A BONNIE braveheart is on the top of the world after coming tops at the biggest event in the Highland dancing calendar.
Ayra Graham, a pint-sized dancer with a big talent, took first place in the Scottish Open and National Championships at the Cowal Highland Gathering.
The youngster, who is just 10 years old, only recently went up a level, and has risen to the challenge.
Proud mum Emma said: "I couldn't believe it. It was a shock.
"Technically younger dancers don't have world championships, but there were dancers from America and Australia.
"Me and her dad and dance teacher were there to watch her, but we didn't want to overwhelm her with lots of people watching her.
"She was suffering a wee bit with nerves. She was the Cowal runner-up and champion on both days last year.
"I don't think she really appreciated how big an event it was."
The prize-winning performer lives with Emma, a former council employee, and dad Craig, a police officer in Port Glasgow.
She has won a shedload of silverware but works very hard and also enjoys ballet and tap.
Emma, 40, who is now studying to be a nurse, said: "She has been dancing since she was three.
"She trained with Jacqueline Deeney at first, but she wanted to try ballet and tap, so moved to Jackson Studios, run by Linda Jackson, when she was six.
"She trains three nights a week and on other nights she practises at home.
"We have a ballet bar and a dance mat in the kitchen that maps out all her dance moves."
Ayra, a pupil at St Francis's Primary, is also a member of Scottish Ballet Junior Associates and practises with them once a month.
Craig, 42, said: "I was quite emotional when she won the trophy. Someone said 'your daughter has just won the equivalent of the European Cup'.
"I was in tears. I don't go to see her dancing very much, I had to book the time off a year in advance.
"I am very proud of her."
Emma says it runs in the family as she and her sister were disco dancers when they were young.
She said: "She was always prancing around to videos and singing and dancing around the living room.
"She's quick at picking up things, and although she quiet, she's a confident wee thing and she's like a sponge. She just soaks things up.
"Her goal is to improver her technique and to qualify for the world championships when she is 12."
Ayra's list of previous honours includes prizes at the City of Inverness Pre-Championships, Commonwealth Championships and the Kingdom of Fife last year, the UK Championships, Lanimer Highland Championships and the City of Inverness Championships this year.
