Two young dancing stars of the future have graced Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens, impressing judges with their ability.
Despite being just seven and eight respectively, Brooke Smith and Zac Ryland-Jones came a credible 18th in the under-12s category of the British National Juvenile Latin Championship.
Together, the young duo danced the cha-cha-chá, samba, rumba and jive at the competition, beating older children.
Before the Blackpool contest, Brooke, from Caerphilly, and Zac, of Hengoed, have already competed in five competitions together, reaching the final each time.
Zac, who began dancing in February, follows in the footsteps of his mother, Bethan Ryland, who was also a dancer at Shappelles and was coached by Mr Perry.
Brooke, who has been dancing for longer than her partner, has already competed on her own in seven competitions.
The mother of Brooke, Ms Smith said: “We were chuffed and over the moon. It was really lovely for them to be on that floor. They fairly enjoyed themselves.
“It was a very tough competition. They got as far as they did because I guess they were the youngest on the floor.
“Most of the couples up there were at the top of their juvenile carrier [under 12 years old]. Brooke and Zac have another four years in juvenile and they only started competing together this year.”
Coach Mr Perry said: “The results were really good. They knew it was going to be very difficult, they just purely went for experience. They danced really well so we were very pleased with the way they danced.”
The training has already started again. The next step for them is the Champions of Tomorrow competition in Blackpool in January 2020 in which they will compete in an under tens category.