Emma O’Reilly & Cameron May both received a BBM Youth Support Award for Ballroom Dancing in 2015 and have since travelled to the UK to compete together at the Blackpool Dance Festival and take lessons with some of the best dancers in the world. We have included snippets from their report below, to read the full report Click Here.

“To be fortunate enough to spend a month participating in the world’s most prestigious ballroom dancing championship, partake in world-class dance lessons as well as subsequent practice sessions was an opportunity we will be forever thankful for.”

“We knew Blackpool was the biggest competition in the world, but nothing could have prepared us for its grandeur. The feeling in the ballroom was unlike anything we have experienced; everyone was buzzing with excitement. With hundreds of couples in our event, it was the biggest field we had come up against. We were sharing the floor with the best of the best, which was equally terrifying and inspiring. We learnt so much simply dancing against such a high calibre of dancers under such harsh conditions. The competition ran for 9 days. We got to watch the all of the amateur and professional events, and had the opportunity to watch our idols and role models dance before us. The professionals offered so much inspiration and drive to train harder now that we are home.”

“After the competition, we spent just over 2 weeks in Cheam where we received many dance lessons in both Kingston and Streatham, both in close proximity. London is known for its incredible calibre of teaching, and through the help of BBM recourses were afforded the opportunity to book lessons with 4 of the worlds renowned teachers. Here we were having 2 lessons a day as well participating in practise sessions, working our absolute hardest. The lessons we had were so different to those we have in Australia. In England, the Ballroom dancing scene is a lot tougher and a lot more serious than it is in Australia.”

“Receiving this award has shown us the world of Ballroom dancing in a whole new light. It its an understatement to say how much this award has given us great excitement and encouragement to strive for further success. By taking this invaluable knowledge and experience we have set higher goals and are excited to improve and train harder than ever before.”