Magpie Dance impress judges on Sky One's Got To Dance TV show (From News Shopper)

Magpie Dance impress judges on Sky One's Got To Dance TV show

10:14am Friday 3rd February 2012 in Leisure By Rachel Conner

DANCERS from a Bromley youth troupe have wowed judges on TV show Got To Dance with a gold star performance.

Young people from Magpie Dance, a disabled dance company based at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, appeared on the Sky One show in the second round of auditions.

The group was one of 300 acts, whittled down from 3,000 applications, invited to take part in the studio performances.

They impressed judges with their contemporary routine, getting the maximum of three gold stars, but were not selected for the live semi-finals.

The group, who was accompanied by drummer Hans Ferrao, was one of the few acts to perform to live music.

Director of Magpie Dance youth group David Nurse said: “I’m really proud of what they did. They worked really hard to get to that level and hopefully raised the bar of what people think groups of young people with learning disabilities can achieve.”

Charity founder and artistic director Avril Hitman said: “It was a wonderful opportunity for our dancers to perform in front of that audience and the well known judges.

“It was great to raise Magpie’s profile to a wider audience. It’s fantastic they got three gold stars, it’s a brilliant achievement.

“It was amazing to see them perform. They were all really excited and they performed brilliantly. They were professional, they were really focused on the event and what they had to do.”

A video of their performance has been posted on Youtube and has had more than 10,000 views.

Magpie Dance, which has around 200 dancers attending classes each week, welcomes young people and adults with learning disabilities from all over south-east London and north Kent.

To find out more visit magpiedance.org.uk or phone 020 8290 6633.