THE COMPETITION is hotting up in the quest to find Dorset’s brightest talent.

Singers, dancers, instrumentalists and ventriloquists all took to the stage at the latest round of the Dorset’s Got Talent competition in aid of the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust.

More than 20 acts auditioned at Charlton Down village hall during Saturday afternoon before 11 were chosen for the semi-final in front of a live audience in the evening.

The three acts to secure a place in the grand final included 10-year-old singer Sophie Green, who got the judges’ vote after singing Adele’s Skyfall.

Dance troup Dynamo Dancers, who performed to Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop me Now’, and singer Laura Greenway, who sang ‘Colours of the Wind’, will join her at the grand final after they secured the audience vote.

Matt Smith from Weldmar said that, as with previous rounds of the competition, he was amazed by both the standard and range of talent on show.

He said: “We had a comedian, dancers, a ventriloquist and lots of singers including a couple of opera singers, so it was quite a mixed bag.

“The standards in the semi-final was just out of this world.”

There is just one more chance for people to get involved in the competition, with auditions followed by the last semi-final in Bridport on Saturday, March 8 before the grand final at Freshwater Beach Holiday Park on March 15.

Matt said he was delighted with the response to the event around the county so far and the standard of entries already going through to the final meant it was going to be an event to remember.

He said: “We are really pleased with how the competition is going so far and the standard has just been amazing.”

The overall winner of the competition will receive £500 in cash, donated by Hive Beach Cafe, and a family holiday at Freshwater Beach Holiday Park.

Applications are still open for the Bridport event, for more information about the competition and how to get involved visit weld-hospice.org.uk