RESIDENTS are dusting off their dancing shoes in preparation for the second Oxford dance festival.

Venues across Oxford will come alive to the rhythms of salsa, flamenco, ballroom and hip hop during the two-month long event.

The festival - Dancin' Oxford - will celebrate the work of the city's youth and community dance groups.

It will also see Oxford host professional dance companies from across the UK, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sakoba Dance Theatre and the Stomp improvisational dance troupe, whose show proved a huge hit in the West End.

And members of the public can follow in the footsteps of Strictly Come Dancing contestants by taking part in a two-day dance-a-thon packed with workshops for beginners.

The festival, which takes place in February and March, is being co-ordinated by Oxford City Council and supported by Oxford Playhouse, Pegasus Theatre, the New Theatre and the Oxford Dance Forum.

Now in its second year, the event aims to build on the success of an inaugural dance festival in the city in the spring.

Organisers hope a series of performances in places such as Modern Art Oxford, the Said Business School and the Westgate shopping centre will attract even more people.

City council arts officer Claire Thompson said: "It's about increasing access to dance to all by raising the profile of it.

"It's a fun and cheap way of encouraging people to have a go.

"And it's about introducing people to dance and different styles and an opportunity to see a whole different range of companies - international, national and Oxford-based community groups."

The festival will include workshops on different styles, including contemporary, ceroc, Bollywood, modern jive, ballroom, African, Latin, ballet, flamenco, hip hop, Indian folk dance, lindy hop and the Brazilian martial art of capoeira.

Ms Thompson added the event would also offer dance theatre with story-based performances as well as the CandoCo Dance Company, which features both disabled and able-bodied dancers.

She said: "Dancing is social, it's fitness, it's fun, it's learning a skill.

"The popularity has increased with the Strictly Come Dancing programme - there's a much stronger interest in ballroom and the more Latin kinds of dance."

A festival pass, costing £1, will be available from the box offices of the Oxford Playhouse, Pegasus Theatre and the New Theatre from next week.

It offers £1 off most of the performances and workshops.

For more information, visit www.dancinoxford.co.uk