A TALENTED Meltham singer and dancer will travel to Vienna at the end of this month after winning a starring role in a musical.

Sonya Morris , 19, flew to the Austrian capital in May to audition after seeing the role advertised in a German music magazine.

The competition was fierce and Sonya was delighted when a week later she was contacted and offered a named part in The Wild Party.

The musical brings the jazz-mad Manhattan of the 1920s to life.

Sonya will play Nadine, an innocent girl who is seduced at the wild party of the show's title.

She said "I am apprehensive about travelling abroad on my own, but I am excited about the job."

Sonya has plenty of performance experience, starring in performances of Hairspray and in Guys and Dolls as Sarah Brown.

Sonya attended the Hammond School of Dance in Chester, a leading name in vocational dance training, from the age of 14.

There, she took her GCSEs and gained a National Diploma in Dance, which enabled her to call herself a professional dancer.

Sonya, an admirer of Judy Garland and Ruthie Henshall, is keeping her performing ambitions open.

She said: "My career will certainly include singing, dancing and acting, but I don't want to limit myself to one discipline."

Mum Lynn and dad Colin will miss her terribly, she says, but are very proud of her.

Both will definitely be travelling to Vienna to see her perform.