Firstly, tell me about Donahey’s?
The Donahey’s family have been organising spectacular dance events and teaching children & adults across Manchester to dance for over 43 years. We pride ourselves on the quality of all our classes and events. Our hugely successful events with the stars of Strictly Come Dancing are now in their 7th year – we thoroughly enjoy them and we go out of our way to ensure our customers do too.
Donahey’s is recommended by, and affiliated to the world’s largest dance teacher’s organisation, the IDTA – rest assured Donahey’s have worked hard to establish a name you can trust along with an exceptional reputation in the Dancing world.
Who teaches the dance workshops?
The Strictly Come Dancing Stars – yes, that’s right our dance workshops will be taken by the stars of the weekend.
I’ve never danced before is it suitable?
Our dance break is designed for enjoyment for everyone; Whether you’ve never stepped foot on a dance floor before and want to sit back, enjoy the shows, meet the stars and maybe learn your very first dance steps from the stars? Or if you’re an experienced dancer, our ballrooms are stunning and you can enjoy dancing the night away on our beautiful sprung maple-wood dance-floors and take part in the more advanced workshops.
The level of your participation is entirely your decision, you can join in the workshops & dancing, or none at all – the choice is completely yours!
What shall I wear?
The daytime workshops are casual, comfy clothing; Evening Black Tie; For men evening suit/bow tie preferred, lounge suit/tie acceptable; Dresses not essential for ladies; Strictly no denim.
For dancing; on your feet something comfortable, dance shoes or flattish shoes preferably not trainers. Strictly no Steel or overly high heels, steel toecaps, flip-flops or sandals to be worn on the dance floor. Strictly no bare-foot on the dance floor.
Will i get to meet the stars?
Absolutely, you’ll get VIP backstage access after their show to personally meet the stars, grab photographs & autographs – wow!
What time can we check-in?
Your rooms will be available anytime from 3pm onwards; you are welcome to enjoy the hotels first class leisure facilities throughout the days on both Saturday & Sunday.
Can we extend our stay?
Absolutely, this is our most popular request and many guests make a full weekend of it by booking an additional night before the event.
You can book additional nights either side of your break directly with the Village Hotel at their current best available rate. We recommend doing this as soon as possible online at www.village-hotels.co.uk or by calling their central reservation team on 0844 980 0220.
Then the week of your dance break, simply call The Village Hotel Ashton on 0844 980 0017, ask to speak with reception and ask them to link both your direct booking & your Donahey’s Dance Break booking together. They will link both your bookings for you and then you will not need to change rooms across the weekend. If you call to link your bookings before the week of the event, hotel reception may not have your details loaded onto their system yet.
If you do experience any problems whatsoever with this, please feel free to speak directly with the Ashton events team on 0161 342 8628 and they will do their best to help you out.
How do we travel between The Village Hotel & Dukinfield Town Hall?
Saturday evening we will of course be laying on coaches from the hotel to transport everyone across to Dukinfield Town Hall and back. Guests are of course welcome should they prefer to make their own way to & from Dukinfield Town Hall if they so wish. The two venues are located within a short 5min drive of each other.
For the afternoon workshops, please make your own way to Dukinfield Town Hall, then you are free to leave straight after the workshops.
What level of ability will the workshops be?
Workshops will be offered at Beginner or Intermediate level in Ballroom dancing.
What is included in the price?
Saturday afternoon 50-minute dance Workshop with the Strictly Stars; Evening Return Transport between Village Hotel and Dukinfield Town Hall; Evening Welcome reception drink; VIP reserved seating; Dancing Saturday evening from 7.30pm till midnight; Dance showcase Saturday evening from the Strictly stars; Saturday night 4 star accommodation with private facilities; Sunday morning Full English Breakfast.
Can we make special hotel requests?
Of course, if you have any specific hotel requests whatsoever such as; rooms close to your friends, low floors, upgrades, near a lift etc please contact The Village Hotel direct on 0161 342 8628 and ask for Steph.
All special requests and upgrades MUST be organised directly with the Hotel no sooner than 2-weeks prior.
My partner/friends don’t dance can I take part in the class?
Absolutely.
My partner/friends dance at a different level to myself; can we each take the workshop appropriate for our own dancing ability?
Sure, it’s absolutely fine for you to split for the dance lessons/workshops, no problem at all – just let us know on your booking form.
Importantly though, we wouldn’t be able to accommodate both of you taking each others lessons as well, and we are unable to offer partners to people attending workshops without a partner.
Also, for the enjoyment of all the workshop participants, only workshop participants are allowed into the ballroom during each workshop. This policy is strictly enforced on all our dance breaks, please refrain from asking to sit & watch workshops as refusal may offend.
What kinds of age group attend?
Our dance break is designed for enjoyment by everyone and regularly attracts a mix of all ages so you can be sure of a fun time – some families bring along 3 generations!
Is Saturday evening meal included?
So we can keep your package price as competitive as possible we don’t include an evening meal in our one-night dance break package.
It means more time dancing at your Black Tie Ball rather than 2 hours lost whilst everyone is served, plus we find this allows guests much more choice, rather than everyone having the same ‘Chicken in sauce’ banquet meal. Guests can choose exactly what they would like to eat, where they would like to eat and you can select your own budget for your evening meal – there’s lots of great restaurants located in your hotel and a short stroll away on the leisure park;
The Victory Pub & Kitchen
Verve Grill
Nearby Restaurants
What happens in the evening?
There will be dancing for everyone during the evening with a fabulous showcase from the stars of Strictly Come Dancing.
Can you give me an idea of the itinerary for the weekend?
Saturday
You’ll start your break with an exciting 50min workshop with Anton & Erin, we’ll book you places in a workshop suitable to your dancing ability. We’ll ask guests to make their own way to the venue for your afternoon workshop. Dukinfield Town Hall is just a short 5min drive away from your hotel;
2.30pm Beginners Workshop @ Dukinfield Town Hall
3.30pm Improvers Workshop @ Dukinfield Town Hall
4.30pm Intermediate/Advanced Workshop @ Dukinfield Town Hall
You can check into your hotel anytime from 3pm onwards
After your workshop you then have time to choose where you would like to dine, and get ready for your Black Tie Ball
7.15/7.45pm Coaches will pick you up from your hotel and transport you across to Dukinfield Town Hall for your Black Tie Ball
7.30pm Dancing commences, plus a quick refresher of what you’ve been taught at your afternoon workshop
8.30pm Anton & Erin showcase
10pm Backstage access to meet Anton & Erin for your Photographs & Autographs
11.30pm/12.00am Coaches will transport you back to your hotel
Sunday
Breakfast is available in the hotel’s main restaurant anytime from 7.30am – 9.30am
You are free to explore Manchester and it’s surrounding area
Can we sit with our friends?
Absoplutely, just tell us in advance who they are and we will reserve you seats together in the ballroom.
Your Table
You will be reserved seats at a table in the Ballroom for Saturday evening.
Do i need a Wristband?
Not on this dance break.
Cameras
There’s going to be lots of great photo and autograph opportunities during the evenings so make sure you don’t forget your camera!
To reduce the time you are queuing and to increase your enjoyment of the remainder of the evening; following the showcases we are introducing a system whereby guests will be invited by table number for photo’s & autographs with the stars. Please hang fire until your table has been invited, your co-operation with this will be really appreciated and hopefully this should work to allow for the better enjoyment of the rest of the evenings for you.
Will there be an official photographer in attendance?
No, we prefer to allow you the freedom to take your own photo’s during the backstage meet ‘n’ greet time, we also have a great experienced Donahey’s team on-site that will take any photo’s for you together – we do prefer not to spend our dance breaks asking guests to pay more money for additional services etc
Can children come along & take part?
Yes, well-behaved, accompanied children are very welcome to take part and enjoy our dance weekend in full. However, children may not be left unaccompanied at workshops or evening dances whatsoever and parents or guardians must accept full responsibility for the supervision of their children at all times.
Can i just purchase tickets for the dancing/workshops/show?
Sorry, no.
Is there a deposit scheme for this break?
In an effort to keep our short dance breaks as great a value as possible for you, we only operate a simple purchase. Naturally this helps keep our admin & banking costs down helping to keep the cost to you as low as possible.
Is our dance weekend in any way associated with the BBC?
No.
