People of all ages are being encouraged to get their dancing shoes on for an appeal to restore one of the UK's most historic theatres.

People of all ages are being encouraged to get their dancing shoes on for an appeal to restore one of the UK's most historic theatres.

The all day dance event will be held in Bury St Edmunds in aid of the Theatre Royal Restoration Fund and is backed by ex-Royal ballet principal dancers Ronald Hynd and Annette Page.

The dancerthon will give anybody the chance to try their hand at dances ranging from ballet to flamenco.

Heather Tilbury, who is behind the event, said: “We hope that the people who come along will be enthralled and excited by dance.”

Joint organiser Michele Lavender, the wife of former EastEnders and Dad's Army star Ian Lavender, spoke about the popularity of the BBC1 show Strictly Come Dancing and said she felt that it had encouraged people of all ages to take up the hobby.

She also hoped the dancerthon would appeal to men. “It is a great form of physical exercise, not many men can carry a woman around on one arm,” she said.

Mr Hynd and Mrs Page are both patrons of the Theatre Royal and will be teaching dances from the nutcracker as part of the event in March.

The Theatre Royal restoration project is set to cost £5.1 million and currently the appeal still needs to raise £150,000. It is hoped that the fundraiser, which is sponsored by the Dance Crazy shop in St John's Street, Bury, will bring in around £4,000.

The theatre is set to re open in September in time to host its Christmas pantomime, Cinderella.

The two-venue dancerthon will be held on March 10 at the Athenaeum and Guildhall in Bury. Details are available from the Theatre Royal box office on 01284 829947 or its website www.theatreroyal.org.