The event was held at the SECC and The Armadillo (Clyde Hall) in Glasgow, both spectacular venues to perform in. The overall team entries to compete for entry to this competition would have totalled approximately 300+ with heats in Germany, France, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, UK etc. 

Only 20 teams made it to the championships competition weekend and then the heats on the Friday and Saturday knocked teams out, leaving just 11 teams in the final on the Sunday. The NSB team was successful in their bid to make it to the final which was a superb achievement. They responded so professionally to my requests throughout the weekend to develop and change the choreography as they went along, studying score sheets and feedback to find ways to improve. The NSB team finished 8th in the Over 18 Intermediate final. In terms of scores, the team actually placed 7th but due to the skater system of rank scoring this placed them 8th. It was a superb result which reflected their true dedication and hard work. NSB were up against teams that were older than them as the majority of our dancers were aged 16 years and under. However, because we had two 18 year old dancers in the team we had to compete in the Over 18 category. So to make the final 11 was a MASSIVE achievement and to finish 8th was outstanding. Boy did they hold their own! Super proud of them. It is especially important to note that these dancers also took ownership of their choreography, creating their own set, with a helping start from ex-NSB student Steven Thompson. 

Three NSB soloists also qualified at regional heats to compete in the championships. All of the boys competed in numerous rounds at the competition and all three made it to the finals in their respective age category’s (where only 7 dancers reach the finals out of between 40-60 dancers depending on age category). The solo results were Kit Ibbott 5th in O18 Advanced, Charlie Goddard 6th in U18 Advanced and Angus Simpson 6th in U16 Intermediate. Outstanding results!

The team was a true credit to NSB and the students conducted themselves perfectly throughout the weekend. The dancers were Kit Ibbott, Elise Clinton, Silvio Dzapasi, Gio Bordone, Angus Simpson, Henri Berry, Jacob Reid and Charlie Goddard. 

A huge thank you needs to be said to Silvio and Gio who both stepped in to replace Maia Stones and Euan Simpson who were unable to attend the competition. The boys learnt the choreography over the summer by attending extra rehearsals and working with the video of the choreography. 

Thank you also to Laura Wilcox for travelling with the team as staff. Her support and guidance was invaluable to the dancers throughout the weekend. And a huge thank you also to Mr and Mrs Simpson for travelling up to support us! 

Alison Clinton