Some 8,500 groups of dancers from 150 countries and regions are competing at the 2019 Blackpool Dance Festival (China), which kicked off at the Shanghai Baoshan Sports Center on Sunday and will last through Tuesday.

Top ballroom dancers including Domen Krapez and Natascha Karabey from Germany, Eldar Dzhafarov and Anna Sazhina from Russia, and Troels Bager and Ina Jeliazkova from the United States performed at the opening ceremony.

Also known as the Olympics of international ballroom dancing, the festival – it is held annually in the United Kingdom - was first introduced to China in 2016.

Wen Zheng, director of operations of the festival, said that the event has been attracting an increasing number of participants from China. He expects the number of groups to exceed 10,000 next year.

Dancers Polovnikov Aleksey and Sherbina Olga perform at the 2019 Blackpool Dance Festival (China) in Shanghai Baoshan Sports Center on Sunday. [Photo provided to China Daily]