REBECCA Neilson is looking forward to appearing alongside some of her idols in the Northern Ballet.

Rebecca, 12, from Blackburn, will dance in Madama Butterfly after fighting off fierce competition from more than 50 budding young dancers who auditioned for the part for the production to be staged in Leeds.

Rebecca has now been accepted on the ballet company's week-long Easter Course which begins on April 2, also based in Leeds.

She said: "It was very hard work. The audition started off quite easy but it got harder and harder."

Her intensive training will prepare her for the night's performance and a chance to audition for a permanent scholarship with the Northern Theatre company, which includes training each week with professionals.

Rebecca, a pupil at St Wilfrid's High School, Blackburn, has been dancing with the Pat Eakets Dance School, Wesley Hall, since the age of two.

Maureen Chappell said: "We are absolutely thrilled and delighted. She has always been a budding star.

"We have had various people enter competitions and it is getting better all the time."

Rebecca hopes to make a career in ballet.