Danielle Lappin, Reporter

TALENTED dancers from a Helensburgh had a magical experience they will never forget when they danced on the Disney stage in Florida on July 4.

22 dancers from the Margaret Rose School of Dance ages four to 23, performed their Highland dancing routines in full costume on stage at Disney World, representing Scotland in one of the USA’s biggest celebrations – Independence Day.

The girls were invited to take part in the Disney Performing Arts Event, having danced there five years ago.

Margaret MacInnes, from the dance school, said: “We considered it to be a great honour to be asked to dance on Independence Day as it is such a special holiday in the USA.”

The group were busy in the lead up to the event, dedicating their time and energy not only to dancing but to fundraising in order to cover the cost of flights and accommodation.

They fundraised for a year in preparation for the chance to perform on the stage and raised around £8,000 to cover their costs by participating in bag packs and hosting race nights among other events. While fundraising took time and dedication they said it was all worth it.

Margaret, said: “We put a lot of fundraising into our flights and villas but every penny raised was so worthwhile to watch Scottish dancers representing Scotland on Independence Day in the USA.

“The dancers gave a fabulous performance in extremely difficult weather, extreme heat and humidity and I am so proud of my dancers who worked hard and practised hard to give an excellent performance.”

The group from Helensburgh performed so well in fact that they were immediately invited back whenever they can make it back to the USA.

Margaret added: “All of them performed extremely well and were immediately invited back, which in itself says a lot about how they performed.”

The girls who have all performed on the Disney stage are now all official cast members of Disney now and entertained international crowds with their routines and talent.

The magical experience continue when the dancers returned home. A group danced at Lomond Shores to raise money for the charity the Joan McGregor matrimonial fund.

While there the dancers were lucky enough to meet Harry Potter star Warwick Davis.

Margaret added: "I was pleased that the children got to meet Warwick. It was a nice experience for them when they were doing some work for charity because they do a lot of charity work and meeting a star was great for them."