Edinburgh Dance Academy performers prepare for World Cup

THEY perform at competitions all over Scotland, practise for hours on end in their studio and entertain at various community events.

Edinburgh Dance Academy performers have qualified for the Dance World Cup. Picture: Andrew O'Brien

But now 50 dancers from the Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA) are gearing up for their biggest challenge yet – after being selected to compete as part of the very first Team Scotland squad at the prestigious Dance World Cup.

The dancers, and their mums, will travel to Jersey next month to compete against some of the world’s greatest talent hailing from 47 different countries.

They will also go head-to-head with a series of famous faces, including dancers from Jennifer Ellison’s Fame Academy, which features on Lifetime TV show Dance Mums UK every week.

Jenni Inglis, choreographer and assistant artistic director at EDA, said: “This is an amazing opportunity for the girls.

“It’s the first time the competition has ever had a Team Scotland, so it’s such an honour to be representing the whole country. The dancers are all looking forward to the challenge.”

Jenni said she first discovered the Dance World Cup on social media, before watching Team England compete in Romania last year on Dance Mums UK.

She said auditioning her dancers for the competition was a complex process, as each routine, in each age category, had to be videoed and sent off to the judges.

Jenni said: “It took us a while to get our audition routines perfect – we had to film, and re-film, but the girls all worked really hard and I’m proud of them.”

All of the dancers participating in the Dance World Cup – aged from six to 18 – are already part of the elite competition team at EDA, and are used to competing at local and national competitions every weekend performing various styles including lyrical, jazz, tap, hip-hop and more.

However, as well as training, the girls have been devoting their time to fundraising recently, to help pay for their journey.

Aileen Fergusson, whose daughter Ellie, 13, will be competing in the Dance World Cup, said: “I’m going to be going with Ellie for the full nine or ten days the competition is on because she is involved in quite a lot of the dances. Ellie loves dancing and she wants to do it as a career, so things like this are all great experience.

“She’s a pupil at James Young High School in Livingston and they have even authorised her absence to go. Everyone has been so supportive.”

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