“Strictly Come Dancing” moved up the heritage ladder in week eight – from a Grade II listed location to a Grade I. Usually the programme is broadcast from the Grade II listed studio one at the BBC Television Centre in West London using a special set created by designers. The set replicates the architecture of a theatrical style ballroom.
Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna dance a Paso Doble in the Saturday night show from Week 7 © Strictly Come Dancing 2009, BBC
On Saturday, 7 November 2009, however, the show was broadcast from the real thing – the stunning Grade I listed Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.
The ballroom is world famous and is an outstanding example of late Victorian architecture, located beneath the Blackpool Tower. The ballroom was designed by the well-known theatre designer Frank Matcham who completed the interior in 1899. He decorated it in the lavish style of the Paris Opera with the capacity to hold 3,000 people.
Interior of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom © juliaL49, flickr.com
The architecture draws on Matcham’s experience of theatre design. Two tiers of shallow balconies run around three sides of the hall, divided into broad bays by square piers. The upper balcony has slightly bowed boxes, each one bay wide. The proscenium frame to the orchestra platform is flanked by onion-domed boxes. The richly decorated arched ceiling is divided into framed painted panels rising from a false-galleried cornice. Mouldings and painted panels on the columns display the names of famous composers.
The vaulted ceiling features baroque paintings and an oval skylight. Giant crystal chandeliers light up the painted ceiling. Each of these can be lowered to the floor to be cleaned. This takes over a week!
Blackpool Tower Ballroom © steve_cx, flickr.com
The ballroom suffered a seriously damaging fire in 1956, but Andrew Mazzei, a film-set designer, helped to restore it.
On the 7th November when the Strictly contestants stepped onto the historic dance floor to perform their dance, they were following the dance steps of hundreds of world dance champions who have performed on the mahogany, oak and walnut floor in this extraordinary Grade I listed building.
Strictly Come Dancing teaching activity
Your class are to become heritage-listed building detectives for the day! Use the fact that Strictly Come Dancing was broadcast from a listed building earlier in the 2009 series to start off this activity.
Your students will need access to computers and the internet, using the following websites for research:
Engaging Places, www.engagingplaces.org.uk
English Heritage, www.english-heritage.org.uk
This teaching activity can support: literacy, research skills and improve students’ local knowledge.
Split your class into small groups to research the following questions:
- What is a listed building?
- Some buildings are Grade I listed. What does this mean?
- Read the Engaging Places article about Strictly Come Dancing carefully and list as many facts about the tower ballroom, where the programme was broadcast from in week eight.
- Which features of the building do you think helped the tower ballroom to become heritage listed?
- Strictly Come Dancing is usually broadcast from a studio. Does the set design include any features that the tower ballroom had?
- Use the English Heritage website, www.english-heritage.org.uk, to find the nearest listed building to your school. What is the building, why is it heritage listed, how old is it?
- Working separately list three things that you think are special about your nearest Grade I listed building.
- Discuss the things you have chosen with the rest of your group and collectively decide which features or facts are the most important.
- Each group will need to share their ideas with the rest of the class.
