TWO well-known faces from the TV series will perform in Bermuda next month, bolstering a show that will see the island's dance schools competing on stage.

George Huff and Jennifer Hudson both had good runs in the third season of Fox TV's talent show and their voices and faces will be familiar to thousands of Bermuda viewers.

The Dancing for Success show will take place in the Mid Ocean Amphitheatre at the Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel on the evening of July 3, starting at 7 p.m.

Kevin Bean, of promoters KDB Entertainment, said the singers would be an attraction, but that the stars of the show would be the young, local dancers.

"It's exciting because nothing like this has ever been done before," Mr. Bean said. "It's been in the works for three years and it's taken a lot of work to bring it all together. This is all about supporting dance and supporting our youth.

"The singers will perform, but they will be playing a completely supporting role. For us, this is all about the dance competition. It will be the dancers' night.

"We want to focus on the youth and Jennifer and George both fit this bill. They are both young, aspiring performers with ambitions."

The island's dance schools have responded positively to Mr. Bean's idea and all of them will participate, except the In Motion School of Dance, which has other things on its schedule.

Dancers will compete in five categories ? ballet, modern, tap, hip-hop and salsa ? and can win money for their schools. In total, there will be $7,000 up for grabs to be used by the schools for scholarships or tuition fees. There will be a $1,000 prize for the winners of each category and a $2,000 for the overall winners.

Locals can rest assured of the judges' impartiality, as they are being flown in from overseas. They will be Deloris Brown and Maher Benham, both of whom have taught at New York's Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre.

"We will be making a video montage of each school and putting it on DVD," Mr. Bean added. "It will be a family event and we really want people to come out and support it."

He added that the event had been made possible by the support of sponsors Phoenix Stores, the Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel, Mr. Chicken Restaurant, Electronic Services. Power 95 and Fresh TV.

Mr. Bean is an experienced producer who studied at the Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York and at the New York Film Academy. Among his productions in the US was an off-Broadway show entitled , which had a six-week run at the Victoria Five Theatre in Harlem.

Dance For Success is the first of a three-part series that KDB Entertainment plan to stage at the Fairmont Southampton.

The second will be Dance For Success Open Competition, open to all dance groups on the island, and the Sing For Success Vocal Competition.

"For the singing competition, we will be providing a full band and backing singers," Mr. Bean said. "We want to give them a sense of showbusiness, something they can be a part of. We want to make it a full production."

l Tickets for Dance For Success cost $40 and are available from People's Pharmacy, Victoria Street, Hamilton, and Caesar's Pharmacy in Somerset. For more information, call 504-8790.