A DANCE school is preparing for national finals after picking up an astonishing 51 trophies in the heats.
Twenty-seven dancers from Messy Jam Oxford, based at Blackbird Leys Jubilee Community Centre, showcased their talent at a regional level, and left with an abundance of trophies and medals.
The dance school secured a place at the Great British Street Dance Championships, to be held in Watford on Sunday.
That followed success at the heats, held in Milton Keynes.
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Sharon Peart helps oversee the school with her daughter Ellisha, who founded Messy Jam more than a decade ago.
She said: “As a dance school, we’ve established and helped a lot of dancers, but this was a lot of children aged between five and 17 in their first competition for a lot of them.
“A lot of hard work went into this, but we were shocked and ecstatic – they’ve achieved so much.
“Ellisha put a lot in with the choreography – it’s not basic stuff they’re being asked to do.
“Plus, they’ve had disadvantages with not being at school over the last couple of years, but they’re just getting on with it.
“The big thing they missed is the enjoyment – life isn’t supposed to be oppressive – and socialising.
“All the stuff at school that Covid took away has come back out on the dance floor and they’re mixing and coming together, it’s lovely to see the older ones looking after the younger ones too.”
While the dance school claimed 51 trophies, the number of medals have yet to be counted in full.
Social worker Sharon added: “The kids know it’s about being together but what we teach the children is that dancing is about building your confidence.
“It can be quite subjective but it’s about them being supported in how they feel and what they do.”
Heading into the finals this weekend, she added: “The competitions are almost back-to-back, but these parents in Blackbird Leys and Barton are committed to supporting their kids.
“It’ll be a tall order, but they’re going into to this wanting to do their best and hopefully it will keep going onwards and onwards.
“We do a lot of community things in Oxford too, which helps – we’re dancing in Leiden Square at the Westgate next weekend for example.
“You see at competitions, some schools have expensive outfits but we go with what we’ve got – that makes it more amazing for us.
“They’re doing their best against people who sometimes have a much bigger advantage.”
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This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.
Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice
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