Countdown to the Manchester Grand Prix

Posted on June 10, 2014

Wheelchair dancers from across Europe are set to gather in Manchester in three weeks’ time for the fourth annual Manchester Grand Prix International Wheelchair Dance Championship.

The event, which has been organised by Manchester-based Strictly Wheelchair Dancing, in association with Ray Bulpitt Dancentre, is being held on Sunday, June 29 at the Forum, Wythenshawe. The Grand Prix was first held in 2011 and is the largest international wheelchair dancesport competition currently held in the UK.

Entries and officials from over ten European countries will be welcomed to the city, following a surge in international interest. Many competitors will also travel from clubs based right across the UK.

The adjudicators have been confirmed as: Corrie Van Hugten (Netherlands), Pippa Roberts (Malta), Leonid Tarasov (Russia), Iwona Ciok (Poland), Peter Elliott (Great Britain), Christa Udell (Great Britain), Andrej Micunek (Slovakia) and Ray Bulpitt (South Africa).

Spectator tickets are available on the door and priced at £10 for adults and £5 for children/Senior Citizens. Spectators are free to come and go throughout the day.

Wheelchair dancesport involves athletes with a physical disability that affects the lower limbs. Wheelchair dancers may participate in combi-style dancing with an able-bodied (standing) partner or duo-dance, with two wheelchair users competing together.

The event is sponsored by Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, Easi-Drive and Fish – Specialist Disabled Insurers.

Strictly Wheelchair Dancing is already looking ahead to the 2015 Wheelchair Dance Championship and seeking partners and sponsors for this growing sport and international event. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor or partner is asked to contact the competition organisers.

For more information, email manchestergrandprix@gmail.com, visit
www.strictlywheelchairdancing.co.uk/manchestergrandprix or call Paula Moulton on 07757 544 429.

Picture: Dancers at the Manchester Grand Prix last year
Photograph: Phil Portus

Nicola Rayner

Nicola Rayner was editor of Dance Today from 2010 to 2015. She has written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Independent and Time Out Buenos Aires, where she cut her teeth as a dance journalist working on the tango section. Today she continues to dance everything from ballroom to breakdance, with varying degrees of success. Her debut novel, The Girl Before You, was published last year in paperback, ebook and audiobook.