Delight as Portsmouth Grammar School win Dance Live! finals for the third time
Success for pupils at Dance Live!
100 pupils from The Portsmouth Grammar School took to the stage at the Portsmouth Guildhall on Wednesday night to compete in the Dance Live Final. They won for the third time, making them the most successful Dance Live team ever.
In front of a packed Guildhall audience, pupils from across Portsmouth and the country performed in the national finals for Dance Live 2026 - the largest performing arts competition for schools in the UK.
"The pupils and staff have shown a great deal of commitment over many months of rehearsals, in the heats and then to keep the momentum going for the final on Wednesday this week," said Mr Tim MacFarlane, who leads Dance Live at The Portsmouth Grammar School (PGS). "We had almost 100 pupils taking part this year, some who were dancing for the first time, so to win for all of them is amazing."
The performance told the story of attempts to steal magic, deception and power with the large screen being used to show the transition of feelings of the characters story. At some points all the pupils were on stage at the same time displaying some tight choreography which provided a spectacular performance for the audience.
"I'd like to say an extra special well done and thank you to our fantastic Dance Captains Lucy, Sophie, Ellie, and Jemima. They worked brilliantly at creating a team spirit amongst the team which included pupils from Year 7 to Year 13 and were fantastic role models," continued Tim. "This is the third time PGS have won Dance Live making us the most successful Dance Live team ever! We are so proud of our achievement."