The Blackpool Dance Festival

Rachelle Stretch takes a look back at the history of the Winter Gardens complex, and finds out just how much organisational work is involved in putting the festival together

The ballrooms

Steeped in over 110 years of history, the Empress Ballroom is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious ballrooms in the world. The Winter Gardens complex, with its 12 self-contained, individually-styled venues, was built on the six-acre Bank Hey Estate and opened in July 1878. The Empress Ballroom, however, was not completed until the summer of 1896. It was designed by Mangnall & Littlewood with plasterwork by J. Boekbinder, and its barrel-vaulted ceiling, chandeliers and ornate balconies make the ballroom quite distinctive. The floor and the atmosphere in the venue is favoured by dancers from across the world. The floor itself is 34 x 13m in size, is made of plywood with a veneer finish, and takes approximately four hours to lay.

The ballroom has had to undergo restoration several times. During World War I the building was used by naval and military forces, and the original three large chandeliers were removed. In 1919 they were replaced with 13 chandeliers, each possessing 2,700 candle power. In 1934 the ballroom was re-floored with 10,000 pieces of oak, mahogany, walnut and greenwood, laid over 1,320 four-inch springs covering 12,500sq ft. In 1997, the company decided that the ballroom required a hospitality suite and the open area behind the stage was closed off and a room built and named in Princess Diana’s memory.

The seating capacity of the ballroom is 1,900 (with many more standing-only tickets) and up until 1980 there used to be a box dedicated to foreign visitors, although the influx of foreign competitors and spectators meant that this became impractical. Today the Empress Ballroom not only hosts the dance festival, but political party conferences, exhibitions and pop concerts.

The rooms adjacent to the Empress Ballroom – the Arena and Olympia – are known in relation to the Dance Festival as the venue for the exhibition. They have not always looked like they do today – the Arena was originally named the Indian Lounge due to its Raj-inspired interior created by J. Boekbinder in 1896. In 1964 the faded interior was replaced by the Planet Room – a large lounge bar with a cabaret stage, and about 20 years ago was further redeveloped in a Roman style to become the present day Arena. Olympia was opened in June 1930 and took less than eight months to build. Its interior had been designed by Andrew Mazzei in the form of a Moorish village. The exterior was finished in white falience and before the war included a dome that was later removed. It also served a military purpose during the war – it was where Morse code was taught.

The Tower Ballroom, designed by Frank Matcham, was opened in 1899, not long after the Empress Ballroom was built. The original ballroom at the Tower was smaller and had been open since 1894. The ballroom floor measures 120ft x 102 ft and comprises 30,602 separate blocks of mahogany, oak and walnut. The first Wurlitzer organ was installed in the ballroom in 1929 and was replaced in 1935 – the original organ being moved to the Empress Ballroom.    In 1956 the ballroom was damaged by fire and the dance floor was destroyed.  It took two years and £500,000 to restore the ballroom. In the early 20th century, dancing used to be interspersed with variety entertainment including moving picture shows, aerial gymnasts and swimming displays in tanks.  “Come Dancing” was often televised from the tower and music from the tower, including Reginald Dixon at the Wurlitzer, used to be broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

Organising the Blackpool Dance Festival today

Last year, 1733 couples from 61 countries took part in the eight-day festival, and 10 per cent of these entries were British. There were 3231 entries in the 12 events, which was an increase of 377 entries from 2005. Over the week of the festival an average of 40,000-50,000 people will attend. 

Madam Illet, co-principal of the Blackpool School of Dance, organised the festival from 1954-1978, and her husband Bill Francis then took over until 1980. Mrs Gillian MacKenzie took the reins until 2004, when Sandra Wilson, the current organiser, stepped into the role. Co-ordinating an event as big as this to such high standards is no easy task and Sandra’s team (herself plus one full-time and one part-time staff member) is dedicated to the year-round organisation process.
In June the forms are sent out for the following year’s festivals and seats are all allocated by the end of July. Competitors’ entries are received on an on-going basis from July until the deadline at end of March, and the office can expect to receive 200 faxes a day during the week prior to the entry deadline. Between March and May the office is responsible for arranging the timetables, checking the adverts and putting together a 256 page colour programme, which goes to the printer during the first week of May, after which the team are busy producing in-house schedules and preparing for the festival to get underway. 

For more information visit www.blackpooldancefestival.com or www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk

All photographs from last year’s Festival by Ron Self