This is the time to start tapping your feet as Katherine MacAlister unlocks just some of the exciting secrets of Dancin' Oxford 2014

Guests dancing at weddings are Liv Lorent’s inspiration for The Night Ball, because it’s when people are at their most uninhibited, throwing caution to the wind and just enjoying the music and movement.

Summing up the entire ethos behind Dancin’ Oxford perfectly The Night Ball is your chance to shine, or just sit back and enjoy the music if you’d rather.

“I wanted to create an environment where people could look on and spectate with a glass of wine so that by the time the dancers have ‘warmed them up’ they all want to get up and dance,” Liv explains.

Which means all The Night Ball requires is the right space complete with a dance floor, a bar, lots of chairs and a disco ball, from aircraft hangers in Cornwall to The Latitude Festival in the summer. “Everyone loves a dance floor,” Liv shrugs. “What can I say?”

A reinterpretation of Liv’s previous work The Ball, these works are based around Liv’s determination in the pre-Strictly days, to ensure that ballroom dancing wouldn’t fade away, never to be enjoyed by a younger generation, having witnessed the huge popularity of weekly tea dances up North. Liv scripted The Ball to bring that style of dancing back and make it appeal to the masses. Enormously well reviewed and touring for three years Liv then grew disenchanted with the competitive nature of post-Strictly ballroom dancing and called a halt to the show.

However, so many people protested that Liv was moved to reshape it, The Night Ball being the result, a merging of the worlds between the professional dancer and the amateur where 10 professional dancers will entertain audiences in Oxford Town Hall in the round, with their foxtrot, tango and Viennese waltzes.

Afterwards, the dancefloor is open to the audience who are encouraged to have a go, and dance with each other, borrow a professional or just observe from afar.

“It takes real nerve to get up on the dancefloor, but once you’re there you don’t want to leave. That’s what I want to recreate. And if your partner wants to dance and you don’t, there’s our 10 professional dancers on hand,” Liv explains.

Liv, who started dance company Ballet Lorent 20 years ago, adds: “I just thought it was a shame our generation would never dance together in that way and knew it would be beautiful to see people in their 20s, 30s and 40s doing just that.”

As in demand now as ever, Liv still tours her work constantly but has a soft spot for Oxford. “It’s a beautiful, beautiful place with lovely people, so we’re really happy to be visiting again,” she smiles.

n Dancin’ Oxford 2014 runs from February 28-March 10 and offers a multitude of opportunities, whether an absolute beginner, a professional, two years old or a spectator, there is really something for everyone in this year’s spring festival.

Tickets from Tickets Oxford at the Oxford Playhouse ticketsoxford.com 01865 305305, Pegasus Theatre pegasustheatre.org.uk 01865 812150 or in person. More information from dancinoxford.co.uk