With over 3,000 young Bermudians studying dance, competition for financial assistance is keen, so when ten students of the In Motion School of Dance learned they were to receive a Government grant towards their participation in a summer dance training programme at the Tri-Cities Ballet Academy in America's Washington state they were thrilled.

The student dancers, ranging in age from nine to 15, duly participated in an intensive, three-week dance training programme with guest teachers from the Pacific Northwest Ballet, including Lindsi Dec, Benjamin Griffiths, Diana Law, Kiyon Gaines, and Maria Chapman, as well as renowned ballet master Robert Kelley, artistic director of the Santa Cruz Ballet.

During their west coast dance tour, the local dancers were challenged to excel in ballet technique, pointe classes, jazz, musical theatre, character, repertoire, choreography, stretch classes, and ballroom.

Each week they worked with a new choreographer before giving a performance on their final day.

Now back home, there has been no time to put their dancing feet up, for all of them were chosen to participate in DanceBermuda's current summer intensive, a three-week programme sponsored by the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda in conjunction with the American Ballet Theatre.