During the last school year, Leeds Rhinos Foundation has been helping to create more opportunities for aspiring young dancers to develop their skills and perform at big events.
Nicola Booth, who is the dance captain and choreographer for the Heart FM Dance Team, who perform at every Leeds Rhinos home game, is helping to inspire children to get involved in dance through her role as dance development officer with Leeds Rhinos Foundation.
“In 1999 I joined the first ever Leeds Rhinos Dance Team and it is fantastic to see how important dance has become at the club and Leeds Rhinos Foundation since then,” Booth said.
“I now work in schools across Leeds teaching dance and run the Rhinestones Dance Academy. Dance is great for building confidence and self-esteem. It can be a fun, social activity with many health benefits so I am privileged to be able to get the opportunity to teach young children and encourage them to pursue their interests.”
The Rhinestones Dance Academy started nine years ago for children interested in cheerleading and other forms of dance and its popularity has continued to grow and it now runs across four venues.
This year the Rhinestones have performed at a variety of events and along with their annual show and competitions, they have performed on the Emerald Headingley turf at Rhinos games three times over the season and they also got the chance to dance at the Dacia Magic Weekend in front of a packed St James’ Park in Newcastle as well as Leeds events.
Rhinestones classes will start again in September. If you would like to get involved with the Rhinestones email Nicola.booth@leedsrugby.com for more information.