TWO West Fife dancers are getting ready to head down under for the experience of a lifetime in Australia and New Zealand.

Emma Macdonald, 19, from Cairneyhill and Ellie Forrester, 17, from Dunfermline, were hand-picked to perform with the Edinburgh Military Tattoo Dance Troupe on a three-week tour around both countries.

There, they will dance at various tattoos, visiting huge stadiums in cities like Melbourne and Wellington, with thousands watching.

Both girls are students at the Allana Brown School of Highland Dancing and Allana herself is over the moon about their achievements.

“I am proud of them,” she said. “It’s nice to see them having grown from little children and now they’re adults.

“They’ve never been to that part of the world before so it’s completely new for them.

"They’re both really excited, it’s the experience of a lifetime and they are so lucky to have such a wonderful opportunity.”

Emma and Ellie have both been dancing since they were six years old and have tasted success on the competitive circuit, winning many titles and awards.

Emma has previous experience dancing at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Basel Military Tattoo in Switzerland.

She is also one of only eight dancers to be selected to perform in May at Windsor Castle as part of the 90th birthday celebrations for Queen Elizabeth.

However Allana pointed out that dancing as part of a team was a different experience than dancing in competitions.

“It’s a different facet to the competitive world,” she said.

“Competitions can be quite a commitment for families and it shows some of the younger dancers that there’s life other than competition and there are other roads they can take.

“They will be dancing as part of a team and alongside other dancers from Australia and New Zealand, meeting lots of new people.

“I’ve told them to take lots of pictures!" she added.

"I’m sure they will do very well, I have no reservations and I’m excited for them.”

The girls set out today for three weeks and on their return, they’ll be preparing for the Forth Bridges Festival of Dance at Queen Anne High School in April, when dancers from across the UK will come to Dunfermline for the 35th annual event, open to all registered highland dancers.