A TEENAGE dancer who deferred a place at university to pursue his dream to be a dancer has gained a place on a national TV search semi-final.

Ashley Crewdson, 19, from Maunby, Thirsk, has been dancing since he was eight but at a dance competition earlier this year his potential was spotted by choreographer Robert Hamilton.

And on Monday he will be part of a troupe hoping to impress viewers of Sky One’s Got to Dance live semi-finals, after wowing judges Ashley Banjo from Diversity, Kimberly Wyatt of the Pussycat Dolls, and theatre dancer Adam Garcia in the audition stages.

Mr Crewdson initially won a place in Mr Hamilton’s Glasgow-based troupe Dance Illusion based on his work ethic after impressing with the time and effort he put in to rehearsing before his performance.

Mr Crewdson, who will go to Loughborough University in September to study mechanical engineering after taking a year off last year, said he is thrilled to be heading to the live semi-finals on Monday. (August 25)

He said: “It was amazing at the audition stage of Got to Dance – we got three stars from the judges, so we could pick which one we wanted to work with. We chose Ashley Banjo because he is the main man really – you can just see the talent coming out of him when he speaks to us, he is amazing.”

But now Dance Illusion needs public support to reach the final of the show, hosted by Davina McCall, on Friday, August 29.

Mr Crewdson said: “We have really stepped up for the next round.

“It was fantastic to impress the judges but now it’s all down to what the public think – we really want to go all the way to the final so we hope they support us.”

The live semi-final is on Sky One, Monday, at 8pm.