FADD dancers hip-hop their way to world championships in USA

A local dance school has beaten all the odds and qualified to represent Ireland in the World Hip-Hop Championships in FOUR different categories after a tough competition at the weekend.

Dancers from FADD Studios (located in Craigavon, Lurgan, Portadown and surrounding areas) took to the world-class stage to compete in the most prestigious and difficult competition in Hip-Hop dance.

Seven international judges flew in from around the world on Saturday to judge the competition and had the difficult job of selecting dancers from the various categories to progress to the finals on Sunday. FADD Studios dancers were competing against the best dancers from Cork to Belfast and progressed to Sunday’s finals in most categories.

Tutor Fiona Bawn-Thompson said: “The competition was unreal. We knew it was going to be tough, but some of the categories were so strong it was difficult to predict any scores. We were lucky enough to qualify in 2014 and had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas to represent Ireland, but the competition keeps growing, and some of the kids are in older categories now, so it just keeps getting tougher.

“Regardless of how tough it was, we gave it our all, and the dancers did themselves, their parents, and their country proud. It doesn’t come easy and they have all worked unbelievably hard to get this far. Lots of sacrifices have to be made, but they all work like true professionals and I have every faith that we will train hard, fundraise hard, and be able to have the opportunity to dance once again on the world stage. “To say I’m proud of what we have achieved is a huge understatement. These kids represent their local community well, with dignity and showmanship. They are the stars of the future.”

The qualifying results across the academy included two solo dancers, aged 11 and 12, who battled their way through an open age group category to gain first and second place.

FADD also took first and second place in the open age Mini-Crew section; second place in whatis regarded as the toughest category of the competition, The Varsity Crews. They took first in the mega crew section. The dancers from FADD Studios have now qualified for the World Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, this August.