NINE amateur dancers took to the floor at the Queen Elizabeth Hall for a night of fundraising fun.
In aid of local charity, Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, Strictly Kershaw’s raised over £10,000 with all proceeds helping to fund patient care.
Hosted by Jeff Longmore, one of the stars of a new pantomime at the Grange Theatre, the show featured dancers from a range of businesses across Oldham: George Hill, UK Electronics, LLK, Coop Funeral Care, The White Hart and Beaverbrook’s as well as two members of the hospice team.
Each dancer was partnered with a professional counterpart for the evening.
A judging panel – made up of award-winning dance school owners Jennifer Lynch and Jane Helm, along with Kershaw’s Crooners musical director, Paul Firth and last year’s winner, Clare Edgerton – had the challenging task of picking the winner.
Each amateur participant spent six weeks in intensive training with their International Dance Teachers’ Association dance learning two performances, a waltz and a cha cha cha in the hope of winning the coveted Kershaw’s Glitter Ball Trophy.
Each dancer was elegantly dressed with stunning hair and makeup provided by local salon owner, Joan Mills of Limited Edition Beauty, based near the Royal Oldham Hospital.For the first round, the dancers took to the floor to perform their waltz followed by a quick costume change for the ladies who switched to their Latin gowns to perform the cha cha cha.
The first round was hard-fought by our dancers with an abundance of 10’s being awarded for their efforts.
However, the judges’ result signalled three clear favourites for round two: Emily Walker, Ryan King and Joanne Fitton.
An extra twist was when the audience was invited to choose one couple they wished to see return to the floor.
Their casting vote saw Helena Coburn from George Hill return.
After their cha, cha, cha, results were tied with Ryan King and Emily Walker neck and neck for the trophy.
With only room for one winner the couples competed in a dance-off with the winners announced as Emily Walker and her partner Molly Albert.
Grace Carr, event co-ordinator, said: “The night was a fantastic event for the local community.
“Our dancers did a fantastic job and I was extremely impressed with how much they learned in such a short space of time.”