YOUNG dancers from a Poole academy are reaching for the stars at a major London venue this weekend.

Members of the Andrea Knowles Academy of Dancing will take to the stage at the London Palladium in Argyll Street on Sunday in front of thousands of people.

And if the youngsters impress at the show, they may have the chance to appear at Disneyland Paris next year.

Dance teacher Anna Knowles, 24, said she was excited and proud to take 50 of her students to the capital for the performance.

She said: “We have danced a lot of shows in London but this will be our biggest yet.

“The youngest pupil is six and the oldest is 24, so it’s not just about us picking the oldest students – we wanted to take along the most loyal and committed dancers at the academy.”

The school currently has around 350 members, with a wide range of dances on offer for students.

On Sunday, youngsters will be taking on disco and rock’n’roll numbers in front of the crowds.

Anna said: “We’ll be there with lots of other schools from around the UK, so it’s a really big event.

“There’s enough room at the theatre for about 4,000 people. We’re all so excited about it.”

She said the youngsters would be keeping their fingers crossed for the chance to cross the Channel.

Despite the group’s growing successes, Anna said a chance to dazzle on the small screen was sadly lost earlier this year.

“We got an audition for Britain’s Got Talent, and they called six times to try and get in touch with me,” she said.

“Unfortunately, every time they called I was teaching, and I always missed them. But we’ll definitely be having a go next year.”