A dance troupe from Knaresborough has put their town on the map, after competing in the Dance World Cup.
Freedom Performing Arts sent 22 girls to the event in Prague and placed sixth in the commercial dance category.
Up against some of the “biggest dance schools in the country”, the performers felt “terrified but excited” to go on stage.
Their dance teacher Amy Meikle likened the competition to “Knaresborough Town playing against Manchester United”.
Speaking to BBC Radio York, Ms Meikle said: “I’m thrilled, shocked and speechless. The girls absolutely pulled it out of the bag.
“The teams in England – it kind of blew my mind that we were in the same section.”
Freedom Performing Arts made the Dance World Cup finals, after coming third in the English qualifier round.
Despite only entering to see what standard the group was at, Ms Meikle said it was “extraordinary” to learn they were successful.
Dance student Rosie captained the troupe and described the experience as “absolutely insane”.
“When we found out we got sixth, we went crazy, we were screaming, shouting, waving our flags on stage,” she said.
“I’m team captain so I gave a speech to everyone backstage.
“I was trying to hype everyone up, and you could see on their faces they were scared and excited, but once we stepped on that stage, we said ‘this is it’.”
The girls had practised five days a week since Christmas, with a routine described as “a hybrid between street dance and the kind of dancing you would see behind popstars”.
To get to the Czech Republic, they raised £19,000 through raffles and community support.
“It was the Knaresborough community that did it for us,” Ms Meikle said.
“That community is so tight. All the businesses and people that didn’t even know us just wanted Knaresborough to be on the map.”
