consider it too dark for dance.

But Martha told me:"People always ask me how a book like 1984 can be turned into a ballet but it really can. It's an incredible adaptation.

"For choreographer Jonathan Watkins it's been a dream of his since he was a teenage. You have to start with the book, and he had it at rehearsals with him at all times so that at any point he could refer to it and take the text and try to explore what kind of movement could be put into he world of 1984.

"For the corps de ballet most of the movement is sharp and extremely precise, and the music is also precise and staccato. In comparison, my scene where Julia and Winston dance together the music is much softer and it builds to a climax where movements are more liquid and sexy.

It's a huge task making a book into a ballet and Jonathan has done a great job. People are screaming by the end and people come to the stage door or take to social media to tell us how much they enjoyed it. People are so moved by it ."

What is it like playing Julia?

"I really enjoy dancing it. The choreography is wonderful for me. The hardest part was deciding how to portray Julia- which we decided with the choreographer. Was she in it from the beginning or was she also caught by Big Brother. It's quite exhausting because you are putting so much into it when you are living it in the ballet. We are use to these tragic stories but this is extra tragic if you really believe that Julia was falling in love. It's exhausting emotionally - but every ballet role is.

"The pas de deux at the end of Act 1 is a real crowd- pleaser. It's quite long and we don't stop moving at all for seven or eight minutes. It's wonderful and people love it but that's the most challenging part and by the end my heart is pumping! "

A Californian, Martha trained at the Black Mountain Dance Center and at BalletMet Columbus. She joined Northern Ballet in 2001. She won the 2010 National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance (Classical) for her performance as the Marquise De Merteuil in Dangerous Liasons.

Despite her success she was a late starter.

"I didn't get professional ballet training until I was 11, which is late for a girl. I had to do classes with eight year olds to catch up on classical.But then you’re older, so you move ahead quickly because you have the mind to do it. And then, I just improved quite quickly so I started going to Boston Ballet summer school and San Francisco summer school. And then I went to Ohio for a year."

It was in Columbus, Ohio that Martha first met Northern Ballet’s Artistic Director David Nixon OBE. He was Artistic Director at BalletMet. She had just graduated from high school in California and by mistake took the Northern Ballet company audition class instead of the summer school audition class. This resulted in them inviting her to take a year with ballet mistress Yoko Ichino and join the company a year later. So she joined their professional training programme.

When Nixon accepted a contract as Artistic Director with Northern Ballet in 2001, 19-year-old Martha was invited to join his company in England.

"It was my first professional job- I wasn't expecting to stay here for 15 years but you start to do well and things snowball!"

It is a life-style that requires complete dedication.

"Northern Ballet is a touring company which is very different to having a home base all the time because you are on the road doing seven shows a week in all these different cities. We only get one day off on the Sunday as on the Monday we are moving to the next venue and your work starts then. You can't do much exercise or you will be tired and you must watch what you eat. It is a passion and a way of life. It's a really special career. And when we are not performing we are rehearsing for the next show."

I suggest that might be confusing but she says:

"The steps of a show and the feel are so different you never get confused. But if I stopped and thought what an I doing in this city I might. "

Clearly being a ballet dancer has involved sacrifices from an early age.

"To become a professional dancer you must take classes regularly. I would have to go late to birthday parties but that's your passion and that's what you want to do and it takes training and you must be in peak condition. "

Does she still feel as inspired as at the start?

"Yes I do. Every project and every role is exciting and the audience keeps you inspired with their reactions and comments."

So how does she like to spend her day off?

"I love TV box sets! I can really lose myself in those and I also love to go to swanky restaurants, it's nice to really blitz a box set and watch episode after episode- maybe no more than four at a time! I love everything: Frazer, 24, Downton Abbey, The Good Wife. ..my taste is so varied. Going to a fancy restaurant is not just about eating- it's about having the time as apart from the day off every day is busy with rehearsals, classes and doing shows."

Finally has she any advice for anyone wishing to follow in her footsteps?

"It sounds cliche but you must work really hard and you must believe in yourself because there are a lot of ups and downs- and they are really extreme. You must keep mentally strong as well as physically strong. Mentally you are having to push the boundaries to the extreme and also you are being judged by critics and there's a lot of pressure to deliver and your nerves can take over. So you must believe in yourself and be level headed. But this is what we are trained to do as you are growing up.

I always have a little bit of nerves before a performance but once you are dancing in the role it's fine".

So was there one role she would like to do in the future?

"I've been extremely lucky and I'm just waiting to see what happens next."

Tickets for Northern Ballet’s 1984 (Wednesday 4 – Saturday 7 May 2016) are on sale from Mayflower Theatre Box Office tel: 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk. Ovation Restaurant bookings: 02380 711833