A STAGGERING £6,000 was raised by a local dance school last week, 100 times more than they managed on their first show in 2007, writes Alisha Fairbairn.

The Michelle Douglas School of Dance sold out three nights in a row in their fundraising shows for the Children's Ward and Special Baby Care Unit at the Borders General Hospital.

They presented a spectacular annual dance show at the Tait Hall in Kelso last week.

The School of Dance was celebrating its 10th birthday.

Michelle Douglas first trained in ballet at a young age, where she attended Miss E Cavers School of Dance in Kelso.

Finding her love for dance, she expanded her dance training and attended the Borders Youth Dance Company where she learnt the contemporary style of dance and a small amount of hip-hop.

Since then, Michelle has started up her own business, performed at the closing ceremony for the Commonwealth in Delhi in 2010 and has completed a decade of dance training.

Her dance school was established in Kelso in 2006 and offers many varieties of dance, from contemporary to hip-hop and also street, for children of all ages.

The school also offers classes for adults including Yoga, Pilates, Dance Fit, Ballet-cise and Hip Hoppin Tinies classes for Mothers and their babies.

Their first ever show in 2007 raised £60 and has increased a staggering 100 times the tally at this year's annual show, raising £6,000.

All funds going towards the Children's Ward and Special Baby Care Unit.

Karen Nairn, fundraising manager with health charity The Difference, told us: "The first dance show in 2007 raised £60 for the children’s ward at Borders General Hospital, so this year she wanted to raise 100 times that!

"Well Done Michelle and all your dancers!"

The school has shown an outstanding dedication towards raising money for charities and performing at local events such as the Queen's Baton Relay Event in Coldstream in 2014, the Comic Relief Event in Kelso in 2015 and Our Dance To Fight Poverty showcases in 2013 and 2014, and of course the annual showcase last week (which runs every year in June).

The school offers high quality classes to all age ranges in a safe, friendly environment, helping to focus the students on developing their confidence, self-esteem, creativity and performance style.The classes vary in times to suit all the students' needs, from morning classes to early evenings. Currently classes run at Kelso, Duns, Melrose, Earlston and also Jedburgh and are suitable from the ages of 4 up to 18.