More than £60,000 raised by Strictly Northampton’s ‘best show yet’ – with sold out 1,200-person audience

More than £60,000 was raised by this year’s Strictly Northampton, in what has been described as the “best show yet” with a sold out 1,200-person audience.

The £50,000 fundraising target was smashed, with a final total of £61,707.47 that has been donated to Cynthia Spencer Hospice – taking the total raised for the charity to more than half a million.

The annual competitive dancing show has raised more than £2 million for local charities since its launch in 2010.

Now in its twelfth year, 36 couples performed as part of the “biggest line-up yet” at the performance at the Royal & Derngate on November 25.

The show was founded by professional dancer Andrzej Mialkowski and he has continued organising and producing the competition annually ever since.

Talking to the Chronicle & Echo, Andrzej described the show as “amazing”. He added that people were worried about how long it would be with 36 couples, but they knew Andrzej “always likes to go a little bit crazy”.

“We’ve been told it was the best show yet,” he said. “It was the best audience so far.

“It flowed so smoothly and was so powerful. There were showcases from the professional dancers and pyrotechnics. It was a show to remember. Everyone enjoyed themselves massively.”

People who follow Strictly Northampton year after year have already asked about what is in store for 2024, and the planning has begun as Andrzej described it as a “long process”.

They are already on the lookout for potential sponsorships and thinking of ways to make the next show different.

This year’s winning couple were James Cornish and Amie Soderberg. The best fundraiser was Nikki Randall, having raised more than £5,000. Neil Cassidy was awarded ‘people person’ and Harry Barrett ‘most improved’.

Each novice dancer had to raise £1,000 for the important cause, which will now be invested in palliative care for people with life-limiting conditions and their families across the county.

Organiser Andrzej has danced since the age of 10 and competed in competitions across Europe, before he set up his hugely successful dance school ‘Step by Step’ in England in 2005. It was Step by Step that provided the eight weeks of Latin and ballroom lessons to the contestants.