Local pro hits Strictly stride

We are sure that local Strictly Come Dancing fans are looking out for Burleydam professional, the youngest pro on the show ever, 21-year old AJ Pritchard as he coaches celebrity and gymnast Claudia Fragapane on the BBC1 show.

This weekend they were not only joint top of leaderboard with 36 points (9 out of 10 from all four judges) for their superb Charleston routine, but were also the first couple chosen to go through to next week's competition.

AJ is the son of the Pritchards who run the Dance Academy in Burleydam – we are sure that a call to their studio will have you dancing to Strictly standards in no time – well, on second thoughts, it may take just a little longer!

As the BBC says: AJ swapped the slopes after a broken arm extreme snowboarding for the dancefloor. He quickly demonstrated a talent, and a coach paired him up with a local dancer, who just happened to be another Strictly 2016 newbie – Chloe Hewitt.

Over the course of nine years together, AJ and Chloe became National Youth Latin Champions three years running, as well as European Youth Latin Champions. But the Glitterball Trophy is a whole other story, and AJ has his eye firmly on the Strictly prize.

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