English Riviera International Dance Festival

Posted on March 31, 2015

Running from May 29 to June 5, the English Riviera International Dance Festival combines a social dancing calendar with an extensive competitive programme. This year’s gala evening includes a unique demonstration, when current British Professional champions Warren and Kristi Boyce will be joined by their world champion son Glenn and his partner Kayleigh Andrews (pictured).

The event is held at Torquay’s Victoria Hotel, a premier dancing venue with two spacious ballrooms, allowing social dance evenings and competitions to run at the same time. It’s a perfect chance for social dancers to try competitive dancing, as there are social and beginner events every evening. There are also three championship titles: the Open to the World English Senior Latin Championship, the Open United Kingdom Over 50s Modern Championship and the Open to the World English Senior Modern Championship.

During the week, many of the adjudicators will take part in masterclasses and supervised practices. This year’s coaches are Warren and Kristi Boyce, Frank and Linda Venables, Gary Foster, David Douglas, Diane Haywood, James and Claire Taplin and James Prouton and Gemma Cowling. The gala evening, featuring two generations of Boyces, will be held on June 2.

For more information, please contact James and Claire Taplin on 01489 584 502, or Philip Wylie on 01895 632 143.

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.