A dance school is desperate to raise funds which would allow it to compete at an international dance competition.

Theatre Express, a small dance school in Woodingdean, Brighton, was selected to represent Team England at the 2023 Dance World Cup finals in June and July.

Nine students from the school have achieved qualification for the competition, which is being held in Portugal, but need to raise £5,000 to cover costs.

So far, students have been taking part in a range of activities in the community from packing shopping to hosting quiz nights and working with businesses.

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Joanne Hutson, who founded Theatre Express in 2009, said: “I am so proud of all of our girls who have met the extremely high standard to qualify for the Dance World Cup Finals in Braga.

“To many, we are just little old Theatre Express from Brighton, but we are now able to compete with the best in the world and we deserve to be there after all of the hard work from everyone involved.

“While we are all so excited to have qualified and secured the chance to represent Team England, we now have to work out how to fund the trip.

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"We have under-age people taking part and therefore need to take parents with us in an economy where travel, accommodation and everything else that comes with it can be very expensive.

“This is why we have been working hard to secure donations from businesses and getting into our community to support them in return for donations.

"We appreciate any support that anyone can offer to give these girls the chance to have the best experience in the biggest competition of their lives.”

The Dance World Cup finals are being held from June 30 to July 8, the largest all-genre international dance competition in the world for children and young adults, with representatives from all continents.

Each country has only four places available at the finals per age group and genre and many people regard the event as the “Olympics of dance” with 6,000 of the best dancers from across the world taking part in the finals.

For more information, visit their fundraising page.