YOUNG dancers from Witney will realise their dreams as they take to the stage for a production of The Sleeping Beauty.

The performance – which includes 100 dancers aged eight to 18 – will be presented by English Youth Ballet at the New Theatre in Oxford on Friday and Saturday.

Earlier in the year the company held an enormous audition in which 300 young dancers from the area turned out to compete for a chance to appear in the production.

Ella Frost lives in Witney and attends Henry Box School. The 17 year old, who started dancing when she was three and now trains with Jill Stew School of Dance, spoke about her excitement to perform on stage with the company.

She said: “I do ballet, modern, tap and contemporary dance.

“I am really looking forward to the experience of being on stage with English Youth Ballet and performing.

“In the future I would like to go to dance college. I would also like to be a dance teacher too.”

Nine-year-old Joe Harvey, of Cassington, is among the youngest to make it into the cast of The Sleeping Beauty.

He said: “I started dancing when I was seven years old. I started doing ballet because I kept on spinning around on my tip toes. I really enjoy it. I do ballet and street dance – I love them both.

“I am looking forward to dancing with English Youth Ballet because it will help me decide whether I want to audition for the Royal Ballet School or just carry on doing it for fun.

“In the future I would either like to dance or go into what my dad does – which is buying and selling tractors.”

Rehearsals for the ballet are currently taking place at Oxford Academy, where the young cast are now in the middle of just 10 days they have to prepare for the production.

Julianne Rice-Oxley, EYB’s ballet mistress, said: “The young dancers are treated like professional dancers during rehearsals – we work them hard but the results are fantastic.

“They learn what the life of a professional dancer is like. They are living their dream and they just love it.”

The ballet will star international principal dancers Amy Drew, Adele Robbins, Monica Tapiador, Richard Read, Brenden Bratulic, Oliver Speers and Steven Wheeler.

Tickets can be purchased at the New Theatre's box office on 0844 871 3020 or online at atgtickets.com/oxford