COUPLES from Oxford are being given the opportunity to take part in an eight-hour dance marathon, at the North Wall Arts Centre in Summertown.

The event, from noon to 8pm on Saturday, August 11, is open to all ages and experience levels, with the winner receiving a £150 cash prize.

Based on a phenomenon that hit America in the 1930s, the contestants are offered the chance to be taught a series of six to eight different dance styles from experts.

The winner will also be able to meet the cast of the North Wall’s first in-house play Dead On Her Feet, which is due to open on September 6.

The play is written by Emmy award winner Ron Hutchinson and directed by Barry Kyle, twice nominated for a Best Director Oliver Award.

North Wall artistic director Lucy Maycock, 48, from Stratfield Road, said: “We want the couples to have the experience of the dance competitions held in America just after the Great Depression, and how they can relate it to today’s poor economic climate.

“It is a competition to show how the real dance marathons would push couples to their limits, but overall it should be an enjoyable experience."

Fifty couples can join in, at a cost of £6 per couple.