STREET dance legend Banxy is to leave his sneaker prints on a summer project giving young people a chance to show off their skills.

The b-boy luminary will add his experience to a Swindon Dance show which will be performed in the town and at the Olympics.

Banxy, real name Richard Banks, admits his days of performing with the likes of George Michael are behind him and his next mission is to pass on his skills to another generation.

He will be overseeing Battle of the Winds – The Search for Swindon’s Soul, which culminates with performances at Swindon’s Big Arts Day and the launch of the Olympic sailing events in Weymouth, Dorset.

“Young people need a chance to be creative,” Richard said. “Swindon Dance has opened a lot of doors in mine and other people’s lives. I’ll be there this summer and will continue to support it in any way I can.”

Richard’s career highlights include dancing in George Michael’s Spinning The Wheel video, as well as appearances on Top of the Pops and MTV. This year he will feature as a breakdancing postman in an advert for Yorkshire Plus.net. But the days of lining up with fame-hungry hopefuls are over.

“The way the industry works with digital editing it is not so much about well you can dance, but how you look,” Richard said.

“In the past you needed 10 years’ experience, but that’s changed. Everyone wants to be famous and auditions are rammed. I have to accept I’m not 23 anymore, but I can pass my skills on. The b-boy scene is not about being stuck with someone else’s choreography, but learning from each other, making friends and being part of groups who practice together for years.”

Richard, 43, has formed such a close association with Swindon Dance that he describes director Marie McCluskey as a “second mum”.

He still dances at the venue in the Town Hall in Regent Circus, and can even be found performing tightly-executed routines to put any MTV star to shame.

Though the Olympics launch will provide a blaze of publicity for a troupe being formed by Swindon Dance, Richard’s association with the school goes back decades.

“A lot of my friends left school, got sensible jobs and went out at the weekends. All I did was dance. Years later it paid off.

“If you go to LA, all the b-boys know about Swindon. We put the town on the map. Swindon doesn’t know how well it does for hip hop and dancing.

“Above all though, it’s really nice to work with bright kids. My role is taking what they have already got and shaping it to make it look good.”

But the man who put Swindon on the map for urban culture still remembers how it feels to be a young dancer, something which will be invaluable to teenagers taking to the stage for the first time this summer.

“The first time you feel nervous as hell,” he said “Then when you come off stage you can’t wait to get out there again.”

* Auditions are still taking place for Battle for the Winds – The Search for Swindon’s Soul. The application deadline is May 16. Places are open for dancers aged between 14 and 25.

The work will be performed at Swindon’s Big Arts Day on July 14, and at the launch of the Olympic sailing events in Weymouth in Dorset on July 26.

For more information, visit www.swindondance.org.uk or call 01793 601700.