Northampton dance troupe in with a chance of performing in front of Simon Cowell

A televised Britain's Got Talent audition could beckon for a Northampton dance group for people with disabilities who have made it through the early rounds of the competition.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Jan 2016, 07:30 BST
The Dance with a Difference members Luke Thomas, Kirsty Griffiths, Hazel McIntyre, Michelle Blunden, Josh Cox-White and Victoria Ielapi are in with a shout of performing in the next round of Britain's Got Talent.The Dance with a Difference members Luke Thomas, Kirsty Griffiths, Hazel McIntyre, Michelle Blunden, Josh Cox-White and Victoria Ielapi are in with a shout of performing in the next round of Britain's Got Talent.
The Dance with a Difference members Luke Thomas, Kirsty Griffiths, Hazel McIntyre, Michelle Blunden, Josh Cox-White and Victoria Ielapi are in with a shout of performing in the next round of Britain's Got Talent.

Dance with a Difference based in Spencer Parade, is open to people of all ages and all disabilities.

But on Sunday six members of the group, comprised of people with either Down’s syndrome, autism or global development delay, performed a choreographed ballet piece to Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down at an open audition for the Britain’s Got Talent.

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After impressing the ITV show producers at the Excel Arena in London, they sailed through the first round of the competition.

Dance with a Difference performing at the BGT open auditions in London.Dance with a Difference performing at the BGT open auditions in London.
Dance with a Difference performing at the BGT open auditions in London.

Now the group is waiting to find out whether they have made it to the televised round and with it the chance to perform in front of celebrity judges Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, David Walliams and Simon Cowell.

Senior dance teacher for Dance with a Difference Jo Blackwell, said; “We are just waiting for the phone call now.

I’m very positive we have a chance, but you just never know what they (the producers) are looking for.”

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Dance with a Difference first started in 2009 and now has 74 members.

Dance with a Difference performing at the BGT open auditions in London.Dance with a Difference performing at the BGT open auditions in London.
Dance with a Difference performing at the BGT open auditions in London.

The club meet regularly to practise all kinds of styles including tap, street, modern jazz and ballet. People of all disabilities are welcome and the group also holds wheelchair dancing classes.

The six members of the group: Luke Thomas, Kirsty Griffiths, Hazel McIntyre, Michelle Blunden, Josh Cox-White and Victoria Ielapi, have been rehearsing for the past six months and chose to do a ballet routine to break away from the usual crop of street dancing troupes that feature on Britain’s Got Talent each year.

Around 10,000 acts descended on the Excel arena last weekend, but only around 500 are being considered to go through to the televised auditions.

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As for how far they can go in the competition, Mrs Blackwell, said: “The guys say they are going to win it and why not.

“Judging by our reaction when we heard we had got through to the second round you would have thought we had won it already.

“To get through to something like this would really boost their confidence and inspire people across the country.”

For more information about Dance with a Difference visit www.dancewithadifference.net.

Related topics:NorthamptonDancePeople