We have teamed-up with Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse to offer 10 lucky local children the cha-cha-chance to show off their artistic moves and win a free dance class with her.
All your child needs to do to have a chance of winning the dance lesson is to get creative. Download a sketch of Oti and her husband Marius (also a professional dancer and teacher) and they can use it to design Strictly-style costumes for the quick-stepping couple. Then you send in your child’s masterpiece for Oti and Marius to judge and pick their favourites.
The winning entries will also be published online.
In September 2020 Oti and Marius opened the Oti Mabuse Dance Studio in Park Avenue, in the Hanger Hill area of Ealing – realising a dream of opening their own studio that they had had since they began dancing together years ago.
The studio operated throughout all of the lockdowns, offering a timetable of classes online to young people and adults, beginners and advanced dancers. As restrictions eased, the studio has been opening up for in-person classes, while still offering classes online. There is a range of classes in a variety of styles including Latin, Ballroom, Contemporary, Jazz and Hip Hop.
Oti and Marius are also keen to engage with the local community in Ealing and would like to hear from any local dance teachers and groups who might like to work with the studio to diversify the class timetable. They would also like to hear from you if you would like to begin your dance journey but are not sure where to start – they say they would be very happy to help.
Visit otimabusedancestudio.com for more details. There are a variety of membership options available, but one-off class bookings are also possible.
The competition
The prize will be a class for the top 10 entries, with Oti and Marius in their studio in Park Avenue. All entrants must be aged 14 or under (the age limit of the studio’s classes) and must attend a school in the borough or live in the borough.
To be in with a chance of winning, you need to first go and download the sketch of Oti and Marius.
Then, do your fabulous costume designs on the sketch and send it in to be judged no later than 11.59pm on Friday, 9 July 2021. You can enter via two different ways:
- Email: Use the subject line ‘Dance Competition’ and send in a photo of you with your design, (clearly visible) and another photo just of your design, to otimabusedancestudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: Post the costume designs on Instagram, with another of you holding it up, and use the hashtag #otimakesealingdance and follow @otimabusedancestudio
After the deadline, Oti and Marius will pick their 10 favourites. You will need to provide contact details in your email so that you will be able to claim your prize if you are selected as a winner. Or, if you are selected as a winner via Instagram, Oti and Marius will send you a direct message and ask for your contact details via Instagram. The decision of Oti and Marius is final. If a winner is selected and suspected not to fulfil the above age criteria, the organisers reserve the right to withdraw the prize and offer it to another entrant instead. As mentioned above, pictures of the winning designs might be published online (via the websites/social media of the council and/or the dance studio).
Photos copyright of 2014 Snooty Fox Images
