A GROUP of Amman Valley youngsters were left devastated after they were dropped by organisers of Ammanford’s Christmas festival 24 hours before they were due to perform — because their routine was not Welsh enough.

The 14 dancers from the Amman Valley School of Dance, all aged between 10 and 14, were told by text message that they would not be welcome at the Wonder of Christmas event as the song they planned to perform lacked “a strong Welsh focus”.

The children had been perfecting their routine for more than a month and were excited to be performing in front of family and friends at the showpiece Christmas festival.

However, the day before the children were to show their talents, Welsh culture quango Menter Bro Dinefwr withdrew their invitation to perform.

The school’s Marcia Evans said the children were stunned when told they were no longer welcome.

“We received a text message a day before the event stating the troupe would no longer be able to take part,” said Ms Evans.

“The children were devastated.

They had been practising for weeks.”

The children were told they could perform, but only if they danced to a different tune.

“At such short notice it was impossible to alter the routine,” said Ms Evans.

A Menter Bro Dinefwr spokesman said: “Menter Bro Dinefwr was responsible for the provision of Welsh language entertainment at the Wonders of Christmas event between 10am and 2.30pm.

“Having received several complaints during the run up to the event relating to the fact that the Welsh language was not represented in any promotional activity, we decided that all acts on the stage organised by Menter Bro Dinefwr should have a strong Welsh focus.

“We took the decision to cancel the dance group who were due to perform to English music as it could lead us to further scrutiny in diluting the limited level of Welsh language provision.

“It was regrettable that we had to take this decision but in doing so we had the best interests of the event organisers and the community at heart, as we did not want to draw negative attention to a group who have worked so hard in organising a very successful festival.

“We apologise for any inconvenience the cancellation may have caused.”