Ellon dancers succeed in audition for Disney competition
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A group of Ellon dancers are preparing to to see their international competition dreams come true after years of waiting.
In 2018 Louise Macdonald School Of Highland Dancing started putting plans in place to join the 2020 International Gathering Of Scottish Highland Dance, which takes place annually in Disneyland Paris.
The group spent 2019 enthusiastically fundraising and practicing ready to set off on the opportunity of a lifetime in spring 2020.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic struck and the competition was cancelled...then it was cancelled again in 2021...and again in 2022.
Disappointed to miss out for a third year, dance teacher Louise started looking at other international opportunities for her dancers.
Then in the summer Disney announced that the 2023 gathering would be the last one to take place, and the dancers agreed to give it one last shot.
They were successful in earning a place in the ChoreoMagic competition, which will run over two days, and started their preparations for Disney once again.
The group then learned that their audition to be part of the esteemed Magical Pre-Parade had been successful, and this was the best news the dancers could have hoped for after so many years of disappointment.
The group will head out to Paris on March 2.
Dance teacher Louise Macdonald said: "We are very excited to have passed [the audition for the parade].
"Unfortunately our trip was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19, then again in 2021 and 2022.
"We nearly gave up hope at the start of this year and were looking to make plans to use the fundraising to go somewhere else to compete.
"Then at the end of July 2022 Disney announced they were going to hold the event one last time in March 2023, due to rules changing.
"We are busy practising and getting organised to finally get our trip to compete in Disneyland Paris."
Dancers held a concert for family and friends earlier this month to show off some of what they've been working on.
