A dance academy has reached the finals of a national competition for the first time.

Northern Stars Dance Academy owner Leanne Pallister, from Prudhoe, said she could not be more proud of her students after they reached the That’s Showbiz National Finals following the competition at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

Leanne has owned the company for eight years and was thrilled to see the team bounce back after Covid, especially as it is the first time the school has reached the final stage of the competition.

"It’s incredibly overwhelming and I couldn’t be prouder," Leanne said.

"Our competition team has changed so much since Covid, we have had lots of new competition members and they have had to work incredibly hard in a short space of time.

"To see them performing together at the Winter Gardens was really emotional and then to get a place at the finals was just so overwhelming.

"It’s a huge competition and the talent is fierce, with some massive groups performing but they stood their ground and gave it everything they had.

"Their performance blew me away and it paid off as they were awarded the adjudicator's choice.

"This is our first time getting through to the finals. The last semi-finals we attended was in January 2020."

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The team competed against 31 teams and were placed third in the classic category routine. They were awarded the overall adjudicator's golden ticket award for their hip category routine. 

Reflecting on their success, Leanne said: "There is so much preparation that goes into competitions and our two senior members Holly and Maddie have been fantastic role models and supported the whole team from the studio to the stage.

"As a whole I'm incredibly proud and grateful to have such wonderful dancers in our academy and I can’t thank our parents, families and friends enough for there constant support.

"The team were full of tears, tears of joy!

"They were very emotional and so excited to have been placed in the finals, they knew how hard it was to make the finals.

"They are buzzing and can’t wait."