For the worldwide road dance group, the UDO World Avenue Dance Championships isn’t simply one other competitors – it’s a proving floor, a gathering level, and for some dancers, a life-changing second.
Every August, crews from internationally converge on Blackpool’s Winter Gardens within the UK, bringing with them their cultures, tales, and years of coaching and rehearsal. From under-six newcomers stepping on stage for the primary time, to superior crews battling it out for money prizes and world recognition, UDO (United Dance Group) Worlds has turn out to be an area the place actual road dance lives and breathes.
UDO Avenue Dance Championships started in 2002, based by Simon Dibley in Cardiff, Wales, after he recognised a obvious absence within the aggressive panorama for road dance. That first one-day regional occasion in Wales sparked one thing larger. By 2005, UDO held its first World Championships, and 20 years later, the occasion has grown into some of the inclusive and far-reaching road dance competitions on the planet, welcoming dancers from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and past.
What makes UDO stand out is its depth. Battles, solos, duos, groups, tremendous crews, parent-and-child classes, and types starting from hip hop and popping to locking and home. And all cut up into newbie, novice, intermediate and superior ranges. It’s not simply concerning the elite; it’s about each road dancer.
The tenth Anniversary 2025 Championships delivered many standout performances, however one second minimize by way of the remaining.
The Final Superior class, UDO’s most anticipated division, introduced collectively high crews from world wide, all competing for a big money prize. First place took house £12,500, and when the winners had been introduced, the room erupted.
The successful crew, Nocturnal Dance Firm, from the Philippines took to the stage in disbelief.
“After they gained,” recollects Lucy Greenslade, Head of Advertising & Franchise Holder for UDO. “I imply, I used to be in tears.”
Backstage, feelings additionally poured out. Via a translator, the crew shared their story – one which resonated deeply with the ethos of road dance. They arrive from “a very disadvantaged space of the Philippines, virtually the streets. They don’t practice in a studio. They practise exterior,” says Greenslade.
Attending to the UK wasn’t simple. The crew fundraised relentlessly, supported by UDO’s Asian companions, simply to face on that Blackpool stage. And once they did, they didn’t simply compete – they owned it.
“The prize cash would actually assist them,” Greenslade explains. “It’s transformative as a result of they’re… from a disadvantaged space of the Philippines and so they simply love dancing.”
It was a reminder of why road dance exists within the first place: expression, survival, connection, problem.
Holding a World Avenue Dance Championships in Blackpool on the house of ballroom dancing might sound surprising to some, however throughout the group, it makes good sense. The Winter Gardens affords a number of rooms, iconic ballrooms, and a way of historical past that road dancers have come to name house over the previous decade.
Many opponents return yr after yr to face on those self same levels. “Plenty of our judges was once opponents,” Greenslade shares, “so for them, it’s a full circle second. Even for me, it’s a circle second,” she says, having skilled the competitors first as a dancer and now as a Franchise Holder working one of many regional occasions that make up the broader competitors.
Trying forward: UDO Worlds 2026
The UDO World Avenue Dance Championships 2026 will return to Blackpool from 12 – 16 August, as soon as once more bringing collectively the worldwide road dance household. Qualifiers will happen all through the season, main dancers from native regionals to one of many largest levels within the scene.
For crews dreaming of representing themselves and their nation, for battlers chasing that subsequent degree, and for dancers who merely need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the worldwide road group – UDO Worlds stays a spot the place tales are written, claims are staked, not simply titles gained.
As a result of typically, one efficiency actually can change all the pieces.
Dance Informa is a proud media accomplice for UDO World Avenue Dance Championships 2026, and we’ll be sharing information, characteristic articles and thrilling updates within the lead as much as the occasion.
“As CEO of the UDO Group, I’m extremely excited to announce our media partnership with Dance Informa, a collaboration that marks a robust new chapter in how we showcase and elevate the worldwide dance group,” says Simon Dibley.
For extra data, head to the UDO web site.
