THE youngsters of Dance Mafia competed in their first face-to-face competition since lockdown and returned triumphant with titles and trophies galore to add to their collection at their Saltcoats HQ.

Dance Mafia attended the Central Scotland UDO Championships in Perth which was their first live competition in almost two years.

And the young dancers, who have been rehearsing their moves day and night at their Green Street dance studio, were stars in the eyes of the competition judges.

The squad has now been crowned Central Scotland’s Hip Hop champions.

Dance Mafia’s Amyleigh Cavanagh said: “These kids have worked so so hard and have been looking forward to stepping back onto that dance floor for so long it was amazing to see them back out doing what they love.

“It has been such a long time since we took part in a real live competition due to the pandemic so to be back in an arena in Perth and feel the atmosphere, it was just magical.”

The last two years has seen the Dance Mafia youngsters train every week on Zoom. Despite being unable to meet up until lockdown restrictions were lifted, the dancers were so committed to their training, they never missed a session.

For Amyleigh and the youngsters, getting back out to competitions was success enough but to win titles was the cherry on the cake for everyone.

“Nothing will beat the feeling of seeing a bunch of amazingly talented local kids get to show off what they have been working on for almost two years,” said Amyleigh.

“From Zoom classes in our living rooms to getting back to the studio and now being back in the competition dance world, all the hard work and commitment has paid off and I am so proud of every one of these young people.

“We can only hope that now we can get out to even more competitions.”