Inishowen teenager wins overall title at Welsh performance competition

Lily-May Tolley from Inishowen has won Overall Dancer of the Tournament at the St. David's Festival of Dance.

The Festival, held in Wales, is a competitive dance event that celebrates dance, culture, and community across Wales and the wider UK. Dancers compete across a wide array of categories, including solos, duets, trios, groups, acrobatics, and singing.

Lily-May is a second-year pupil at Scoil Mhuire in Buncrana, and she attends the Rainbow School of Dance in Eglinton, where she has been under the tutelage of dance teacher and choreographer Leigh Chapman for the past several years.

As well as her outstanding accomplishments in competitive dance, Lily May is also an active member of the Inish Theatre Group, showcasing her talent across multiple performing arts disciplines.

Speaking on Lily-May, Inish Theatre Group said: “Our own Lily-May Tolley has just gone and won Overall Dancer of the Tournament at the St. Davids Festival of Dance!

“This is a fantastic achievement at a highly regarded dance festival, with dancers being judged by hugely experienced professionals from across the UK dance and theatre industry. To come away with the overall title is some achievement!

“We honestly couldn’t be more bloody proud of her! Lily-May works so hard at everything she does and is one of the most humble young people you’ll ever meet. She never makes a fuss about how talented she is; she just gets on with it and lets her dancing do the talking.

“She continues to do herself, her family, and Inishowen so proud and is really putting Inishowen on the map in the dancing and musical theatre world. We hope you realise just how talented you are, because everyone else certainly does. Enjoy this one; you deserve every bit of it!”

“From everyone at Inish Theatre Group, we are so, so proud of you! Enjoy celebrating tonight! And we look forward to celebrating with you when you return from Wales "