Two dancers from Nottingham have been chosen to represent England in the Dance World Cup this summer.
Shenea Fawzi, 17, and Kyra Chapman, 18, have trained in dance and acrobatics at the Expressive Arts Academy in Sneinton for many years.
Former Strictly Come Dancing judge, Arlene Phillips awarded the girls the chance to compete at the Dance World Cup after their dance teacher sent an audition video of the pair performing a joint routine to Team England.
The World Cup takes places in Braga, Portugal between June 28 and July 6
Acro dance is a unique style of dance that combines the two elements of acrobatics and dancing.
“We really are upping the ante and upgrading some of the tricks so we can hope to bring home a medal”
amal fawzi, pricipal: expressive arts academy
Amal Fawzi, Shenea’s mother and principal at Nottingham’s Expressive Arts Academy said:
“I entered the girls because we do acro-dance which is a specialist and there’s not so many schools that do that so I felt that gave us a really strong chance.
It’s great for the girls to get the recognition and the belief in themselves of actually how good they are with the amount of training that they do. It’s amazing.”
Fawzi, who set up the Expressive Arts Academy seven years ago, says the girls will be preparing something special for the World Cup in June:
“Going into the next six months or so, we really are upping the anti and hoping to upgrade some of the tricks so we can really go and hope to bring back a medal.”
The dance that the girls will be showcasing in Portugal is called ‘Power’, and they cannot wait to perform it on a big stage.
Kyra said: “It’s amazing (to be selected for England), we were really overwhelmed. We weren’t expecting it but we’re just really excited to go and enjoy the experience.
“(to be selected by Arlene Phillips) was amazing. I love Strictly Come Dancing, so I almost cried when I found out. It was crazy!”
