A FORMER competitive ballroom dancer from Saddleworth is working with the community dance ensemble as one of the Dance Captains in a glittering play at Oldham Coliseum.

Kiss Me Quickstep focuses on three ballroom dancing couples at the nationwide championship competition in Blackpool, interweaves spectacular ballroom dancing with the drama of the play.
A must for all fans of Strictly Come Dancing, it is a brand new play Amanda Whittington looking at the world of competitive ballroom dancing – both on and off the dance floor – and the real people behind the sequins, fake tans and fixed smiles.
Jabez Sykes came third in the 13-and-unders nationwide ballroom dancing championships at Blackpool Winter Gardens in 2011 and brings a wealth of experience to the dance ensemble.
He said: “Everything that happens is pretty much bob-on what happens in the show.
“You get all the stress from parents, your teachers, your partner – everything adds to your nerves until you’re on the floor and then you forget about it all as soon as you start dancing.

“When you’re on the floor your adrenalin’s pumping, you’re really high – you’re at that level where you’re not even thinking about everyone around you.
“And then you get off the floor and you wonder whether you’ve done enough. You have to wait hours then for the result.”
Jabez trained as a ballroom dancer from a young age and competed for nine years in qualifiers, at Blackpool and in Super Dance competitions.
He commented: “It was a very stressful experience but to look back on it now after a couple of years it was amazing to do that.”
Now aged 19, Jabez has turned his attention to acting and completed A Levels in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies at Oldham Sixth Form College in 2015.
Prior to Kiss Me Quickstep, he performed on the Coliseum stage twice with Oldham Theatre Workshop, in their productions of Eyam (2015) and The Little Mermaid (2014).
Kiss Me Quickstep runs at Oldham Coliseum Theatre from Wednesday 13 – Saturday 30 April. Tickets can be booked on 0161 624 2829 or at www.coliseum.org.uk
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