LIVE: Watch the Blackpool Dance Festival live in China

The Empress Ballroom stage has been recreated, with music provided by the Empress Orchestra and the same judging panel as the Blackpool event.

Competition started on Friday in categories including Latin and ballroom.

Today you can watch the action live between 12noon and 5pm hereIt is the first time the dance festival has been franchised, with the deal worth £100,000 a year to the council-owned Winter Gardens over five years, with the potential for profit-sharing depending on its success.

It does not affect the Blackpool Dance Festival, which includes the British ballroom championships, which takes place as usual in the Winter Gardens starting at the end of May.

Next year’s event has been extended by two days to 11 days in total.

The festival’s global expansion is part of an on-going relationship with International Special Attractions (ISA), the creators and investors behind Illuminasia at the Winter Gardens.

More than 50 million people are registered as ballroom dancers in China.