RADCLIFFE and Elton-based dancers were jumping for joy after the first ever street dance competition hotsed by their school proved a runaway success.

ActiveDance hosted the Street Dance International (SDI) North West Championships at Castle Leisure Centre in Bolton Street, Bury, drawing in 900 spectators and competitors from 15 dance schools across the region.

Dancers from Rochdale, Bolton, Manchester, Warrington, Wigan and North Wales were competing against each other to qualify for the All England Championships in Oxford in May.

Nicola Cleaver, Operations Director at ActiveDance, said: “It was a really successful day, especially considering it was the first time we’d tried something like this. We have had some great feedback.”

The SDI North West Championships were split into different categories, based on contestants’ age and ability.

Bury winners included Dominic Ferguson, aged nine, from Greenmount, who won in the under 10 beginner category and Junior Payne, aged five, who won in the under six beginner category.

Shannon Downey, aged 18, and Georgia Hutton, aged 17, both from Whitefield, won in the over 16 intermediate category.

The competition’s celebrity judges included the Urban Jokers Duo, Dominique Jackson, Tachia Newell, and Mark Boyce and Jack Bain from the Manchester-based street dance crew The Audio Boyz.