GWENT youngsters were among the 150 dancers who auditioned this week for a chance to perform with the English Youth Ballet.

The company held auditions at the New Theatre in Cardiff on Monday and attracted entrants from across South Wales and beyond for the two age categories of eight to 11, and 12 to 18.

There were 23 young dancers from Gwent who pre-registered for the audition and a further ten who registered on the day.

The English Youth Ballet will be putting on a fulllength production of Giselle this summer and 100 of the dancers will be selected to take part in the show based on their performance during the audition.

Both categories had to perform an hour-and-a-half ballet class on stage and judges were looking for youngsters who demonstrated a real love of dance.

Parents were able to watch from the auditorium.

Many of the dancers who were not selected to perform in the show may still get the chance after being placed on the reserve list.

Participants have already been informed if they will be taking part in the production, but will not know what part they have until the first day of rehearsals.