A special charity concert is being held at the Mayfair Theatre tomorrow to help a young star soar.
Former Dunedin performer Hayden Withers (17) has been accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.
The 17-year-old Christchurch-based singer and tap, jazz and ballet dancer was invited after he won the 16-and-over grand champion dancer title at the World Championships of Performing Arts in Los Angeles last year.
The event is known as "the Olympics of the performing arts world".
However, the Christchurch earthquakes and the impact they had on his mother's health had jeopardised his chances of being able to afford the course, his aunt, Dunedin singing teacher Gladys Hope, said this week.
"His mother had a stroke last year through all the stress," she said.
"He has a lot of family and friends here in Dunedin and we thought it would be nice to hold a concert to help him raise the $60,000 he will need to fund the 18-month course."
The concert features Greer Robson Clarke, the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat cast from the recent Musical Theatre Dunedin production, the Ghillie Callum Dancers, Denise Henderson School of Tap, Otago Girls' High School hip-hop group, Kelvin Cummings and the Dunedin School of Ballet. The concert will be compered by Ms Hope and Denise Henderson.
The concert starts at 7.30pm tomorrow at the Mayfair Theatre.
Tickets are $10.
