THE kids of Dance Mafia in Saltcoats have reached the World Championship at their first face-to-face competition in almost two years.

And they had a blast at the Central Scotland UDO Championships in Perth with their day reaching the highlight when they were told they had qualified for the world finals.

All the 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 and teacher Amyleigh Cavanagh could not be prouder.

She 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.

“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.

“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 who spend so much time and put in so much effort, they are an inspiration.

“I believe the world is our oyster now and we are training so hard for more competitions coming up.”