AROUND 1,500 dancers descended on Stourport to take part in the biggest ever annual Wyre Forest Dance Festival.

Organisers said the eight-day event - which ran at the Stourport Civic between February 18, and February 25 - was "more popular than ever" with audiences entertained by talented children and young people from dance schools across Worcestershire and as far away as Exeter and Leeds.

The annual festival is organised by the Wyre Forest Dance Festival Committee in association with the Civic Group and thanks to a Localism grant from Wyre Forest District Council.

The district council had given organisers £2,000 towards the running of the event.

Those taking part in the festival performed a variety of styles, including ballet, modern, tap and acro, in solo routines, duets, small and large groups.

Other highlights throughout the week included lyrical, song and dance, instant choreography and interpretation sections.

Adjudicator Geoff Lucas marked all performances, awarding medals to all section winners and giving valuable feedback.

The Senior Championship was awarded to Ellie-Mae Fereday, from Kidderminster-based Splinters, with Amelia Thompson, from Worcester's Academy Theatre Arts, picking up the Intermediate Championship and Lucia Tromans, from Stourport's Step by Step, the Junior Championship.

Festival committee secretary, Jane Bennett, said it was planned to extend the event to an extra day next year to accommodate more school as there is a long waiting list of those wanting to take part.

She said: "It is one of the most popular festivals in the country and the committee is very pleased with the success of the festival after taking over the running of it from Wyre Forest District Council this year.

"The council still supports us greatly with sponsorship and other help and that is much appreciated."

Other main awards went to Daniel Richards for Most Promising Male and Amelia White for Most Promising Female.

Most Promising Musical Theatre Performer was Benjamin Sears, Personality of the festival was Tasmyn Brittain, Chloe Taylor won Most Promising Ballet Solo and Hannah Burgoyne was awarded the Steve Jones Memorial Trophy for outstanding team spirit in group work.

Hatti White and Kai Cannon were awarded Most Moving Solo Performance and Effort and Achievement respectively.

Academy Theatre Arts won awards for ballet and classical groups, while Splinters won trophies for intermediate and senior cabaret groups and Step by Step for senior acro groups.

The festival, which was a qualifying event for the All England competition, also hosted a heat of the national Miss Dance and Master Dance - attracting competitors from as far away as Chesterfield.

Festival champion Ellie-Mae Fereday, who at 16, was one of the youngest Miss Dance entrants, was heat runner-up.

Evy Simpson, from Leeds, was winner and will complete in the prestigious final at Blackpool Winter Gardens.