Dancers, diamonds and delight are filling the Bournemouth International centre to host the 2019 United Kingdom dance championships.

The event by Dance News Ltd. has been hosted in Bournemouth since 1984.

The three day event from January 15-17 brings contenders from around the world to compete for the UK championship title.

Contests are won in professional ballroom, amateur ballroom, professional Latin and amateur Latin categories, performed in the Windsor hall.

Gerald Schwanzer, managing director for DSI London, says: “All the top couples in the world are here and they want to win. It is much more important than the world championships because there are only some selective countries who are really good at ballroom dancing.

“This is where the world ranking is produced.”

According to Schwanzer, contestants are fighting for their ranking to be perceived as the number one or two which then gives them a platform for their income.

“The dancing industry is diluting but emerging in different ways. I think the industry is in a phase of change,” says Schwanzer.

The 2019 Amateur Latin winners were Ferdinando Iannaccone and Yulia Musikhina from the US.

Andrea Ghigiarelli and Sara Andracchio took home first on their home turf in the Professional Ballroom category.

The amateur ballroom and professional Latin categories will close the event this evening.

by Buzz News reporter, Alexis Alley