THE year’s biggest celebration of young people’s dance comes to the Lowry at Salford Quays next month.

U.Dance, the nation’s youth dance festival, will see 450 young dancers from across the country performing at the Lowry from Friday, July 8 to Sunday, July 10.

"It is one huge celebration," said festival organiser Claire Somerville. "It's an opportunity for everyone to see the highest quality of dance from young people from around the country.

"For people who may have been put off from going to see dance live, this festival is the perfect opportunity for them to see what they have been missing."

Almost 300 dance groups made up of youngsters aged 11-19 from around the UK applied with 19 being selected to take part in the festival. Styles include hip hop and street dance, contemporary dance and South Asian dance.

"For these young people to be able to perform at the Lowry which has developed such a great reputation for dance is a tremendous experience," said Claire.

"Each group's performance will only be around seven minutes so even if that particular style isn't to your taste, the chances are the next one will be."

The festival is a major coup for the Lowry as well as the youngsters selected to perform.

"This is the major event of the year," said Claire, "and we are delighted to be returning to the Lowry for the first time since 2007. We brought the group leaders to see the venue and they were all so excited to be performing there."

Over the course of the festival there will be 48 workshops and six main performances including a number of free events around the Lowry.

"There is such a diverse range of activities," said Claire. "The festival just has such a special atmosphere."

As well as performances there will also be advice sessions for young people thinking about a career in every form of dance.

Andrew Hurst, chief executive of One Dance UK, said: “With such wonderful spaces for performance, The Lowry is the perfect venue for this year’s festival. U.Dance will literally be taking over every corner of The Lowry with dance.

“The festival celebrates the strength of youth dance in this country today and is an opportunity to see some of the UK’s most exciting emerging young talent.”

“Every year people come along to the festival and they always leave with a smile on their faces and a spring in their step,” added Claire. “For people in the North West, the festival’s on your doorstep this year and I’d urge everyone to come along. It’s a great introduction to dance and the quality of the young people is amazing.”

For full details and tickets visit thelowry.com