A DANCE teacher from Rhos-on Sea is preparing to be judged by singing star Cheryl Tweedy and Strictly Come Dancing’s Otlile Mabuse as part of a TV talent show.

Dane Bates, leader of Dane Bates Collective and star of major theatre and TV productions, will appear on this weekend’s episode of The Greatest Dancer with his nine-strong troop of contemporary dancers based in London.

Dane, 31, who used to deliver copies of The North Wales Pioneer, has previously led a team of dancers to the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent, and is hoping to go one step further.

He said: “I’m super excited about appearing on the show. I feel really honoured to have been given this amazing opportunity. Having choreographed for a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent certainly gives me more knowledge.”

“We have worked very hard and just hope it pays off and we make it through call backs.”

Dane moved from Rhos to dance school in Liverpool aged 18 and then to London a year later in a dramatic two-step that looks glamorous from the outside, but there is an underlying truth of working hard to achieve your goals.

He said: “I didn’t have a lot of money growing up so I had to get a scholarship in order to move to London, which is why I went to dance school in Liverpool. I always wanted to be a dancer and move to London, so I just went for it.

“Hard-work and 100 per cent commitment is all it takes.”

But Dane is aware that there are not many opportunities where he grew up and returns every summer to run affordable, intensive two-week dance workshops at Coleg Llandrillo in Rhos-on-Sea where he used to be a student to “give back” to a community.

“I run the two-week workshops every summer at the college to give back to the community,” he said. “You don’t find many opportunities in North Wales.

“I would absolutely encourage people to have a go at the competition. It has been a life-changing experience for me, so it has definitely been worth it.”

The dance teacher has enjoyed a colourful career so far, venturing into theatre with a performance in The Illusionist at Hammersmith Apollo and understudying Rhydian Roberts in Beauty and the Beast.

He also choreographed the NHS’s ‘Stoptober’ smoking campaign.

But his sights are currently set firmly on working with his dancers to win the show for now.

He said: “If we win the competition we’ll win £50,000 and a performance on Strictly Come Dancing, so don’t forget to vote!”

The Dane Bates Collective’s The Greatest Dancer performance will be screened on BBC1 at 8pm on Saturday, January 26.