Basingstoke's Forever Young Dance Company wins at dance finals

This triumph came after the team's successful run in the local heats at Winchester's Theatre Royal in March.

Among the victors was Ollie Melham, a 17-year-old senior FYDC dancer.

His fine showing granted him a full three-year scholarship valued at £40,000 to the MEPA Dance College in Kent. His professional dance development will commence this September.

Ollie said: "This feels amazing, it sets up a plan for life because before today I wasn’t really sure what to do and I was just going through the motions, but this has just sorted things out for me."

Other deserving winners in the senior category included Megan Allabush and Katie O’Connor, who were similarly recognised by The Brighton Academy and Base Dance Studios respectively.

The dance company saw a sizeable haul of 10 gold, eight silver and four bronze medals brought home, a testament to the combined efforts of all its dancers.

The FYDC family also celebrated the Spirit of Dance award attributed to Dan, an encouraging figure for all dance schools attending the event.

Principal and company director of FYDC, Dan Keen said: "I am delighted with the results and success of our dancers, we had tough competition from the other schools, we knew we had to step up and put our best foot forward.

"Our 23 competitive dancers worked so hard for this and made sure they used their dance training when they needed it most. I would also like to thank our FYDC faculty for ensuring the best training possible and the organisers of So You Want To Dance, for giving platforms like this to young dancers and ensuring the smooth running of the event with such ease."

Running classes every day in different disciplines such as ballet, tap, jazz, street and Acro, the doors are open for interested parties aged between three and 19.

FYDC also said it looks forward to opening its doors on September 2 and to their end-of-year annual show at the Queen Mary's College in December.