A GROUP of Oxfordshire-based dancers have tasted success at the World Freestyle Dance Championships.

The four girls train at the Flair Dance Studio, based at The Oxford Academy on Sandy Lane West, Oxford, and were up against some of the world’s best freestyle dancers.

Ellie Storrar, 14, Amelia Jones, 12, Bethany Mazey, 11, and Kady Chandler, eight, took part in the competition at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Saturday and Sunday last week.

Amelia, from Tackley near Bicester, and Ellie were the winners in the Under-14 Novice and Under-16 Novice categories respectively.

Kady, from Blackbird Leys, was the runner-up in the Under-10 Novice category, and Bethany, from Eynsham, made the semi-finals in the Under-12 Novice category.

Ellie, from Bicester, took up freestyle dance four years ago after joining her local club.

Two years ago she joined Flair Dance and now trains for four hours a week.

She said: “I really didn’t expect to win. It was very scary in the heats as I was right at the back and I knew only six of us would get through. I only started dancing in the first place because a few of my mum’s friends had done the same kind of thing, but now I train several hours a week.”

The girls competed against up to 30 other dancers in heats before being selected to take part in the finals.

Competitors were judged by a range of dance specialists from countries all over the world, including Sweden and the Netherlands.

Around 1,500 dancers took part in the championships, which have been held for around 10 years, with 54 in Ellie’s category.

Her mother Mandy Storrar said: “For Ellie to come first was just amazing. To get to a world championship is every little girl’s dream.

“Her teacher couldn’t be there to see Ellie win but I phoned her after her victory and she just burst into tears,” she added.w Flair Dance Studio was started in 1996 and provides dance lessons to children of all ages and abilities in Oxfordshire. Studio founder Kelly Jane Poulter, a former British Freestyle champion, said: “We are just so proud and delighted for the girls. We went in with little expectation because we’ve only had one winner before, but this just shows what happens when hard work pays off.”

Ellie, who goes to Cooper School in Bicester, said: “The training is very intense and it has been a lot of hard work to get this far.”