THEY want to be a part of it and, thanks to their mums' fundraising efforts to the tune of £25,000, a group of West Fife dance stars will perform in New York this summer.

Centre Stage Performing Arts, which is based in Crossgates, will take 23 of its members across the Atlantic in July to represent Scotland in the 'Dance the World' convention.

The talented performers will take part in their own show in the famous Minskoff Theatre - currently home to the award-winning Lion King Musical - as well as flash mob in Times Square with High School Musical actor, Corbin Bleu, take part in workshops and masterclasses, enjoy a cruise on the Hudson river, and take in a show on Broadway.

They will be the first to represent Scotland at the convention after applying to Dance the World, which previously helped Centre Stage stars perform at Disney World in Florida, and the hard work of the dancers' mums has helped ensure the entire trip will be paid for.

Louise Ferrier, who founded Centre Stage, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in August, said: "All the parents are delighted.

"We've got 23 dancers going. There's a couple of siblings, but the 20 dance mums have raised this money by themselves to get their dancers there. The mums are coming with us. We can't wait!

"They've held quite a lot of events. When we were in lockdown, they were doing online fundraisers, online raffles, online events, online workshops with different people – they kept going through Covid.

"It's from the support of everyone's families, friends and the community that we're able to do that. We've had a couple of donations as well but they just work hard at it.

"They fully support the school. We're going to be 10 years old in August, and some of the kids have been there for the full 10 years, so they fully support what we do.

"We're just one big family and we do it for each other."

The dancers had originally planned to travel to the Big Apple last year, only for pandemic restrictions to intervene, but that has allowed an additional 12 months to raise funds and perfect their routine.

"We've created a show that goes over, and they'll be performing their own show in the landmark theatre, the Minskoff Theatre, the home of the Lion King," Louise continued.

"They'll have their name on the front of the theatre and they'll be performing in there.

"They've been rehearsing so much for it that they're ready now. They're just so excited to be going and, obviously, representing Scotland out in New York City is just incredible.

"They just love it. They work hard at it every week, the girls in class, and then we've got the parents behind us fundraising, we've got the community support, so it's great, performing all over the world with their friends.

"New York is the dance capital of the world. That is the home of The Rockettes, which are the most famous dancers in the world, it's Broadway, so you just can't really get any bigger than that.

"They're absolutely buzzing to go and I'm just delighted for them. I can't wait."