Dubbed 'the original Glee', almost two hundred students from a Norwich Academy have been taking tips from an American dancing and singing group to put on a unique performance.

Students from Ormiston Victory Academy on Middleton Crescent, Costessey, were visited by The Young Americans and took part in workshops with the 45-strong cast over three days.

The event culminated in a two hour concert featuring the students performing alongside The Young Americans.

Assistant principle, Katharine Cook, helped organise the event and explained why projects like this are so important to the area.

'It is really about being an out of hours learning experience within the community. We wouldn't be able to do it without the support of parents and other people in the area,' she said.

'The best way to describe The Young Americans is to say that they are basically the original Glee.'

The performance took place on Wednesday, February 16 and Fred Corbett, deputy director of Childrens Services, and Carol Edwards, director of Nursing at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital were invited to the show as the academy's VIP guests.

The Young Americans were founded 1962 in Hollywood, California by Milton C. Anderson, a music teacher at Birmingham High School, Los Angeles.

The group consists of 200 members from over 37 states and seven countries around the world.

Their International Music Outreach Tours were created to bring music back into schools and the performance workshops cover everything from vocal techniques, dance, and comedy improvisation, to stage movement, sound and lighting.

By travelling to England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ukraine, Gibraltar, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Japan, more than 150,000 students have participated in the workshops and their 2011 UK tour will take them to 20 schools across country.

For more information about The Young Americans visit www.youngamericans.org.

Are you having a special guest visit to your organisation? Contact Local Life editor Donna-Louise Bishop at donna-louise.bishop@archant.co.uk or call 01603 772438.