Student Sophie is a dance champion

A Wigan student is proving she could rival John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever when she hits the dancefloor.
Sophie Phillips (16) won the East Coast Disco Freestyle ChampionSophie Phillips (16) won the East Coast Disco Freestyle Champion
Sophie Phillips (16) won the East Coast Disco Freestyle Champion

Sixteen-year-old Sophie Phillips is a disco dancing champion.

She took the crown in her first competition dancing disco freestyle.

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Sophie said: “It was a massive surprise because it was my first ever time doing it and I really didn’t think I was going to place.

John Travolta in Saturday Night FeverJohn Travolta in Saturday Night Fever
John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever

“All my dance friends started crying. My mum was at home and I rang her and she was crying.”

Sophie has been dancing for 10 years and joined KE Dance Company in Skelmersdale three years ago.

She said: “I have been dancing since I was six. You can be free, you can be yourself and interpret how you feel.”

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She started doing disco freestyle last year after seeing the moves in videos.

John Travolta in Saturday Night FeverJohn Travolta in Saturday Night Fever
John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever

She said: “My dance teacher showed me a couple of videos of how she used to dance when she was younger and inspired me.”

She describes disco freestyle as “a mixture of street, hip hop and contemporary” dancing and says it is mostly done to songs from the 1980s or remixes.

Sophie spent months training in disco freestyle before entering her first competition.

She was delighted to win and pick up the title.

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Since her success, Sophie has continued competing, mainly performing as part of a group.

She performs all styles of dance but mainly focuses on jazz, street and contemporary, as well as disco freestyle.

She is now busy preparing for more freestyle disco competitions. She plans to compete in a North West competition and return to the contest she won this year.

She said: “I have been training again because I have to keep my champion status.

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“I have been training for next year, to go back to the east coast, and have been training for February to take on the North West and Wales.”

She is now a student at St John Rigby College in Orrell, where she is studying A-levels, including dance, and rehearsing for a production there.

Sophie, who lives in Skelmersdale, is a dedicated dancer and spends much of her time practising.

She hopes to one day have a career in dancing.

“I want to travel on cruise ships and dance on them. When I get a bit too old for that, I want to have my own successful dance school,” she said.