More young Merritt artists have cleaned up at the Kamloops Festival of the Performing Arts — this time, several dancers from the local Love to Dance Academy.

Five local dance students had a chance to participate in the festival on March 10 and 11, and each came away with a first place win in her category.

Maiya Kandola and Hailee Harkies performed a lyrical jazz duet, while Megan Voigt and Avery Warren each took first place in their age groups in the classical ballet solo category.

Sydney Willson also won top honours for the lyrical ballet category.

Sydney Willson won first place in the lyrical ballet category.

Sydney Willson won first place in the lyrical ballet category.

All the girls have been dancing for a few years, local dance teacher Lizette Nel told the Herald via email.

They took on extra lessons to prepare for the festival, which helped hone their artistic expression and dance technique, Nel stated.

“It was a pleasure to prepare these students to perform and it is great to see the growth in self-esteem and confidence,” the teacher wrote in the email.

Megan Voigt (left) and Avery Warren each won first place in the classical ballet solo category for their age groups.

Megan Voigt (left) and Avery Warren each won first place in the classical ballet solo category for their age groups.