A CHARITY dance competition which has raised £84,000 over the past two years promises to be even bigger and better this year.
Strictly Inverness raises money for the Highland Hospice and the Inverness Ice Centre and is again being supported by the Highland News.
The 2012 extravaganza will take place over four days in May. Over the last two years the contest, which sees locals trained to hit the dance floor and wow 500-strong audiences with fancy foxtrots and jumpy jives, has become a big date on the entertainment calendar and a major fundraiser.
This week the dancefloor rookies who will be tripping the light fantastic were revealed.
The four-day Strictly Inverness 2012 competition will start on May 10. The event will kick off with a fashion show, then the adult competitors will strut their stuff on Friday and Saturday, May 11-12, with the juniors rounding off the event on the Sunday.
Strictly Inverness raises money for the Highland Hospice, which is the only hospice serving adults with incurable life-limiting disease in the region, and the ice centre, where the event will be staged.
This year’s format will be slightly different to previous years with seven different couples competing each night.
Wendy Clark, Highland Hospice communications officer, said: "This May, instead of having the same dancers performing on two nights, we are going to be staging two entirely different competitions with a different set of dancers on Friday and Saturday.
"We are also working with a wider variety of dance tutors, each bringing their own style to the mix. This keeps it exciting for our audiences."
She added: "We are also introducing a ‘launch night’ on Thursday, May 10, which will take the form of a fashion show – and we have moved our Strictly Junior competition to become the Sunday afternoon finale."
Jane Fraser, commercial manager of Inverness Ice Centre added: "It’s going to be a lot of hard work putting these shows together but we are confident that this year’s overall competition will blow everyone away."
Last year’s contest brought in £60,000 but organisers are hoping this year’s event will bag even more cash for the two charities.
Keep an eye on the Highland News over the comping weeks for updates on Strictly Inverness and visit our website at www.highland-news.co.uk
