More than 100 belly dancers came together to wiggle their hips at an annual conference in Oxford.

The Oxford Belly Dance Bonanza took place on Saturday and attracted dancers from across the country.

There were 102 performers at the event at Oxford Community School, Glanville Road, which featured dancing workshops and stalls selling accessories.

Organiser Nikki Livermore, an experienced dancer and tutor, hailed the event a great success.

She said: "It was a great day. The first one was last year, on a much smaller scale, but we made things a lot bigger this year because belly dancing has become so popular.

"We had 102 performers turn out and there were 10 workshops and live drumming in the interval.

"Everybody loved every minute of it and we will certainly be doing it again next year."

Among the attendees were four male dancers. Mrs Livermore added: "It is great for all kinds of reasons. There is the health-and-fitness aspect, but also the psychological one. It gives you a mental lift, because you cannot be miserable when you're dancing.

"It also gives the younger girls some new moves to try in the clubs and for the elderly it keeps their joints and muscles supple."

Sunday's event ran from 11am until 6pm, featuring lessons in techniques such as Saiidi and modern Egyptian dancing, and was rounded off with an hour-long live drumming performance.

Mr Livermore, who has been belly dancing for 13 years and teaching for seven, said: "We were not expecting such a great turn out, we had to get in an extra teacher to meet demand.

"People came from as far away as Nottingham, Bournemouth and the other side of London.

"We finished with an hour of live drumming and everyone got to have a bop. Next year we hope to have live music to finish it off.

"Oxford is very multicultural and the people are open to anything."