AFTER living on just £7 the week before Christmas in a bid to raise money for a charity she will be working with in Tanzania, you might think that Nyree Bryan would be a little short on energy.

But with just weeks to go until she jets off to the African country to work with young people and help them get into work, she found herself organising a series of high-energy dance classes for around 50 children to further boost her fundraising efforts.

Held at Julie Scott’s Academy of Performing Arts in Elgin on Sunday, young people from across Swindon came together to take part in dance, drama, and musical theatre classes with a showcase for other students, friends and family at the end of the day.

On offer on the day were classes in jazz, street and musical theatre, with guest teachers from different academies across the borough leading the workshops.

The event was organised as part of Nyree’s fundraising efforts that will see her set off for Tanzania in February to work with organisation Restless Development to try and tackle issues of unemployment. Faced with a target of £800 to raise – which goes to the charity, and not her own costs - she has been thinking outside of the box on how to reach her goal.

In the run up to Christmas she decided to live on just £1 a day for seven days in a bid to raise some cash. She said: “I decided I would try and live below the poverty line. It was a lot harder than I imagined it would be.”

Deciding to go for something a little more energetic for her next fundraising event, she found support from a number of dance instructors who agreed to help with her funding target by running the performing arts classes.

“Because I am really interested in dance I thought it would be a really good way of fundraising, and all of my teachers have offered their time for free.”

Speaking of her motivation for working with Restless Development in Tanzania, she said: “We are doing this because we hold the firm belief that young people have the ability to make important and lasting changes in our world, yet often are not given such opportunities to prove themselves.

“Having worked with young people throughout my life, I have learned so much and been awakened and inspired by them. I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to work with them and support them in their goals.”

On Sunday she will be staging another event at Baila from 5.30pm until 8.30pm when there will be a number of musical performances staged in the venue. All are welcome to attend.

To support her fundraising visit www.justgiving.com/nyree-bryan1