Sunday 19th April 2026

Venue: Bury Castle Leisure Centre, Bolton St, BL9 0EZ

Changing Rooms

Male and female changing rooms will be available.

For safeguarding reasons, dancers up to school-leaving age must be accompanied by a responsible adult in the changing areas.

Please note:

No photos or videos are allowed in changing rooms

Changing in public areas is not allowed unless a dancer is wearing a base layer such as a leotard, crop top or shorts

First Aid

If medical help is needed during the event, first aid trained event staff will be available and based at the front desk 

Photography and Filming

This is a private event for participants and their families, so photography and filming are permitted. However, please be mindful of others:

Try to focus on your own child where possible

Be aware that some dancers may not wish to appear on social media

Consider privacy settings if sharing content online

Please use crop or blur tools where needed

The event’s social media team may also take general photos or short video clips of the event space and larger groups. If you have any concerns, please speak to your dance school lead.

Emergency Evacuation

Please make yourself aware of the emergency exits when you arrive.

If the fire alarm sounds:

Leave by the nearest exit

Follow instructions from event staff

If you are accompanying a dancer, please try to locate your dance school lead at the assembly point so they know you are safely out.

Safeguarding

The event has a Body of Persons Approval (BOPA) issued by the centres local council. Safeguarding is a shared responsibility between:

Event organisers

Event staff

Licensed chaperones

Dance school teachers/leaders

Parents/guardians/responsible adults

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Claire Lloyd, who will be based on the stage throughout the event.

🎟️ Wristbands (Important)

Please collect your wristbands from the Base Dance Front Desk, from Tuesday 14th April. 

Please make sure your wristbands are collected before 1:00pm on Saturday.

You will not be able to enter the venue without a wristband, so we strongly recommend fastening them on before leaving the house for peace of mind.

If wristbands are forgotten, replacements may need to be purchased on the door subject to availability, and any refund request would need to be made directly with the event organiser. BDPA staff will not be able to resolve this on the day.

⚠️ A small number of spectator tickets will be available on the door for £22, but these are only available to attending dance schools, not the general public. Please also be aware that we do not know if the event will sell out, so if you bring extra people on the day who have not pre-purchased wristbands, entry cannot be guaranteed. Wristbands bought on the door may also be charged at a higher rate.

Children under 3 count towards room capacity but will not receive a physical wristband.

We cannot be responsible for reminding families to collect wristbands or checking whether they have been collected, so please make sure this is done in advance.

Event Times (please see event running order)

The morning session will begin at 8:30 am for all Under 10 teams, solos and duos.

The afternoon session will begin at 12:00 noon for all Under 12s and above teams, solos and duos.

The day is split into age categories and sections.

Schedule: Arrival time is one hour before your first dance section or when the doors open whichever applies 

Dancers must arrive ready to dance! 

Please note these times are approximate and the event may run slightly ahead or behind. This is why we ask you to arrive early.

Arrival and Departure

Once dancers arrive, they must let their teacher/group lead know so attendance can be recorded.

Before leaving, dancers must also sign out with their teacher/group lead.

🏆 Leaving the Event

Once your child has completed all of their sections and received their awards (or been knocked out of rounds where applicable), you are welcome to leave.

Parking

There is plenty of parking available on site and parking charges do apply.

Please leave enough time to park and get into the venue.

📱 Event Day Communication – BAND App

For this event, I have set up a BAND group for communication on the day.

This is optional and simply provides a quick way to communicate if needed (e.g. emergency, late arrival, lost dancer, illness).

A chat room will open on Saturday evening

The group will be deleted after the event

You can leave at any time

👉 Please join here:

https://band.us/n/a1adb8vcR80dG

The group will only be used for important, time-sensitive updates. It is not for sharing photos, videos, or ongoing conversations, due to notifications, so please be considerate of others in the group. Thank you.

Hair, Uniform and Dress Code

Footwear Reminder:

Dancers must not walk around barefoot. Please make sure they bring sliders, Crocs, or other easy slip-on shoes to wear when moving around the venue

Hair & Dress Code at the Competition

• Contemporary Set Solos/duos/fressstyle: Lyrical dresses, leotards, crop tops, and shorts. Allowed footwear: barefoot, foot undies, contemporary footware or jazz shoes. Socks not allowed.

• Contemporary: Nude Footless Tights are required.

• Hair: Contemporary - bun or ponytail

• Jewellery: Not permitted.

Team Attire - As communicated if dancing teams at the events.

Additional Appearance Rules

• Make-up is allowed but not compulsory
• No jewellery permitted
• No visible underwear during performances
• All students must wear their studio-branded hoodie and T-shirt to classes and events
• Event merchandise purchased must not be worn during normal studio classes or upon arrival to the events.

Food and Drink

There is no café on site.

👉 Please:

Bring a packed lunch

Bring a water bottle

Ensure all rubbish is cleared and the area is left tidy

Please avoid sending foods or drinks that may stain costumes, such as chocolate, strawberries, jam, fruit juices or fizzy drinks (e.g. Coca-Cola). You get the idea 😊

📍 On Arrival

When you arrive, please go straight into the venue and meet inside at our designated seating area. 

Schedule: Arrival time one hour before your first dance section or doors opening time, whichever applies. 

Dancers must arrive ready to dance

These times are estimates only and may change on the day.

https://www.callinguout.co.uk/bury-19th-april-2026