Edinburgh Dance Academy – The NEN

Edinburgh dancer wins top honour and £1K prize at UK Competition

Megan Hannay, a pupil of Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA), won the highest honour at a British Isles competition over the weekend as she was named as the event’s best act.

The 14-year-old from Edinburgh beat off competition from over 500 other dancers from across the UK and Ireland at the prestigious Dance Inspirations finals staged in Blackpool. Her contemporary dance solo ‘Voila,’ choreographed by instructor Jenni Inglis, was judged as the competition’s best performance with Megan picking up a £1000 cash prize along with her trophy.

Meanwhile, EDA took home a number of additional titles from the event including being named as the Highest Ranked Dance Studio in the UK and Ireland for the third year running.

EDA dancer Finn McFeely (16) was awarded the title of Most Promising Senior while fellow pupil, 11-year-old Sadie McKenzie, took honours as Most Promising Junior at the three-day annual competition.

EDA dancers also secured a number of Top 10 rankings. This included commercial soloist Rhianne McAllister and contemporary soloist Amelie Gay.

The school also took Top 10 honours for its group contemporary routine ‘Open Hands’ while an EDA trio featuring Megan, Finn, and Charlotte Maurer were also highly ranked for their ‘Chalk Outlines’ performance.

The Dance Inspirations competition featured more than 300 top level dance routines. These were selected from a total of 3000 acts from over 100 dance schools across the UK and Ireland which competed in regional heats ahead of this weekend’s final.

Julie Mitchell, Principal and Founder at EDA, said: “We are all delighted with the amazing achievements of Megan, Finn, Sadie and all of our competitors who were outstanding this weekend.

“These individual and group awards along with EDA once again being named as the top dance studio in the British Isles is a real testimony to our pupils’ talents and our excellent team of instructors.”

Scottish dancers to defend UK Titles at Blackpool competition

A group of young dancers from one of Scotland’s highest-regarded dance performance schools will travel to Blackpool next weekend to take part in a major UK and Ireland competition.

Pupils and instructors from Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA) will participate in the prestigious three-day Dance Inspirations event being held in the Northwest England town where they will be defending titles won at last year’s competition.

In 2023, EDA was named as the Highest Ranked Dance Studio in the UK and Ireland for the second year running at the event with several of the school’s dancers also picking up accolades for their performances.

This included being awarded as Overall Winner for their contemporary piece “Shout” by Empara Mi with the EDA team taking home £1000 in prize money for their table-topping routine.

EDA instructor Jenni Inglis also won the Most Inspirational Choreography award in 2023 for the second year in a row while dancer Kiera Anderson was handed top prize for the Most Dedication, Passion and Talent award category.

The Dance Inspirations competition is set to feature more than 300 top level dance routines. These were selected from a total of 3000 acts from over 100 dance schools across the UK and Ireland which competed in regional heats ahead of this weekend’s final.

Julie Mitchell, Principal and Founder at EDA, said: “We are so proud of what Jenni and our fantastic dancers achieved in Blackpool last year and we look forward to once again taking part in this extremely competitive event.

“While we are expecting an even higher level of competition from this year’s participants, we will do our best to bring further dance honours back to Scotland.”

Edinburgh dancers cast in international production of Romeo and Juliet

Three former EDA pupils return to Edinburgh for UK tour of Romeo and Juliet

Three aspiring Edinburgh dancers who landed dream roles with the internationally-renowned New Adventures Dance Company are back in the capital this week as cast members of the group’s production of Romeo & Juliet.

The local performers, Rory McLeod, Carla Contini, and Leonardo McCorkindale, all former pupils of leading dance school Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA), are performing in the Scottish capital this week as part of the show’s international tour.

The Scottish trio have all been recruited by the iconic and ground-breaking New Adventures, set up by one of Britian’s most innovative choreographers, Sir Matthew Bourne.

22-year-old Rory joined the company in 2021 after attending Laine Theatre Arts dance school in Surrey and made his cameo appearance in New Adventure’s Nutcracker! in April last year.

Meanwhile, Leonardo, aged 20, and Carla (19) were taken on by the company earlier this year after graduating from Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire. Their performance in Romeo and Juliet, which is currently on a UK tour before moving on to Europe and the US early next year, marks their New Adventures debut.

New Adventures has received numerous international awards and has won six Olivier Awards which recognise excellence in London’s professional theatre circuit. The company’s repertoire has inspired and thrilled millions of people worldwide.

During their five-day at the Festival Theatre, the three Edinburgh dancers were reunited with EDA’s Julie Mitchell and Jenny Inglis, both of whom were former dance teachers to the trio while they were growing up in the city.

Julie Mitchell said: “We are so delighted with the progress of our three former pupils, who are now part of this international production being staged by one of the world’s leading dance companies.

“While Rory, Carla, and Leonardo all developed their dance talent as youngsters, it has been their drive and commitment that has led them to becoming part of Matthew Bourne’s prestigious New Adventures company.

“We’ve very proud of all three and we wish them every success with their careers going forward.”

Edinburgh performers celebrate huge medal haul at Dance World Cup

EDA performers representing Team Scotland grab four golds at international competition

Performers from Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA) are celebrating after securing FIFTEEN medals, including four golds, at this year’s Dance World Cup which wrapped up over the weekend in Portugal.

EDA’s 10–13-year-old Contemporary Group were among its gold medal winners, taking the top honours for their “Lovely” routine, choreographed by teacher Jenni Inglis.

Ms Inglis, who was named the top choreographer for the UK and Ireland at the Dance Inspirations competition held in Blackpool earlier this year, was also the creator of two other gold medal winning dances: “Someone to Stay,” a Lyrical solo performance by Finn McFeely, and “Hip Hip, Chin Chin,” a Jazz Trio which also featured 15-year-old Finn along with 17-year-old Paige Gay, and 16-year-old Rhianne McAllister (above).

Rhianne (below) took a further gold in the 14-17-year-old category for her Commercial solo dance “Fancy,” which was choreographed by EDA teacher Hannah Boyle.

Finn McFeely (below) also picked up two of EDA’s silver medals, for his Jazz solo “Jumpin Jack” and as part of “Embers,” a Ballet duo performed with 14-year-old Megan Hannay, which was choreographed by teacher Millie Thomas.

Ava Robinson also secured a Team Scotland silver for EDA for her Lyrical solo “I will wait” in the 10-13-year-old category.

A further eight bronze medals were won for Team Scotland by EDA dancers across a range of group performances.

In total, 52 of the dances performed by competitors from the highly-regarded Edinburgh school secured Top 10 placings at the week-long Dance World Cup, staged in Braga, Portugal. The competition featured more than 7500 dancers from all parts of the globe.

EDA, founded by its Principal Julie Mitchell, brought 72 pupils to the event, making up the largest group of the Team Scotland contingent.

The school’s delegation was comprised of dancers from its Performance Group, aged between seven and 18, with teacher Hannah Boyle also competing for Scotland in the Over-18 section.

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.

Edinburgh dance school grabs top awards at major UK competition

Pupils and instructors at Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA) have taken top honours at a prestigious British Isles dance competition staged in Blackpool over the weekend.

The highly-regarded dance school – whose past pupils include the 2019 winner of BBC’s The Greatest Dancer, Ellie Fergusson – was named as the Highest Ranked Dance Studio in the UK and Ireland for the second year running at the Dance Inspirations event.

EDA’s Jenni Inglis (above) also won the Most Inspirational Choreography award for the second year in a row and EDA dancer Kiera Anderson received top prize in the Most Dedication, Passion and Talent award category.

The Dance Inspirations competition featured over a total of 3000 acts from over 100 dance schools from across the UK and Ireland in their regional heats ahead of the final in Blackpool, where a total of 317 acts competed for the top prize.

Several EDA dancers also picked up accolades for their performances including being named Overall Winner and taking 1st place for their contemporary piece “Shout” by Empara Mi.

The winning group secured £1000 prize money for their award-winning routine with the proceeds going towards funding their trip to represent Scotland in the Dance World Cup competition being staged in Portugal in June.

Julie Mitchell, Principal and Founder at EDA, said: “I’m so proud of Jenni and our fantastic dancers who all performed incredibly in this highly competitive event.

“Achieving this success across so many categories for the second year really underlines the commitment and dedication of both our pupils and our team.

“We now look forward to taking part in June’s Dance World Cup in Portugal where EDA competitors will proudly fly the flag for Scotland.”

Leading Dance School expands with new East Lothian branch

Edinburgh Dance Academy (EDA), one of the UK’s top-rated dance schools, is launching a new East Lothian franchise in Haddington.

The school – whose former pupils include Ellie Fergusson, winner of the 2019 BBC programme The Greatest Dancer – currently provides a comprehensive range of traditional and contemporary dance classes for more than 500 pupils from its headquarters and other studios across Edinburgh.

Its new programme of junior school classes will be held at Haddington’s Bridge Centre from mid-September. Classes will include preschool dance, Royal Academy of Dance certified pre-primary ballet, jazz, tap, commercial, contemporary and acro.

The new East Lothian franchise will be led by Millie Thomas, who joined EDA in 2018 after completing training at Northern Ballet Academy and then Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London.

Millie is a highly experienced and respected dance teacher who has taught on many outreach programmes and led classes in creative movement and beginners ballet for children aged 3-15.

Helping to guide Millie in her new role is East Lothian resident Julie Mitchell, EDA’s founder and the school’s Principal and Artistic Director. An internationally-renowned figure in the ballet world, Julie also serves as an examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance

Since launching in 1996, EDA has gone on to secure a number of accolades including becoming World Champions at the Dance World Cup along with being voted as the highest ranked dance school in UK and Ireland by VAD Productions, an independent, innovative dance production company.

The school also secured a number of awards at the prestigious British Isles Dance Inspirations event in Blackpool earlier this year where EDA’s Senior Competition team was named as the event’s overall champion.

Along with the outstanding results achieved by those wishing to take a more structured route, EDA alumni have also gone on to dance with some of the most prestigious companies including the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet and the Portuguese National Ballet.

EDA’s Julie Mitchell said: “As a local resident of the area, I’m especially delighted to announce our expansion into East Lothian with our new Haddington branch.

“Since setting up the school 26years ago, we have worked with thousands of young people helping them discover the joy of dancing and maximising their potential, not only in dance but also in confidence, self-expression, fitness, and supporting others. We now look forward to bringing all of this to East Lothian. A limited number of scholarships will also be offered where circumstances are appropriate.”

Millie Thomas, head of the new EDA East Lothian franchise, said: “It’s exciting to be leading this new branch of our school in Haddington.

“I look forward to working with young children across East Lothian, introducing them to dance and developing their skills to the highest possible level for their individual abilities and aspirations.

“We can achieve this in a happy, structured, inclusive and supportive way.”