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Island Dancers Bring Home Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals From Prestigious Competition

Wednesday, 17 July 2024 21:14

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.

Age 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 8th-12th), 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, after qualifying 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. While Lily and Diwata were reigning 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. While there were also great scores across the board, with the girls holding their own against some very tough competition.

• Auriella placed ninth in the world for her commercial solo and 20th for her acro solo.

• Aria placed 13th in the world for her ballet solo and 18th for her acro.

• Diwata placed 11th in the world for her ballet solo and also 11th for her jazz solo.

• Imogen placed 10th in the world for her ballet solo.

• Lily placed 14th in the world for her ballet solo.

Dance teacher, Mary Bowdery, said: “We had an incredible week in The Netherlands – and we now have some world champions amongst us. 

“Thank you to all our sponsors Red Funnel, WightAID and Rouse Intellectual Financial Planning and all 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 thanks to everyone from the Isle of Wight who supported them.

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