Edinburgh dancers fly the flag for Scotland at Dance World Cup

Performers unveil new kit ahead of international competition

A group of polished performers from Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA) will represent Team Scotland at the Dance World Cup which kicks off in Portugal this week.

The award-winning dance school, founded by its Principal Julie Mitchell, is bringing a team of 72 pupils to the event, the largest contingent from Scotland.

The team will be among 7500 dancers from all parts of the globe taking part in the week-long competition being staged in Braga from 30 June – 8 July.

The EDA delegation will be comprised of dancers from its Performance Group, aged between seven and 18.

The performers will take part in the Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Show and Commercial sections with EDA teacher Hannah Boyle also competing for Scotland in the Over-18 section performing a solo dance.

In total, the group will take part in over 100 acts where they hope to emulate the school’s gold medal-winning success when it last travelled abroad to compete at the 2018 Dance World Cup in Spain. 

The dances have been choreographed by Hannah Boyle, Megan Ireland, Millie Thomas, Ellen West and Jenni Inglis, who was named the UK’s most inspirational choreographer at the British Isles competition held earlier this year in Blackpool.

Some of the EDA competitors taking part in the Dance World Cup took a break from rehearsals today to unveil their new Scotland track suits which the team will proudly wear at this summer’s event. 

College students to cook up a storm in global culinary challenge

Two Edinburgh College Professional Cookery and Hospitality students are set for a trip of a lifetime as they prepare to represent Europe at a global culinary competition. Continue reading College students to cook up a storm in global culinary challenge

Auld Reekie's Magnificent Seven target World Cup glory

Lianne 'Crazylegs' Parry in action
Lianne ‘Crazylegs’ Parry in action

Edinburgh’s very own roller derby team, the Auld Reekie Roller Girls, are sending some of their finest skaters to compete for Team Scotland in the sport’s World Cup in Texas next month. The Scotland squad will be captained by local lass Lianne ‘Crazylegs’ Parry.

Skaters from leagues all over Scotland tried out earlier in the year to compete on ‘Team Scotland’, but only the best 20 skaters have been chosen to travel to Dallas, Texas, in a few weeks’ time.

Team Scotland’s final line-up includes players from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen, but Auld Reekie has contributed the lions’ share – an impressive seven capital players have made the squad.

Roller derby is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and has seen an explosion in popularity over recent years. It involves teams competing on an oval track in a series of “jams” – two-minute periods that see teams of five players racing to score points. During each jam, one player on each team is designated as the “jammer” who scores a point for every member of the opposing team she passes.

The tournament takes place in Dallas from 4 – 7 December, where teams from 29 countries will battle it out for the trophy. Scotland was one of only 13 teams to compete in the first ever roller derby World Cup held in 2011, so this year’s tournament shows just how much the sport’s popularity has increased.

Team Scotland is captained by the Auld Reekie Roller Girls’ own Lianne Parry, who has been skating for over five years. Lianne, who’s from Cramond, said: “I think we’re all just really proud to be representing Scotland. I really believe in this team, a lot of the skaters inspire me with their attitude; there is a lot of talent and oodles of passion – Scottish roller derby looks seriously good for the future.”

Go, Team Scotland!

Team Scotland are fundraising by selling specially designed merchandise, designed by the team’s own Admiral Attackbar. 

You can also help Team Scotland get to Dallas by donating via this link: http://gogetfunding.com/project/get-team-scotland-to-dallas