Wigan dancers join hundreds around the globe for world record attempt

Members of Lower Ince-based Kelly Marie Academy of Dance joined a world record attempt for the most people taking part in an online dance class.

They teamed up with dance schools in the UK and across the world to see how many people could learn the jazz routine in 24 hours.

Principal Kelly Boyle said: “On the day we had to log on and learn a dance routine which was broken down into seven sections, which included a separate warm up and cool down. The final section was the full run-through of the dance.

“After you had completed each section you had to answer a question about the video and then click submit and this was how the Guinness world record adjudicators knew who had taken part.

“All this was organised by a company called Elite Dance based in Bicester and by a woman called Hayley Byrd. None of this would of been possible without her setting it all up to join and unite dance schools from all over the world. In this current pandemic it truly was a magical experience.”

Kelly said her dancers loved taking part, with one saying it was “great fun” to learn a new routine and another helping her mother to learn it too.

The target was for 2,000 people to get involved, but unfortunately they did not get enough participants to break the world record.

Kelly said: “We were close but not close enough. Although me and all my girls who took part still had lots of fun learning the dance. It was to We’re All In This Together from High School Musical, which is a really prominent song at the moment as the country needs to remember we are all in this together.

“And the most important thing of all is we have currently raised a massive £3,518 for the Covid-19 appeal. Some of the money does need to go to our record attempt but the majority of it will go to the NHS and we couldn’t be prouder to have been a part of such an amazing event.”

Donations to the appeal can still be made hereA message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.