FOURTY-FOUR dancers will be showing their true colours by raising money for a vital East Lancashire children’s hospice.

Performers from Katrina’s Dance Academy (KDA) have all participated in a lockdown showcase video, which features dancers performing in their own homes and gardens.

And now members of the Blackburn-based dance school are using the video in a bid to raise money for the town’s children’s hospice, Derian House.

In the video, the dancers perform to two tracks selected for their meaning to the current lockdown situation and the kindness and goodwill it has evoked: the upbeat ‘We’re All In This Together’ from High School Musical, and Cyndi Lauper’s poignant ‘True Colours’, performed by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick in the 2016 Trolls film.

KDA principal and mum-of-three Katrina Baldwin said: “Usually at this time of year our dancers are performing in KDA’s annual show at Blackburn Empire Theatre. Sadly, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, that’s not possible, but I still wanted our dancers to have a performance to be proud of.

“Using our lockdown video to raise money for Derian House is a fantastic opportunity to show how much we care about this amazing local children’s charity at a time when many charities are suffering through having to cancel summer fundraising events.

“I’m proud that we’re so close to our fundraising target for Derian and know that we can smash it by sharing our lockdown dance video with KDA’s extended family.”

So far, £435 of the £500 target has been raised.

Sarah Proctor, Community Fundraiser at Derian House Children’s Hospice, said: “We’re so grateful to all the students and families at Katrina’s Dance Academy for all their hard work and commitment to producing such a wonderful and inspiring dance video to raise money for our children and young people, so a big thank you to everyone involved for your amazing support.

“The coronavirus pandemic has meant our summer fundraising events have had to be cancelled, leaving us with a £250,000 in our budget – so we need this money more than ever to ensure we can continue to look after families in need.”

The KDA Dancing For Derian video is available on Facebook at www.bit.ly/kdaderian.

To make a donation to Derian House Children’s Hospice, visit the KDA Just Giving Page at www.bit.ly/KDArainbow.