Northampton girls to compete for national dancing finals after smashing first ever contest

Team Acrocirque was only set up last year by Zoiey Smale and her group of ten kids entered Dream Makers Dance Events' Dance Challenge UK with the expectation that it would be a bit of fun.

But they exceeded all their predictions to win two trophies at the Midlands heat on June 22, as well as 'routine of the day'.

*Click here for more pictures*

They made it into the grand final at the ‘home of dance’, the Blackpool Opera House and Winter Gardens, in November with the chance to win £1,000.

Zoiey said: "It's fantastic, it was really good, it was our first competition so we didn't expect the biggest thing, we're a very new team, so to go there and smash it and win the whole thing is amazing.

"For our children, it's really nice to hear from industry professionals that recognise the work we've done."

The 'elite squad' of children are all aged between eight and 14 and were competing in the under-12 category, making it even more of a challenge for the youngest members.

*Click here for more pictures*

Team Acrocirque, which specialises in contortion, trains at several locations around Northampton as they do not have a permanent home yet, but Zoiey said it is growing all the time, with the children being popular for adverts.

The 30-year-old dance teacher set up the group in 2018 to give young girls especially a way to continue exercising and performing as she feels there are not enough opportunities.

"I aim to increase activity in teenage girls and a lot of the club is made up of teenage girls," she said.

"I want to give them an opportunity to perform as when I was a teenager I felt there was nothing for me to do - so I wanted to tackle the inequality."

For more information about Team Acrocirque, visit the Facebook page.

*Click here for more pictures*