DANCER Rebecca Mancini will battle it out on the live shows of BBC’s The Greatest Dancer as part of hip-hop dance group Dark Angels.

Judge Strictly star Oti Mabuse picked them to be a part of her team in the final, which kicks off tonight.

Rebecca, who was brought up in Chapelwick Close, Shrivenham, has had a love for dancing since she was a child.

The 30-year-old started with ballet before joining Swindon Dance at Regent Circus where she took on tap and contemporary dance.

Her mum Beverley Whitewood, 64, says she is proud of her daughter.

She told the Adver: “Dancing is her life, she lives and breathes it.

“I’m incredibly proud of her and the whole team.

“They work so hard and sometimes they will be working until midnight.

“They are just a lovely group of people.

“For someone her age it’s a good push for their career and for the younger ones it’s a good opportunity for them.

“It’s wonderful and they’ve put so much time into it all.”

After Rebecca finished school she went on to study dance at the University of East London. She now works as a dance teacher.

Since then she’s also been working hard with the Bristol-based Dark Angels. They have competed in competitions, including for the American Dance Awards.

Another member of the group is Joe Picter from Chippenham.

His proud mum Julie Picter, 50,of The Emily Alner dance school, said: “He started in hip hop at the age of 10 but Emily noticed he was capable of more and in no time was doing everything.

“He stayed with the academy learning all styles of dance and competing throughout in dance competitions for six years until he moved on to the Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts in Swindon at the age of 16.”

The Greatest Dancer was created by Simon Cowell.

It sees dance acts perform behind a mirror for the dance captains Oti, Cheryl, Matthew Morrison and Todrick Hall.

If 75 per cent of the studio audience votes for them, the mirrors open and the judges can them choose them for their teams.

They are competing to win £50,000 and a chance to perform on Strictly Come Dancing.

Rebecca is a former student of Highworth Warneford School.

The next episode on BBC One is today at 6.30pm.