Dance troupe eye talent title months after their first gig

Preparing to bring some glitz and glamour to the Edinburgh’s Got Talent final are cabaret dance group Hustle.

The troupe only formed in June yet played their first gig the following month at T in the Park.

They have since dazzled audiences at the BBC 2 Culture Show and the Fringe, performing at BBC Radio 1’s Fun and Filth Cabaret in front of the likes of David Hasselhoff and Dappy of N-Dubz.

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Their sophisticated yet mesmerising performances ensured they were among the most popular acts in Edinburgh’s Got Talent, resulting in them becoming one of the 11 finalists who will take to the stage at the Playhouse on October 28.

Troupe member Lindsey Scobie, 22, a pension consultant and dance teacher, said: “We have just taken off so quickly. We were really nervous at T in the Park, but also really excited and believed in what we were doing.

“I think our success shows there is an interest in what we are doing. I don’t think there are that many acts around doing cabaret.

“It’s a seven-strong group of women aged 20 to 30. We do cabaret, like in the film, but our performances are very versatile – we do jazz, hip hop and contemporary.”

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The group were formed by Julie-Ann Laidlaw, well known on the Fringe circuit for her Vive le Cabaret shows.

The performers were selected from a total of 50 at an audition at the city’s Voodoo Rooms bar.

Now, those who were selected practise at the Factory Gym, behind Waverley station, and are choreographed by Jo Richards.

The dancers all juggle their rehearsals around their jobs.

Lindsey, who has been dancing since the age of seven, said: “I put us forward for Edinburgh’s Got Talent because I thought it would be good for publicity and it would be a great experience.

“We’re just all so excited about the contest.”

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But the group are remaining intriguingly tight-lipped about their performance at the final.

Lindsey said: “It’s going to be a surprise and a wee bit different from what we have been doing before.”

Already, 15,000 votes have been cast in the contest and 11 acts have been selected for the live final – one more than originally planned as two finished in a dead heat.

For more information, visit www.talent.scotsman.com

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