A NEW season of dance featuring some of the world’s top performers and choreographers takes to the stage at Lighthouse, Poole this spring.

Matthew Bourne returns to his roots with Early Adventures on March 10 and 11, a programme of hit pieces that launched his career and saw the birth of the style, wit and sheer entertainment of his company New Adventures.

Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole hosts All Night Long on March 18 – a brand new spectacular with guest dancers, a 14-piece band, amazing special effects and superb choreography.

Loosely based on Bizet’s popular opera Carmen, Tavaziva’s Africarmen on March 24 is a sumptuous and evocative synthesis of ballet, contemporary and African dance.

Jasmin Vardimon Company presents a brand new adaptation of the classic tale Pinocchio on April 18, bringing to life the famous marionette as he embarks on a fantastic journey to become a human boy.

Step back in time and relive special moments from the career of Fred Astaire on April 27 as Aljaz and Janette from Strictly Come Dancing take you on a magical journey of dance, live music and entertainment in Remembering Fred.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Triple Bill on May 9 and 10 celebrates the power of storytelling alongside the versatility and virtuosity of the company’s world-class dancers. Accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, this is an unforgettable performance of dance and drama.

Expect great music and dance from South Africa, mixed with urban culture from London and Los Angeles in State of Emergency’s Where Is Home? On May 12.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the end of the 1984 British miner’s strike, Coal, from Gary Clarke Company is a riveting piece of dance theatre which takes a nostalgic look at the hard-hitting realities of life at the coal face. See it at Lighthouse on May 31 when it rounds off the spring season of dance at the UK’s largest regional art centre.

Details and tickets from lighthousepoole.co.uk.