Blackpool Dance Festival - A look inside the world's most famous ballroom competition where dancing is 'like scoring a winning goal at Wembley'

The hottest dancers from across the globe gathered for the 97th annual Blackpool Dance Festival, all hoping to dazzle the judges in the Empress ballroom.

Amateurs and professionals compete in a range of categories at the 13-day event – which is likened to the ‘Wimbledon’ of the ballroom calendar.

Michael Williams, the Managing Director of the Winter Gardens, said: “For ballroom dancers coming here, they compare it to scoring a winning goal at Wembley or playing at Wimbledon. Dancers from South Africa, Canada and America say their ambition was always to come to Blackpool, and today they fulfill that ambition.”

‘It’s changed a lot but the music is always the same’

The festival takes place from May 20 to June 2, 2023 – and sees a return to the full sized event post-Covid.

The dancers all perform to live music, provided by the Empress Orchestra – who are highly regarded as “the finest orchestra in the world” for Ballroom dancing.

Michael Chen runs a stall where he sells his designer costumes – all made to measure and designed to accentuate the dancer’s movement.

He used to compete at the prestigious event – before opening his own dancewear brand. Michael told the Gazette: It’s changed a lot. Every year it’s something new, this year they’ve put the screen up backstage, but the music is always the same style and it brings me back to years ago.”

‘You can feel the ghosts of the champions who have been in the room’

The festival brings around £6m to the Blackpool economy – as thousands of dancers, and their supporters and spectators flood the resort.

Marina Stechenko and Darren Hammond been dancing together for two years, but both been coming to Blackpool for over 20 years.

Marina says it ‘feels like home’ as they have been coming since they were young.

Darren, who used to travel with his mum and brother, said you can feel ‘the ghosts of the champions who have been in the room’ before them, adding: “There’s something very special about it.”

A piece of ballroom history

The festival, which was first staged during the Easter week of 1920, has only previously been prevented from taking place on two occasions – during the Second World War and due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barbara Patricia George, 88, moved from the Midlands to be near the home of ballroom dancing.

Today she spectates, but she has also brought an original programme from the year when she danced in 1957 – and a photo of her at the Winter Gardens in 1952.

Known as Pat, she told the Gazette: “I come through these doors every week when I do my shopping, and tears come to my eyes. I look in the mirror where I used to check my hair-do, and it just comes back as though it was all those years ago.”

For more information about the Blackpool Dance Festival visit https://www.blackpooldancefestival.com/