DANCER Francesca Preston is warming up for the silver screen.

The 18-year-old student at Rastrick High School and Sixth Form beat off competition from 10,000 hopefuls during the audition process to get a part of a dancer in British dance movie Believe.

Set for a cinema release in 2012, it has been choreographed and directed by Michael Paintain.

Francesca starts filming in October and the shoot runs until April, so she’s taking a gap year before she starts university to concentrate on the film.

She said of the audition process: “It was fun and I didn’t feel nervous as I was really excited.

“It was good to do different styles, such as salsa.”

Francesca added that the dance classes at the Field Top Lane school helped her in the audition process as it had “developed her confidence and technique in lots of different styles”.

The story of Believe tells the tale of a terminally ill girl called Emily, who defies all the doctors prognoses to achieve her dreams by setting up her own dance troupe.

Francesca’s audition day was a long process, which included performing a section of the script in a pair, followed by a prepared song. She decided to sing ‘Good morning Baltimore’ from Hairspray before taking part in a dance workshop in salsa, hip hop and street dance.

Francesca’s dance career started off in Year 8 when she joined the lunchtime dance club at Rastrick High School.

Her love for dance was immediate and she took GCSE in the subject.

She was originally planning to become a history teacher, but she enjoyed dance so much that she changed her career choice and opted for dance and drama at A level.

The talented teen is also set to appear in a production of Boogie Nights at the Halifax Playhouse in October, with the Halifax Amateur Theatre Youth (HATY). She is also a member of the Andrew Milthorpe Danceworks group.

Once filming is out of the way, the Rastrick teenager hopes to go to university or dance college to study musical theatre.

Her dance teacher Louise Sherring said: “I am extremely proud of Francesca and like to think back to when she joined Dance Club in Year 8 as a novice and now watch her progress and develop her ability to gain an A grade at GCSE dance and appear in a film.

“It’s amazing what you can put your mind to when you believe in yourself.”