Dancers raise more than £5,500 for charity at Strictly-style event in Norwich

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

Aviva's Marble Hall played host to a night of dancing and entertainment which raised more than £5,590 for the Benjamin Foundation.

The event was organised by Aviva employee Carol Hall and FloorCraft Dance owner Brad Adcock.

Carol said: 'All the dancers had to learn two dances, a waltz and a jive. They all danced in heats before we had two semi-finals, one for each dance, and they were voted for by each of four judges. Then the three with the highest votes from the judges in the semi-finals went through to the finals to do both dances again. In the final the judges and the audience's votes were combined to decide the winner.

'We had Ed Balls on video to open the night, he welcomed everyone and gave the judges a few tips. Everyone really liked that, it was a really nice touch.'

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

The winners of the competition were Allan Fairhead and Paula Richmond.

Allan said: 'For me personally it was a fantastic experience and something I'm really proud to have been part of. I learnt new skills, met some great people and winning with my dance partner Paula was an added bonus.'

Paula added: '[It was] a brilliant experience, I recommend it to anyone. You meet some lovely new friends, Brad is a brilliant teacher. Allan and I had so much fun and we really didn't expect to win.'

Carol was inspired to organise the event to raise money for the Benjamin Foundation after learning about the Norfolk charity through work.

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

She said: 'The company give you three days a year to do charity or community work, and we went and worked at one of the Benjamin Foundation centres in Norwich, helping young people who were homeless or had lost their way. They teach them life skills, cookery, managing money… I realised it was a really good charity.'

She took advantage of her workplace's new basement studio to help arrange regular dance lessons for staff led by her dance teacher Brad.

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)

A Strictly Come Dancing-style competition was held at Aviva's Marble Hall in Norwich. Photo: www.billiejonesphoto.com (Image: www.billiejonesphoto.com)