A TEAM of talented dancers from Helensburgh are hoping to take the world stage by storm at an international competition in Florida this weekend.

The group of eight, who train at the town’s Dancefit, are heading stateside to the Dance Worlds Championship which takes place this weekend over Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

It will be the third year the local club, which is run by Donna Martin, has competed at the tournament having flown out to the USA on Wednesday.

Donna told the Advertiser: “It’s not the kind of competition you can just walk into, you need to qualify, so it’s been a long journey to get here.

“There are eight in the team and their ages range from 15 to 20. For two of them this will be their third time competing, one has been twice and for the rest, this is their first time going.

“It’s incredible to be competing in America and just the fact they are there is amazing.”

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Donna’s dancers – made up of seven girls: Morgan Baller, Ellie Lewis, Sarah Leishman, Alicia Burgher, Morgan Murray, Lauren Graham and Abby McNish, and one boy: Jake Sutherland - will be competing in the open coed elite hip hop category and after finishing ninth in their first year, they will be hoping for another successful outing.

However, Donna admitted that the trip isn’t just about success and she said she is proud of her young stars no matter what happens.

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She added: “There are 21 teams in the section, so it’s massive.

“It was only in January this year that the team was finally formed, so it’s a new kettle of fish for some of them and I just want them to enjoy every bit of it and smash it.

“Placing isn’t important but it would be the cherry on top. They’re all absolutely buzzing and I’m excited to be there with them!”

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Donna also praised the commitment of her team after a challenging past few months.

She said: “There’s a lot of pressure on them, they’re just a little team from Helensburgh.

“It’s been a bit stressful. They’ve had quite a lot of knockbacks along the way and the Worlds’ are taking place during exam time, so some of them thought it just wasn’t going to happen, but now it’s real.

“We had a send-off party for them and all the hard work is totally worth it. It really is magical seeing them up there.”