Trophies triumph for Oxfordshire dancers (From Oxford Mail)

Trophies triumph for Oxfordshire dancers

1:17pm Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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YOUNG dancers won so many trophies at their first international competition that they could not fit them all on the plane home.

Thirty competitors from Flair Dance Studio, who practise at St Gregory the Great School, in Cricket Road, East Oxford, walked away with dozens of trophies.

Because the group were so overloaded, they had to leave some awards behind in Norway after the three-day International Dance Star competition, held at Brunstad, south-west of the capital, Oslo.

The freestyle dance festival was a trip of a lifetime for many children and attracted about 600 entrants from Britain, Ireland and Norway.

You just feel so happy that you have achieved what you wanted to achieve

Poppie Morris, 16

Instructor Kelly Poulter, from Woodstock, said: “Three or four of them had never been on an aeroplane before or even been abroad, so it really was an experience.

“The young ones picked up so much and it brought the school together.

“It made me feel very proud, because they will remember it for the rest of their lives.

“Everyone won something, even the little five-year-olds.

“They were all so brave dancing in front of all those people. Their faces were a picture.

“When they got their trophies they stood on a big podium and it made them feel really special and the parents were crying.

“We had to leave some trophies behind at the airport. They were huge and they wouldn’t let us take them on.”

A £7,500 grant from the Youth Opportunity Fund and months of fundraising by the young dancers who packed bags in supermarkets and took part in sponsored walks made the trip possible.

Enya Christiansen, 11, of Chapel Lane, Littlemore, won two trophies, coming second out of 24 in the solo for her age group.

She said: “The best thing was dancing with people from another country and meeting new people.”

Poppie Morris, 16, has been dancing for 14 years and wants to become a dance teacher. She won three awards, including first place in the trio dance.

Describing the moment she collected her trophy, she said: “You just feel so happy that you have achieved what you wanted to achieve.”

eallen@oxfordmail.co.uk