Trio scoop awards at iconic dance venue

THREE talented young dancers from an Annandale dance academy have represented the school on a prestigious national stage. Local talent Owen McGregor and dance partnership Anya Melville and Evelyn Laidlaw proudly took to the stage at the Champions of Tomorrow 2026 event held at one of the most historic venues in British dance Blackpool Winter Gardens. The trio – representing Maureen Smith Dancing Academy in Annan – enjoyed a successful event – which is widely recognised for showcasing the next generation of dance talent. Anya and Evelyn were crowned all girls classical sequence winners, vice champions in juvenile classical sequence and Latin sequence and third in juvenile modern sequence. On Saturday, Owen was crowned under 14 champion in Latin sequence, mordern sequence and classical sequence and vice champion in the under 16 categories. He also made semi finals and finals in the highly competitive Latin and ballroom categories. On Sunday, he celebrated his 14th birthday as vice champion in his three under 16 sequence sections. Maureen Smith, Principle Dance Teacher, said ‘This is the first major competition of 2026 and I am so proud of the achievements of Owen and Anya and Evelyn. “They all did our school proud and I can’t wait to see what they and the rest of our competitors from MSDA go on to do in the up an coming competitions of 2026. “Our next big competition is the All England taking place at Blackpool Tower, closely followed by the British Adult Festival in Fleetwood and the Junior British Championships in the Blackpool Winter Gardens where we will have two formation teams, an invitational team representing Scotland plus solos and couples dancing over nine consecutive days.”