A HORLEY teenager needs your support to get to the final of a dance competition on national television tonight.
James Black,18, is part of a dance troupe which has made it through to the live semi-finals of Sky 1's Got To Dance, which is being aired at 7.30pm.
He and friend Louie Shepherd, 18, joined Dance Illusion in March after being recruited through James's mum, Caroline Black, who runs Stages Performing Arts in Ifield.
After sailing through the auditions with their act, which involves a high-energy dance routine with elements of magical illusion, they were recruited by street dancer Ashley Banjo, one of the judges.
Along with fellow judges, Kimberley Wyatt of the Pussycat Dolls and tap dancer Adam Garcia, Ashley has chosen six acts to coach, including Dance Illusion, which has 19 members.
They are up against the five other acts under Ashley's tutelage tonight (Monday) in the first of three live semi-finals, when they will dance in front of a studio full of people as well as millions of viewers.
James has been dancing since he was three.
"It's been a bit of a blur [since we have been on the show] because it has gone so quick," said James, who went to Oriel High School in Maidenbower and lives in Darnth Way, Horley. "You don't realise how big Ashley Banjo is in real life. He's 6ft 5 and it's a bit surreal to find ourselves being coached by him.
"When we first went out on stage it was nerve wracking. I didn't know what to expect. But it went so fast. It was the quickest one minute and 30 seconds of my life."
Competitors have to get three gold stars from the judges to get the chance to go through to the next stage. And when those coveted stars lit up James was actually disappointed. He explained: "I thought they were red. Watching it back on TV I saw my face and it dropped while everyone else was cheering, then I quickly realised [my mind had played a trick on me]."
Only three of tonight's acts will go through after a public vote, so James and Louie are calling on Crawley residents to back them.
Louie, who lives in West Way, Three Bridges, and started dancing aged seven, said: "We feel like we do have a chance of winning because our act is so different. We're hoping the people of Crawley will back us. We need them to watch the show and vote for us."
The routine they performed for their audition ended with a young girl being made to disappear by way of a magical illusion. James joked: "She disappears and we never seem to be able to find her because we don't know where she has gone. She always turns up eventually."
*Got To Dance is on tonight (Monday) at 7.30pm on Sky 1.
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