A TEAM of talented youngsters from York, have just placed second in the world in an international competition.
The Fantasy Cheer And Dance Academy has been running for 17 years at Vale of York Academy in Clifton in York, offering classes for anyone age four and over in cheerleading, dance and gymnastics.
Read next:
- Popular bar to return to TWO York venues this Summer
- Burglar attacks householder during raid in North Yorkshire village
- Much-loved former York head takes up North Yorkshire post
The team has recently arrived home from Orlando Florida where their dance team competed in the All Star World Championship.
The 13 dancers, are part of the biggest cheer and dance programme in York, and range in age from 13 upwards. They were offered a bid for their place to compete in two categories, Jazz and Lyrical dance in April this year.
The team, led by head coach Natalie Lyon have trained for the past 12 months and were up against other teams from all over the world.
Following day one, they passed through to the finals and the next day were awarded silver for their team Enigma in the Jazz category and bronze for their team Elegance in the Lyrical category.
Natalie said: "The whole team have worked so hard to get to Florida in the first place and be eligible to compete but to then bring home a Silver and Bronze, second and third in the whole world is just amazing.
"They train together several times every week and are such a supportive group of girls, so dedicated and determined and they fought so hard to get to this position. There are over 24,000 athletes attending this event and their performances were outstanding. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them.
"Fantasy has always been a fully inclusive program and we are so lucky to have the most supportive athletes across all age ranges.
"Our aim is to encourage and develop every athlete to be the best they can be while having fun and making lifelong friendships at the same time and we cant wait to launch this new class to share this even further and show that Cheer and Dance has no limits and is for everyone."
The team relay on sponsorship and fundraising throughout the year in order to get them all to Florida and help with the uniform they need and they are looking for new sponsors now. Also any donations of raffles prizes are always gratefully received as they have lots of events planned in the coming months.
For further information on all classes please contact fantasycheeranddance@outlook.com or find them on Facebook.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here