All-Ireland joy for Moate dance school

By Rebekah O'Reilly

The Leinster School of Dance, based in Moate, is celebrating after winning big at the All-Ireland Final of the 5678 Elite Dance competition.

The competition took place on Saturday, February 22, in the Mill Theatre in Belfast, and saw three students from the school awarded for their solo and duet dance routines.

In the under 12s category, Ava Dunne won 1st place for her solo routine, while Amira Reynolds and Abby Evans won 2nd place for their duet routine.

Amira was also awarded 3rd place in the elite solo category, where she competed against 25 other children from schools across Ireland and the UK.

"It was really tough to watch, because the talent was so huge," Shauna Coffey, Leinster School of Dance. "It was a really big deal for us to do so well, because we're just a small school from Moate."

This is the second consecutive year that the school has come away victorious from the competition, with three students also taking home awards in 2024.

"The girls were just so proud of themselves and their talent really shone through," Shauna said. "They were honestly shocked and thrilled."

The school was also fortunate enough to take part in a group performance in the RDS two weeks ago - adding to the sense of achievement for the Moate dance academy.

In the coming months, Leinster School of Dance will host an Easter camp, and are preparing to perform in the Moate St. Patrick's Day parade.