You’d think that anyone who has achieved as much as Hatfield’s James and Oliver have on BBC One’s The Greatest Dancer would give themselves a break, but the boys were out and dancing again the day after leaving the hit show.
Having fought their way to the final of the primetime dance show, on Saturday night they competed for the public’s votes alongside three other acts Harry and Eleiyah, Ellie, and KLA.
Week after week their performances have been propelled through the competition by enraptured voting audiences.
On Saturday they performed a Broadway-themed dance in the hopes of clinching the £50,000 prize and the title of The Greatest Dancer(s).
The winner was solo performer Ellie, but Oliver’s mum Liz says that he’s taken it “really, really well”.
“They were fine with it, they really were,” said Liz.
The boys’ families have been preparing them for the highs and lows of the competition throughout.
READ MORE:Behind the scenes with Hatfield’s Greatest Dancers James & OliverThe only disappointment when they went out, she added, was that this meant they wouldn’t be able to perform their audition piece for a second time, the duet for two ‘brothers’ set to Lukas Graham’s ‘Seven years Old’.
But the day after the boys bowed out of the show’s live final on Saturday night, they were straight back out on the road at another dance competition - and winning more plaudits - at Stars of the Future.
The boys have inspired dancers nationwide and received a spontaneous round of applause the day they arrived at the Watford competition.
“They’re really quite well known now,” said FK Dance’s trainer and choreographer Kerry Newell. “It was lovely.”
James’ Level 2 sports studies tutor Hara Markos said: “He has worked incredibly hard for this moment, it’s great to see him get the recognition he deserves.
“We’re immensely proud of him.”
But fame hasn’t gone to their heads and the hard-working lads are looking forward to a touch of normalcy after weeks of TV razzle dazzle.
The first thing Oliver did after the show on Saturday night, said his mum Liz, is get a McDonalds.
James said he feels quite relieved to be out of the limelight for a bit. “It was quite stressful having to learn the routines and perform them every week,” he said.
“Now that it’s all finished, I’m back down to earth.”
Not for long, however.
James, who trains his own troupe at Kerry’s school FK Dance, will be co-choreographing a piece with Kerry for a summer show with the famed Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.
Another person looking forward to a bit of rest is Kerry herself, who Liz described as “not just a wonderful choreographer and dance teacher, but the most amazing and caring woman”.
Because Oliver is just 12, Kerry had to officially chaperone him at the BBC, and often stood in for parents who weren’t allowed backstage.
Liz remembers how she felt sitting in the audience when the results were announced at the final on Saturday. “I just wanted to go and give him a big hug,” she said.
“But to know that Kerry was there with him was as good as me being there.”
As for Kerry, she said: “I’m still on a high from it.
“We’ve come away on a high”.
BBC licence payers can watch the full final until March 23 on iPlayer here: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0002vxl/the-greatest-dancer-series-1-episode-8
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