Meet the Leeds Dynamite dance crew bidding to represent Yorkshire at the Allstar World Championships in America

Dozens of groups from across the UK compete throughout the season to win a bid to be able to attend the world championships. The Allstar event will be hosted at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida.

Leeds Dynamite, set up by head coach Danielle Watkins in 1999 when she was just 12, are now fundraising in an attempt to cover the costs needed to make the trip.

Speaking to the YEP, Danielle explained how the group won the bid in their first competition back after the Covid-19 pandemic.

"They hadn’t danced in almost three years so the first tournament back we went not really expecting anything but the kids absolutely blew it out the bag,” she said.

"They won their division and came top three out of the whole competition which included beating older age groups.”

As a result the Dynamite group, aged 10-12, won a bid to represent Leeds and Yorkshire at the world championships next May, which Danielle describes as being like “the Olympics of dance” with the event to be streamed worldwide.

The group are now seeking to raise the relevant funds to cover costs which include flights, competition entry costs, music licensing needs and individual insurance for each dancer.

Since being launched just over a month ago the GoFundMe page has received £740 in donations.

Danielle said: “We are very much a community dance group and most of the groups we compete with are private dance schools.

"It just goes to show that you don’t need all this stuff to compete and achieve but in America we’ll be competing against some of the most prestigious dance companies from across the world.”

When Danielle was young she attended a private dance group but a change in circumstance in her private life meant she could no longer afford it so with the help of her mum she set up her own group.

She added: "I just want to give these kids something that I didn’t have and ensure that every kid has the opportunity to dance.

"It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and we want to make this as affordable as possible for these kids, parents and coaches.”