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Isle Of Wight Dancers Enjoy International Success To Bring Medals Home For England

Five young dancers from the Isle of Wight have brought home gold, silver and bronze medals – after they joined Team England in a prestigious global dance competition in The Netherlands.

Aged just eight, nine and ten years old, the five girls who train with The Starlight Academy, in Newport, travelled to the Global Dance Open Finals in Apeldoorn last week (July 8-12) to compete in ballet, jazz, street dance and acro sections.

Auriella, Aria, Imogen, Diwata and Lily went up against dancers from across the world, including from Gibraltar, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Canada and South Africa, having qualified in an earlier competition in Kent.

As a group, the girls came in second place for their jazz routine, while their commercial group dance placed third.

The girls paired up for lyrical and ballet dances, with Lily and Imogen taking a bronze medal in ballet.

Meanwhile, Lily and Diwata became world champions for their lyrical duet, placing first and bringing home gold medals.

Aria and Imogen placed fourth in their lyrical duet – and Auriella, Aria and Diwata placed sixth for their ballet trio.

Dance teacher, Mary Bowdery, said:

“We had an incredible week in The Netherlands – and we now have some world champions among us!

“Thank you to our sponsors Red Funnel, WightAID and Rouse Intellectual Financial Planning, as well as our amazing supporters. 

“These girls are really outstanding and the results just prove it.”

The girls spent the months leading up to the event fundraising to help cover costs – and have expressed huge thank you to everyone from the Isle of Wight who supported them.

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