Withington Pair reach ‘Got to Dance’ Semi-Final

Podilya** Updated**

Despite recording a flawless performance on Sunday's live semi-final, including some very dangerous moves with swords,  Podilya were disappointed not to advance through to the Got to Dance final in a few weeks time.  Only two out of the seven acts that performed were voted through by the public. 

**************************************************************************************************

Huge congratulations are in order for Former Head Girl and 2010 leaver Sophia Szlachetko, and her sister, current UV pupil Maya, who are celebrating this week following their progression to the live semi-finals of Sky 1's Got to Dance competition as part of Ukrainian dance troupe, Podilya.

Sophia and Maya, whose mother Linda is Podilya's choreographer, will appear live on Sky One this Sunday, 30th January, at 6pm, where they will battle 6 other dance acts to try and win a place in the competition's live final on Sunday 27th February 2011.

Sophia has been part of Podilya since it started in 1996 and Maya later joined in 1998, and they regularly travel together to festivals and dance competitions to perform. The group, all of whom are second-generation Ukrainian, rehearse together weekly and are passionate about celebrating their Ukrainian heritage.

Sophia, who is currently studying Economics and French at Nottingham University, told us: "We're all feeling a little like dark chocolate at the moment…bittersweet. We are so excited at the prospect of the live shows as it is something we have never had the chance to experience before and it is such a big achievement. However, knowing that the judges believed in us enough to risk their professional reputations and put us through to the live semi finals means that there is a lot of pressure to perform.

"We know that we have to pull something spectacular out of the bag in order to convince the judges, and the public, that we deserve a place in the final. With this in mind, rehearsals have been very intense, requiring a huge level of commitment and sacrifice from all members of the group. We just hope that all our hard work will pay off and we achieve our aim, to entertain!"

Everyone at Withington wishes Podilya the very best of luck in this Sunday's semi-final, and we would urge all Sky 1 viewers to get voting and send this fantastic Manchester act all the way to the final.