YOUNG dancers are putting the finishing touches to preparations for a forthcoming annual showcase of their talents on a professional stage.

The Joanne Banks School of Dance spent an intense weekend in dress rehearsals for its production, Versions, at the Darlington Hippodrome.

It features a cast of 150 young people aged from four to 24, performing various dance styles, from jazz, to tap, ballet, modern, musical theatre, and acro.

Mrs Banks said the three-night annual summer show is the culmination of weeks of rehearsals at the group’s ‘home’, Studio 10 in Middlestone Moor, Spennymoor.

“It’s a big production with several themes, starting with a spectacular number by our graduate dancers and ending in style, with lots in between.

“We usually start from Easter time to build to this.

“It features some of our younger performers, but also some girls who have been in virtually every show for the last 20-years or so, as well as dancing in panto each year.”

The Hippodrome show runs from Thursday to Saturday, curtain up at 7pm each night.

Tickets are available via https://stagestubs.com/events/the-joanne-banks-dancers/versions, costing £16, with a 90p booking fee.