SOME of the most lavish and entertaining shows have been put on by the many dance groups based in South Cumbria.

Today’s pictures from The Mail’s archive are from 2003 and give a taste of the toe-tapping routines which can be enjoyed in the next few weeks in Barrow and Ulverston.

On Friday and Saturday, January 17 and 18, from 7.30pm you can see dancers from the Kreativ Dance School at the Forum, on Duke Street, Barrow.

Performers from the school, formed in 2010, will feature hits from musicals such as the Lion King, Shrek, The Wiz, Mamma Mia, Rocky Horror and Chicago.

The Forum also hosts an evening of variety from Dance Fever, established in2007, at 7.30pm on Wednesday to Friday, January 22 to 24.

In March you can see Rising Stars 2002 from the Stephenson School of Dance at the Coronation Hall, Ulverston.

It can be seen at 7pm on Friday, March 27 and at 2.30pm and 7pm on Saturday, March 28.

This is the dance school’s 20th anniversary show and features the Lord of The Dance winning performance from Lakes Got Talent.

The Mail, on Tuesday, January 7 in 2003, noted: “The All that Dance group put on a dazzling display of routines at their performance, Showcase 2, held at Forum 28, in Duke Street, Barrow.

“The audience was taken on a trip through the popular musical, West Side Story with hits including I Feel Pretty and America.

“Everybody’s toes were tapping for the Grease medley with sharp dances to Greased Lightning, One That I Want and We Go Together.

“A variety of hits from the king of pop, Michael Jackson, were performed by principal characters with Thriller, Smooth Criminal and Bad being staged.

“As a special feature, after the interval the group added a touch of jazz and performed a selection of Robbie Williams hits from his Swing While You’re Winning album.

“To end the show the finale provided a blast from the past with A Step Back in Time, featuring dance to artists including Elvis, Take That and Wham.”