FOUR outstanding young dance troupes are busy putting the final touches to their routines for a gripping grand final at Romsey's Plaza Theatre on Saturday, June 17.

Hoping to follow up an excellent performance in the heats of the British Red Cross Dance For Life competition with a victory in the final will be Braishfield School.

After winning the Winchester heat, they will be facing competition from the Liphook Academy of Dance, the King's School (Winchester) and Victoryland Theatre School (Portsmouth). With the organisers from the British Red Cross calling for diversity of dance to reflect their Living Diversity Project, Braishfield wowed the judges with their diverse by striking up a link between England and India.

They researched Indian styles of dance and added them to English ones to finish up with a polished and innovative programme which bubbled with enthusiasm and made them the top troupe from the northern part of Hampshire.

Liphook Academy of Dance showed their versatility, too, going all the way from ballet to hip hop and there was a similar range of routines from the Kings School, while Victoryland came up with their own original version to the Live and Let Die James Bond theme.

The competition attracted entries involving over 500 young dancers from throughout Hampshire and senior British Red Cross fund-raiser Mike Carter said: "It has been a fantastic competition and it has given these young performers the opportunity to dance in front of live audiences.

Fund-raiser Laura Deacon explained that the final at Romsey will also feature a guest performance from top Bollywood and Bhangra dance company Bollywood Grooves, who have provided dances for videos, adverts and television programmes.

They will also be teaming up with the Pineapple Dance Company to give the winning group a two-hour session at their London dance studios.

Tickets for the finals are available at £5 on 01962 866833 or by e-mailing ldeacon@redcross.org.uk