A DANCE school is celebrating its 10th birthday with a special concert at the Theatre Royal and a trip to the Albert Hall in London.

Members of the Stage Factory based at the St John's Centre on Crossley Road, Ravenhead will be marking their milestone with two date appearance at the Theatre Royal on Friday, July 17 at 7pm and Saturday, July 18 at 2pm.

Choreographer Helen Pender from the Stage Factory said: "There will be around 150 people taking part in the shows which will have singing and dancing. There will be all types of dance from tap to street. There will be a bit of everything."

The dance school is also celebrating after winning a place at a special Dance Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in November. Helen said they were one of 22 dance schools selected out of hundreds after sending in an audition video.

Helen said: "The Dance proms is huge and everyone is looking forward to it. It is a celebration of all different types of dance schools. When I received the letter saying we had been selected I was in tears. It is the biggest thing for me as a choreographer. Each school will represent a different type of dance and we will be performing tap."

She said that some of the school's dancers have gone on to study dance at a higher level including Michael Markey who recently gained a place at Bird College in Kent which is one of the top places in the country for dance and musical theatre.

Tickets for the theatre shows are £9.50 and can be bought from the box office on 01744 756000.