A YOUNG dancer from Kexborough is fundraising to compete in the Dance World Cup this year - and she’s hoping to inspire others by showing that her autism won’t stop her from doing what she loves.
Poppy Unwin, 11, has been dancing since she was just two years old.
She currently trains at ElliTe Studios in Wakefield and more than 90 of the children there now have the opportunity to represent their country at the Dance World Cup in Spain in July.
The dance school has previously been able to raise enough money for the competition entry fees, costumes and a Team England kit for each and every one of their dancers.
And they’re hoping to raise enough this year to try and send their children to the special competition.
Poppy has set up a fundraiser to try and support her dance school.
She said: “I am so excited and feel very privileged to be part of Team England.
“The Dance World Cup is an incredible event which takes place each year with over 60 countries attending and more than 5,000 dancers competing - it’s considered ‘The Olympics of Dance’.
“These things always come with costs, just like those competing in sports in the Olympics, we have to fund this ourselves. I am asking for donations towards the cost of flights, accommodation, Team England uniform and costumes.
“Every penny raised will go directly towards making this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity become a reality for myself.
“I auditioned for a song and dance group at my studio in Wakefield and have been accepted to join the rest of my school in Burgos in July 2025 where thousands of dancers from around the world will compete at the largest and greatest dance competition in the world.
“I wanted to take part to show that having autism doesn't stop you from making and achieving your goals.”
Poppy isn’t the only Barnsley dancer set to put the town on the map on the world stage, with Worsbrough’s Connie Lawton, 16 and 11-year-old Isla Bursztyn also set to travel to Spain.
Ten-year-old Tallulah Openshaw, nine-year-old Heidi Chapman, Eliza Gaskell, nine and ten-year-old Bella Butterworth are also performing for different dance schools.
Principal of the school Sam Bell added: “In 2018/19 we accomplished one of our biggest achievements yet by qualifying as the first ever Yorkshire-based school to represent Team England in the Dance World Cup finals in Portugal.
“We managed to capitalise on our success with ambitions to qualify again every year from 2020 to 2025 with an ever-increasing cast size of dancers and qualifying pieces and are proud to have been world champions across a range of ages and genres during the past five years.
“After forging the way in 2018/19, we are once again proud to be not only the largest ever Yorkshire based contributors to the World Cup-winning England team but in 2025 the largest in England.
“The Dance World Cup is the greatest all-genre dance competition in the world with 55 participating countries and 9,500 finalist competitors in 2024, making it the second-largest sporting event in the world, behind the Olympics.
“The incredible news for 2025 is that we are hoping to do it all over again.
“It’s even more incredible when you consider that all of this has been achieved despite the challenges and disruption of the pandemic on young people’s education and training.”
