Dancers from 24 Countries Descend on Historical Blackpool Ballroom for World Dance Masters Championships
7 August 2018
by Visit Blackpool
This weekend, more than 1,000 dancers from 24 countries will gather in Blackpool to compete and dance in the World Line Dance Championships, a dance event organised by Blackpool-based company World Dance Masters.
Now in its ninth year, and sixth anniversary of being held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, the World Dance Masters Championship event brings together line dancers from the age of 3 all the way to 80 for a weekend of competition, social dancing, and show-stopping performances from the likes of CountryVive.
This year World Dance Masters has brought together dancers from not only the four home nations, but people from as far as South Africa, South Korea, the United States of America, and Australia.
“World Dance Masters is a truly global affair, which we are incredibly proud to bring to the historic Empress Ballroom, the North West’s most famous dance venue” said Sam Robins, co-director of World Dance Masters, who grew up in Blackpool and runs the company with Nicola Lafferty, a professional dance teacher from Renfrewshire, Scotland. “Competitive line dance has been growing and evolving for many years, especially off the back of CountryVive’s semi-final performance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014. As a company, we see dancers travel from literally across the world to come and compete against the best, in the hopes of winning a World title.”
The event takes place over three days, with competition starting early on Friday morning and culminating in the Parade of Countries and Awards Ceremony on Sunday evening.
But the event isn’t only for competitors. It also has a large social line dance scene held in two additional ballrooms in the Winter Gardens.
“We invite the best line dance judges, choreographers, and instructors from across the world, who are all delighted to attend to get the chance to teach and perform in the Winter Gardens,” mentions Robins. “We have more than 350 people that attend from across the world just to learn from these individuals, so it is a really special occasion!”
World Dance Masters is particularly passionate about hosting their largest event in Blackpool. As a town steeped in history for being an entertainment capital of the UK, it gives this local company great pride in showcasing Blackpool and the Winter Gardens to countries from all over the world.
For more information, visit: http://www.worlddancemasters.com/worlds or https://www.facebook.com/WorldDanceMasters/