AN Addingham dancer is helping to breathe new life in to historic Glusburn Institute.

Qualified dance teacher Mel Hadfield starts her new street jazz classes at the venue today (Friday) for children aged from six.

Miss Hadfield, who is mum to one-year-old Lewis, started dancing aged just two, following in the footsteps of her mum who ran a dance school in Addingham.

She went on to train at the Northern Dance Centre and completed her teaching exams at Leeds Dance College - now the West Yorkshire School of Performing Arts (WYSPA) - which she runs in Guiseley.

Miss Hadfield has had a varied career as a dancer and has travelled the world, working on cruise ships and appearing on pop videos in Hong Kong.

She also took centre stage at a Royal Variety Performance.

Now, living back in Addingham, she wants to teach nearer to home and found the institute to be the perfect venue.

"I was looking in Skipton originally but I got approached by someone who suggested the institute. It is lovely."

The institute, which dates back to 1892 and belongs to the people of Glusburn, is becoming quite a school of excellence for dance.

It already hosts line and ballroom dance classes, as well as sessions by Circle Dance Centre, run by Debra Higson.

Meanwhile, cash has been secured for the institute's development worker Tamsin Headey until June this year.

Trustees, headed by Gill Birks, are hoping to secure more permanent funding for Tamsin and may apply to Lloyds TSB Foundation Community Programme.

Mrs Birks said: "It's not an easy one to get funding for but the institute is thriving at the moment. There are lots of activities and we are getting more all the time."

The long-term aim for the institute is to secure around £500,000 needed to upgrade the site.

The facelift will include the conversion of the chapel to include a mezzanine floor and dance studio. General renovation, including the windows, also needs to be carried out.

Mrs Birks added: "We are now getting the architect started again for detailed plans and costings. There's a new programme for community buildings with the Big Lottery which we hope will be available to us.

"There's a huge amount of work but someone needs to do it."

Meanwhile artist in residence at South Craven School James Oughtibridge will exhibit pupils' work at the institute later this month. Work from primary school pupils will also be on show.

The preview will take place on Friday March 31 from 3.30pm to 6pm, and work, mainly pottery, will be on show on April 1 and 2 from 11am to 2.30pm.