Lower Darwen girl, 9, to represent England at Dance World Cup

Pixie-Mae Ashcroft, aged nine, has been selected to compete at the Dance World Cup in Spain, which takes place in July this year.

Great Harwood Dad, Jordan Marsden, is now appealing for sponsors to help fund the trip and make his daughter’s dancing dream a reality

Jordan said the Lower Darwen Primary School pupil has danced “since she could walk”.

Pixie-Mae Ashcroft (Image: Instagram/@pixiemaedancer)

He said: “She has been dancing all of her life, pretty much since she could walk. She is obsessed with dance. She goes to classes six days a week, learning everything from gymnastics to acrobatics.

“She wants to be a professional dancer when she’s older.”

Pixie-Mae Ashcroft (Image: Jordan Marsden) Jordan said Pixie-Mae, who trains at Rothwell Arts Dance Academy in Darwen, was surprised with the good news at a school assembly last week.

He said: “She competes quite a lot across the UK. Last week, we found out she was successful in the application and she will be heading to Spain in July to compete.

“It’s the top competition in the world for dance, it is hard to get into – the competition is quite a big deal.

“Pixie-Mae was told at an assembly on Friday. Her dance teacher came in with a balloon and t-shirt, to announce it to her and the whole school.

“She has been working hard for this. Harder than anyone you would ever know. She is so dedicated and ‘on it’, it’s unbelievable.

“We are buzzing for her. Her mum and I were struggling to hold it in before the assembly."

Pixie-Mae Ashcroft (Image: Jordan Marsden) With the cost of training, accommodation, flights and outfits, Jordan said the trip could end up costing more than £10,000.

Jordan is in talks with The King’s Trust, a charity formerly known as The Prince’s Trust which helps support young people, but is appealing for sponsors to help fund the rest of the trip.

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He said: “With the outfits, training sessions, flights, and accommodation it can get very expensive. We’re looking at more than £10,000, so we are looking for local businesses to sponsor her for the trip and potentially get some marketing out of it.

“We are still trying to figure the [finances] out. We are not sure yet if we will be able to cover it ourselves. Hopefully, we won’t get to that point [if we can get sponsors]

“This could be the peak of her career for all we know and it’s one of the biggest things that has happened to her.”

Any businesses hoping to sponsor Pixie-Mae can contact Jordan at: 07903811970 or message Pixie-Mae’s Instagram by searching: @pixiemaedancer.