Nicole, from Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, has been dancing since the age of two. In 1999, then aged 12, she was the only Scottish girl to win a place at the prestigious Royal Ballet School.

In 2005, while still a student, Nicole was picked to tour with the Royal Ballet to Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. The same year, she was one of two students selected to do a Summer School of Excellence in New York at the American Academy of Ballet.