BUDDING gymnasts, breakdancers and MCs will be among those showcasing their skills at a special anniversary event for an Oxford estate.

Summer With Showtime returns to Blackbird Leys on Saturday, after a two-year absence as part of the estate's 50th anniversary celebrations.

Organisers plan to provide a stage for the most talented youths on the estate.

Pride of place will go to Showtime's street dancers - a 10-strong band of girls aged from 10 to 27.

But there will be plenty to keep other visitors occupied with a funfair for children as well as food and ethnic clothing stalls.

Kerrisa Lawrence, 24, Showtime's choreographer, said the event was being run to help promote black history on the estate.

She said: "We had an event in 2005 called Summer With Showtime and it went really well. So we are just trying to do it again. It is a talent show really but we are hosting it.

"We are pushing out the boat really. We are taking it to another level."

Showtime is based at the Blackbird Leys Community Centre in Blackbird Leys Road, and Ms Lawrence said: "We normally train Monday and Wednesday but we have been training five times a week for about a month.

"The dancers are happy - they cannot wait."

The street dancers will bop to hip hop, R 'n' B, funk, garage and reggae tunes.

Gymnastic displays and singers will also perform at the three hour show, which will take place on the fields behind Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre in Pegasus Road.

Ms Lawrence said she hoped up to 1,500 people would attend, and said: "There will be rides and an ice cream van. There are going to be a lot of different talents on show. People should come down."

Dolcie Obhiozele, African and Caribbean youth worker on the estate, said an exhibition would also take place detailing the perceptions second generation immigrants had when they first settled in Oxford.

She said: "We just want to bring the community together and show the talents that young people have to offer.

"There is a lot going on in Blackbird Leys and we are just focusing on supporting our young people.

Summer With Showtime kicks off at noon, with the show beginning at 2pm.

The event precedes the Leys CDI Grand Finale - another talent show for teenagers - which takes place at the Blackbird Leys Community Centre on Saturday, September 29.