Pupils at a dance school in Hatfield have qualified to represent Team England at the 2023 Dance World Cup.

The 'starlets' of North Star Academy, which has one branch in Welwyn Hatfield and one in Bishop's Stortford, will now attend the World Cup in Braga, Portugal.

North Star Academy takes dancers from age two to 18+. At the World Cup, starlets from all age groups will perform in seven pieces across many genres, including jazz, musical theatre, modern and contemporary.

The participants were chosen from thousands of dancers, who went through a rigorous qualification process to represent Team England this year.

North Star Academy is a pre-vocational performing arts school for anyone from beginners to budding professionals, and was founded in 2017 on the premise of "raising joyous, passionate and inspired performers, no matter their age or ability".

Dancers are trained in ballet, modern dance, tap, jazz, contempary, commercial dance, musical theatre, drama examination classes and acro gymnastics.

The dancers are looking for support to raise money for Team England kits, as well as to cover membership and entry fees.

The academy will be holding fundraising activities over the coming months, and is also collecting via their JustGiving page.

To donate and help reach the £500 target, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/elena-rodionova-2.