A COMMUNITY has rallied around to help ballet dancer Mia Toward earn her spotlight on stage.

Mia, 10, was the only dancer from the Jane Robson Dance and Theatre School in Derwent Street, Consett, County Durham, to pass an audition to dance with the English Youth Ballet in a forthcoming production of Swan Lake.

To ensure the youngster from Moorside, Consett, would not have to pass up her chance, staff and students at the school, which has been on the go for 30 years, rallied round.

In echoes of the best-selling film and musical Billy Elliot, when a County Durham community got together to help a young prodigy take his big chance on the national stage, the people of Consett have supported Mia.

They raised over £500 to help her with costumes and rehearsals before she takes to the stage at the Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre in Westgate Road, Newcastle on April 12.

Jane said: “We sent 10 dancers to auditions at the theatre but only Mia was picked, which is a real honour for the school.

“But times are hard for most of us these days and we wanted to do something to make sure she could take up the opportunity without her parents, Graham and Natalie, having to find all the money.

“It costs quite a lot for the ballet outfit and the travel to rehearsals in Newcastle every day for two weeks before the show.