STEPPING OUT - Sky1 contest finalists join forces to create Scotland's answer to Pineapple Dance Studios

THE two dance instructors behind the acts that wowed celebrity judges on Sky 1 talent show Got To Dance have decided to join forces – to train the stars of the future in Glasgow.

Loading Comments
Share
Print

Elaine Wedlock, who trained dancer Sweet Surprise for the show, and Robert Hamilton, who was behind finalists Fear of the Unknown, are aiming to start the city's answer to the famous Pineapple Dance Studios in London.

The ambitious pair want to set up Scotland's premier dance school.

Elaine, who runs Dance Central classes in Blantyre, Hamilton and East Kilbride, in Lanarkshire, said: "Our aim is to be the dance school in Scotland and we know we can do it.

"Currently, there is nowhere like this in Scotland, where you can train for a professional career in dance, very intensively, or just attend one or two dance classes a week with the aim of dancing in an end of year show. "We have something for everyone."

Elaine studied at Telford College, Edinburgh, to earn a BA degree in dance and choreography, setting up her dance school 15 years ago.

Knightswood-born Robert trained at a London dance school and performed in Cats in the capital's West End.

He set up Dancepoint Central in the Gorbals 10 years ago and teaches everyone from youngsters aged two to people in their 20s.

His group, Fear Of The Unknown, made it all the way to the final three of Sky 1's Got To Dance, performing live in front of millions of television viewers.

Kimberley Wyatt, formerly of the pop group the Pussycat Dolls, described their routine as an unforgettable cinematic experience.

But they lost out on a top prize of £250,000 to Irish group Prodijig, despite impressing the show's three celebrity judges with their routine based on Ancient Egypt.

Robert was also behind two top TV talent show groups The Box and The Fusion, which trained at his Dancepoint school.

And Mya McDade, 7, from Cambuslang, who performed as Sweet Surprise, is Elaine's daughter.

She was one of 10 finalists who took the stage of the grand hall of the London Olympia, dancing in front of an audience of 6000.

Elaine added: "Robert and I had known about each other before the show, but it was when the children were performing that we came to realise we have talents as individuals that would work well together.

"While our schools are both very successful, we thought we could do so much more if we joined together.

"Our plan, eventually, is to run somewhere as successful and as well known as Pineapple Dance Studios. Scotland does not have anything similar."

London's Pineapple Dance Studios shot to fame in 2010 with an outrageous fly-on-the-wall documentary filmed in the studios.

The show offered a glimpse behind-the-scenes of the cut-throat world of professional dancing. Pineapple Studios gives a comprehensive range of dance classes from children who just want to take part for fun and those who have the drive to go all the way to the top.

Elaine and Robert are running classes at the Gorbals school, but Elaine said they are now on the hunt for fresh talent.

The hope to boost their roll from 50 pupils to 100 by the end of the year.

They offer tap, ballet, jazz and commercial dance, among many others, and take on youngsters with no previous experience.

Elaine added: "We can help young dancers reach their full potential.

"These kids come and they sweat and they train like athletes. We push them to their very limits but you know what they want to achieve – they want to be dancers."

catriona.stewart@ eveningtimes.co.uk

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on Evening Times on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

97203

Have you got a story?

Contact the news desk on 0141 302 6520 or email news@eveningtimes.co.uk

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Latest looks and shopping news

Latest looks and shopping news

Fashion

Read all about the promising young fashion designer from Glasgow whose little black dress is already a sell out at M&S

Sport
Ask the Doctor - Help and advice about medical problems from Dr George Crooks

Ask the Doctor

Help and advice about medical problems from Dr George Crooks

Pothole Watch - Keeping you up to date with all the latest stories, photos and comments on Glasgow’s pesky potholes

Sinking streets:

Pothole Watch

Keeping you up to date with all the latest stories, photos and comments on Glasgow’s pesky potholes

Laying down the Law - Ask Austin Lafferty for legal advice on everything from debt to divorce

Laying down the Law

Ask Austin Lafferty for legal advice on everything from debt to divorce