Young dancer wins national prize and dances with Diversity

With all group activity cancelled during the pandemic, Emily Wild, from Tyldesley, signed up to an online dance competition to fill the void she was missing.

Led by members of the street dance group Diversity, budding dancers were asked to film and submit a choreographed routine that they had been tasked with.

Emily at the Diversity Studios (Image: Emily Wild)

With Diversity dancers Nathan Ramsay and Sam Craske choosing five winners each month from January to November last year, the selected dancers went on to compete in a national competition that put together all eleven pieces of choreography into one routine.

With the winners decided by a public vote, Emily was one of the successful dancers who received an invite to the Diversity Studios for a dance workshop run by Nathan and Sam.

The workshop took place on Sunday, September 25, 2022, with the 12-year-old taken on a tour of the brand-new studios in Southend-on-Sea.

During her dance workshop with Sam and Nathan, she performed all that she had learned with the dancers in front of an audience including other Diversity members Ashley Banjo and Starr Kiely.

Emily with Diversity dancer Starr Kiely (Image: Emily Wild)

Emily's mum, Elizabeth, said: "Emily was lucky enough to be one of the winners and would like to thank all those that voted for her.

"Emily had an amazing experience which has strengthened her ambition to become a professional dancer."

Emily added: "I went to see Diversity on their Connected tour and thought they were brilliant.

"It felt amazing to visit their studio and dance with some of them.

"It was a great day that I will never forget."

Emily's next big dance experience will see her travel down to London on October 9, where she will be performing with local dance school Dance4Fun on the stage at the famous Sadler's Wells theatre.

The show 'Let's take a Bow' will showcase over a dozen of the country's best performing arts schools.