Home News Fife

Joy as 11 Leven girls picked to represent Scotland at Dance World Cup

The girls, aged from eight to 20, are all members of the same dance school.

By Claire Warrender

January 15 2024, 6:00am

The 11 Leven girls at rehearsals at the Amber Barclay Dance Academy. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

Eleven students from the same Fife dance school have been given a “once in a lifetime” chance to represent Scotland this summer.

The girls from the Amber Barclay Academy of Dance in Leven have qualified for the Dance World Cup.

And they are now working their socks off to ensure they shine at the prestigious competition in Prague from June 27 to July 6.

Team Scotland is one of 66 countries taking part and Amber said she could not be more proud of her girls, all aged between eight and 20.

“I couldn’t even breathe when I got the results,” she said. “I was in tears – happy tears.”

However, with the trip likely to cost around £2,000 per student, fundraising has begun in earnest.

Amber added: “We’re going to work as hard as we need to to make this unbelievable opportunity happen for the students.”

Who are the 11 Leven girls heading to the Dance World Cup?

Amber had to put together video entries for Dance World Cup judges at the end of last year.

They were among 5,000 entrants from across Scotland and 30 of their dances were successful.

As well as a group performance involving all 11, they will be performing solo routines, duets and trios.

Those who qualified are:

Amber added: “We’ve been working so hard for the last two years and the girls really deserve this.

“The oldest one is 20 and it’s the last year she’ll be able to do something like this before she retires.

“It’s an amazing opportunity and, for some, once in a lifetime.”

Among the fundraising ideas mooted by the Amber Barclay Academy of Dance is a 24-hour danceathon.

And members of the community may be asked to put on their own dancing shoes with a Levenmouth’s Got Talent competition also on the cards.

Other ideas include match day bucket collections at East Fife’s Bayview Stadium.

Meanwhile, Amber has also launched on online fundraiser, which can be found here.

And she says any other fundraising ideas would be welcome.