A COMMUNITY dance school is gearing up for the first of its 2014 shows.

The Red Hall Dance Company in Darlington is entirely volunteer-run and has grown in size from 14 children when it started in 2003 to its present 75-strong membership.

Its ethos is that financial barriers should not stop youngsters from enjoying dance, so all the funds needed to keep it running are raised through a Saturday morning café, a weekly bonus ball, and various fundraising events.

The company stages two shows each year and the first of 2014 – and its twentieth to date - will take place over the weekend of May 30 at Hummersknott School.

Co-ordinator Sarah Small said that the show, Let it Go, is a real mixture of songs from pop hits to musicals and she praised the children for their dedication to it.

She added: “A lot of the older girls who joined when they were younger are now involved in helping out at the school and they are absolutely brilliant, they are such positive role models.

“We don’t enter competitions or exams, the children do it just because they love it and as long as they are enjoying it that is all that matters.”

Admission to the show, which starts at 7pm on May 30 and 31, costs £5 for adults and £4 for children.