An Andover dance team is celebrating after winning a clutch of awards at a national dance competition.

Andover Youth Dance Company (AYDC), based at Andover College, won a host of awards at the Ultimate Dance Showcase, including best solo, duet and small group dance. In total, they won five first place awards, as well as eight second places as well as various medals and other awards.

“It was amazing, I’m really proud of them and how hard they work and how dedicated they are to dance,” Alicia Barnett, from AYDC, told the Advertiser. “I’m really happy with the results.”

Ultimate Dance Showcase describes itself as “the UK’s fastest growing, American-style dance competition.” It was founded by professional dancer Nicole Lacy-Thompson in 2017, with competitors of all ages and abilities taking place from across the world.

Staff and judges of the competition, which is based in London, are all professionals working in the fields of performing arts, dance and education. They have experience across a range of productions, including television, film and theatre.

AYDC’s Elites competition team took part in the contest, with its 12 16 and 17-year-olds competitive dancers training on Mondays throughout the pandemic in a range of styles, including contemporary dance, hiphop and commercial.

“I’m really proud of the outcome considering it’s been a really tough year,” Alicia said. “Considering they were learning routines online on Zoom, and then suddenly came back to the studio, they’ve done incredibly well.”

The studios reopened in April before the competition, and the team’s work clearly paid off, with judges being especially impressed with the team’s performance. This included giving them a special commendation for the most meaningful dance at the competition, which Alicia described as “as an emotional, educational piece.”

If you’d like to find out more about AYDC visit: https://www.facebook.com/AndoverYouthDanceCompany/