A slice of the street will travel from Bedford to Poland, when a youth dance group take part in an international dance competition.

Dance Vybz will travel to the IDO World Street Dance Championships in Kalisz, Poland in September, where the youngsters will be representing the UK.

The group was only founded three years ago, but has mushroomed from its beginnings as a single class run once a week.

Founder Steff Massey said: "I'm an ex-disco dancer and street dancer. I took part in national competitions – I suppose I have always been competitive in anything I do.

"Three years ago I decided to hang up my competitive boots and set up a class on Fridays, and it just went from there.

"I never imagined it would end up as a full-time job. When I first began this I had a job as an executive PA.

"During the second year I went part-time because the dancing classes were taking over, and last year I went full-time.

"Dance Vybz now runs 18 c l a s s e s throughout the week, with more than 200 students benefiting from Steff's expertise.

Classes take place in Bedford, Bromham, Sharnbrook, Thurleigh, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Olney and Irthlingborough.

The group also has a selection of teams and crews that take part in competitions, which are called Kaoss, Ethos, Crucial, Executive and Pulse.

And Steff hopes the group's success will entice sponsors to help cover the youngsters' costs when they compete abroad.

She said: "One of the big reasons why children want to learn to street dance is programmes like Britain's Got Talent.

"They see those groups and then they want to do the same thing.

"They start with beginners' groups and work their way up, joining teams and crews.

"They get better and better until they are at a level which some of them are now at, competing for their country."

She added: "Street dance is about anything goes. There are basic movements, which we teach like any dance discipline, but street dance is all about how you are feeling.

"So you work moves like body popping and backflips, like a lot of dancing styles, but your facial expressions and attitude are important too.

"It's a very modern form of dance that teenagers love. Plus it is done to music that they like, such as pop and rhythm 'n' blues."

To find out more about the group visit www.dancevybz.com