A SHOWCASE of West Cumbrian talent has raised £1,250 for a children's charity.

Over 200 people turned out for the event which saw young members of Ignite Dance Academy perform ballet, modern and street dances. 

Held at Whitehaven Golf Club, it also featured musical support from Sophia Brenan, Kim and Mark Fisher, Amy Morton, Zoe Warren and Lee Shackley.

The finale saw Sophia Brenan perform Chandelier with the Ignite dancers. Following this, Ignite's co-principals, Sue Skinner and Zoe O'Townson, were presented with flowers from their students and parents.

Cash raised from the event will be donated to Pegasus Children's Trust, whose founder is Judy Westwater. She attended the event to talk about her work having been recently nominated for a ‘Point Of Light Award’ by David Cameron.

Sue said: "We were really excited to showcase the talent of our students, they are all dedicated and really hard working.

"We are really proud to be helping Judy and her work and the fact that we are helping others who have a passion for dance to work with children on the other side of the world is great. 

"Not only will our students get to be great performers but by developing awareness of projects such as these they can see how dance has a wider role to play in our communities.”

Once such project that Judy supports is ‘Dance For All’ in Cape Town. Ignite will be now working closely with this school to exchange ideas and encourage communication between the students.

Also attending the event were local artist Sue Booth and Cumbrian Woman of the year Rachel Holliday, Cumbrian Woman of the Year.