A COMMUNITY dance school first founded in Barton celebrated ten years at a special 'Messy Christmas' dance event this weekend.

Messy Jam, which has 130 regular dancers across Oxfordshire, filled Wheatley Park School, Holton, on Sunday afternoon for the celebration and to showcase a range of dance moves.

Nearly 200 people turned out at 3.30pm to watch performances from the school and to join in the birthday celebrations.

Principal and dance teacher Ellisha Peart, 33, said: “The event was really, really good.

“There was about 80 dancers taking part and maybe about 150 to 200 spectators turned up. That was a really good turnout for this and to celebrate ten years was really special.

“We aren’t just a dance school, it is like a big family. It was a good occasion for everybody to get to know each other and to come together as a community.

“The dancers are all aged from five up to adults so we have a big mix of people, its really varied.

“For us as a dance school we like to think of ourselves as an all inclusive school that do many different styles. It’s a really diverse school.”

She added that although the school’s main forte was street dance, the children challenged themselves to do a range of styles, particularly for the birthday event.

There were also a number of awards offered on the night for prizes ranging from most improved to the parent-and-child award.

The highlight of the night, the all-stars battle, had three winners from different age categories.

The winner of the under-10s was Sapphire Abraham, 7. Under-13s winner was Wood Farm resident Chelsea Cox, 12, and the over-13s category was won by Rochelle Jacques.

The parent-and-child award went to Chelsea Cox and parent Tara Young.

Best attendance went to Usman Baker, 12, from Barton and Marie Stone-Loveridge, 15.

Most improved dancer was awarded to Rocco Tong, 9, and the rising star award went to Daisie Hegerty-Ward, 12, from Oxford, who also took the highest grade for jazz.

The community dance group meets at two venues at Blackbird Leys: The Barn and Jubilee Hall.

The group are also planning on launching a third site at Barton in the near future.