Teacher knew exactly what to do as families stuck near M6

A large group of children, parents and teachers had to improvise when they faced missing out on a top prize.

Boom Productions dance school from Old Swan travel all around the country and the world in dance competitions. In January, they took part in a regional heat for one called Destination Dance in Runcorn, unaware it was an international dance competition, and progressed to the grand finals in Coventry.

Stella James, 53, from Tuebrook, is an administrator at Boom, while her nieces Faye Casey and Erin Johnson run the school alongside Stevie Goodwin. Speaking to the ECHO, Stella said everyone associated with the school was excited about the opportunity.

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Stella said: “They were absolutely over the moon. We do compete regularly but this was the biggest thing to-date."

A group of 49 people headed down to the final yesterday on a coach from Old Swan, with dance students aged from 11 to 17, mums, aunties, grandparents and dance teachers all on board. However, 10 miles outside of Coventry, the coach broke down on the Coleshill Interchange bridge, overlooking the M6.

Boom faced missing their allocated time slot to perform, and with that the chance to win the competition.

Stella said: “We were all panicking. We had a set time we had to be there. The big coach company, they were trying to sort us out. They said they would send another from Liverpool but it could take hours to come.

“We were only 10 miles away but we couldn't walk it. We had people already at the venue waiting for the performance.

“We stood at the side of the road with our banners, but nobody was stopping.”

Thankfully, Faye came up with an idea. She told everyone to download the Uber app and order trips that would get them to the finals.

Stella said: “She knew we had to get there. To get to dance competitions, it's not a cheap hobby. There were parents there that had paid a lot of money. It was panic that turned into, let’s sort something.”

A total of 10 Ubers managed to get everyone to the venue in time. Boom performed a contemporary jazz and a commercial routine. They received a standing ovation from the judges and audiences for this, and were eventually declared winners of the competition.

Stella said: “We couldn’t believe it. There was amazing talent on that stage yesterday. There were 49 of us on the new coach back home, all the kids were signing

“Some of these kids are at dance college. It's quite a mixed group. We’ve done Liverpool proud. It's just amazing.

“The coach company said they're going to give us some money back for Ubers, and you can’t really argue with that. The coach breaking down just added to the excitement in the end.”

Stella singled out her two new nieces for praise, who used to perform themselves. She said: “They were always my stars and they've passed on what they've learnt to the kids.”

Boom Productions put together a Hillsborough-inspired routine for Britain's Got Talent last year but were disappointed when it did make it into the final episode.

A Britain's Got Talent spokesperson said “a number of brilliant acts were unable to go through” to the live shows, including Boom Productions.

Stella feels the school has overcome this setback. She said: “That was a sad time for us. But we've bounced back. The kids work so hard as well as the teachers. The parents are dropping them off and picking them up. It really is one big family. It's a fantastic team to be part of.”

Stella also believes that, despite this recent achievement, nobody is being complacent about it. She said: “We’re hoping to go abroad again to perform. We’ve been to New York, Benidorm and Euro Disney. It would be nice to do one on a cruise ship.

“But we’re back to normal now. We’re in Ellesmere Port for another competition soon.

“As much as it's a fantastic achievement, it’s back to work. You've just got to keep improving.”

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