Rochdale's Turners Dance Studios wins the day at National Dance Scholarships

L-R: Jaia Bagust, Danelle Wilson, Carmela Coggin, and Amelia Collier

Four girls from Rochdale’s longest-running dance school performed in this year’s National IDTA Scholarship, which sees over 5,000 dancers compete from around the country.

The Turners Dance students travelled to Birmingham on Saturday 7 May after being nominated by their dance examiners when taking their annual dance exams in freestyle.

Carmela Coggin, 13, won the 13/14-year-old category, dancing three rounds before being named the winner. Also dancing in this section was Danelle Wilson, who got through to the top 11 dancers.

Paul Michael Jones, who trained at Laines Theatre Arts in London and began Turners Theatre School with his wife, Lizzie, said: “This was an amazing achievement for Carmela as she is fairly new to this style of dance. She also won a cheque to further her dance training.”

Carmela said: "I would like to say a huge thank you to my dance teachers Lizzie, Paul Michael and all the Turners team, who support us all in every way possible. I have learnt so much in the 10 years I've been at Turners and have grown massively as a dancer.

"When I won the scholarship, I was so excited and grateful to have been chosen; everyone danced amazingly. My aim is to eventually attend a musical theatre college and Turners are already guiding me through the steps I need to achieve this. It honestly is the best place to be."

Jaia Bagust successfully got through to the final in the 15-year-old section, where she placed an impressive fifth, whilst Amelia Collier placed third in the 18+ category.

Paul added: “This year we had seven girls nominated, a massive number of students to get chosen from one dance school, but three were unable to make it, unfortunately.

“Overall, it was an extremely successful day for Turners. We are very proud of our dancers as they work so hard and dedicate so much time to training and improving all the time.

“We have classes for all ages and abilities, and we love watching beginners grow into talented dancers.”