Dancing the fright away for charity!

Dance instructors Nicky Mackay and Tristian Hill.

A GLITTERING dance contest which raised thousands of pounds for two city charities is back and organisers are looking for people to take part.

This year’s event raked in a whopping £24,000 for Highland Hospice and the Inverness Ice Centre, and Strictly Inverness 2011 promises to be even bigger and better, with a special event for juniors too.

But to make the glitzy event, supported by the Highland News, a success the organisers are on the hunt for contestants to take part.

And they are particularly on the search for men!

Auditions for the three-day extravaganza, which will take place in May, will be held in the Ice Centre on Thursday between 5pm and 10pm.

Wendy Clark, of Highland Hospice, said: “We really want to make the 2011 event even bigger than before – brimming with top-quality entertainment, passion and sparkle. Not only does this competition offer a great personal sense of achievement, you will be helping to raise much-needed funds for Highland Hospice and the Ice Centre.”

She added: “This year’s event was a phenomenal success – our contestants worked so hard and it was great to see their dancing improve as the weeks went on.

“The final performances were amazing and the audience feedback was terrific. As our 2010 dancers will testify, it’s a lot of hard work, and a big commitment – but also a lot of fun, and the benefits are extremely rewarding.

“Including a junior contest gives next year’s event wide appeal, and we’re really looking forward to seeing a variety of different performances from all age groups.”

The two dance instructors putting the contestants through their paces will be Tristian Hill from Toe2Toe and Nicky Mackay from Step ‘n’ Style.

Tristian explained what they are looking for: “We need contestants who have none or very little dance experience. People don’t need to dance at the audition but we need to find people who are interested and who can put in the commitment. We need charismatic people.”

Nicky added: “I am delighted to be involved in this again, it’s such a good experience and a good cause.

“We want people who have no dance experience at all, it will make it more of a challenge if we have to work with people from scratch.”

Last year Highland News reporter Jenna MacCulloch and photographer Alasdair Allen took part in the contest.

Jenna said: “I would encourage anyone who is up for a challenge to go along to the auditions. BBC’s Strictly has made dancing popular again, so if you fancy yourself as the next Alesha Dixon or Chris Hollins, this is your perfect opportunity!”

She warned: “The training is hard work so you must be committed. There’s no worse feeling than not being ready when you’re dancing in front of a big crowd.”

Jane Fraser, of Inverness Ice Centre, added: “We are a charitable company and we reinvest the profits to improve the services we provide. Over the years many rinks have been forced to close but the funds raised from our events are reinvested, ensuring ice sports in Inverness are here to stay.”

She added: “I am looking forward to the auditions, they were great fun last year and so I would urge anyone ‘just thinking about it’ to just DO IT!”