Dancers with mental and physical disabilities took to the floor at Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre when a major inclusive dance festival came to town.
Anyone who has a disability of any kind was invited to take part in the event, which brought world-renowned judges and dancers to the Lytton Way venue.
The event’s official title is the British Inclusive Dance Festival incorporating the British Open Inclusive Dance Championship – and wheelchair sports competitors and officials from 10 European countries took part, as well as many with no previous dancing experience.
Many competitors also travelled from clubs based across the UK.
The festival was promoted by Inclusive Dance UK chief executive Ray Bulpitt, in partnership with Manchester-based Strictly Wheelchair Dancing.
He told the Comet: “The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic.
“It was amazingly successful. The staff at Stevenage Leisure Centre were absolutely fantastic and it was a lot of fun. Those who took part really engaged and the standard of dancing was amazing.”
Ray, who runs a dance school in the Cheshire town of Wilmslow, is now jetting off to Moscow to judge another major inclusive dance world championship before planning next year’s Stevenage event.
To find out more about inclusive dancing, see dancewiz.co.uk/?page_id=1581.
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