Young lads danced straight-backed in white shirts and perfectly tailored suit pants, wee lasses twirled in vibrant dresses and elaborate hairdos, and older couples glided over the wooden floorboards of the Kaikorai Presbyterian Church hall.
A baby slept in its mother's lap in one corner while the judges - immaculately attired - watched stern-faced from the stage.
And in what you would sooner expect from a rugby game, team-mates, friends and family members lined the hall, shouting encouragement, extolling the best moves, and clapping and hugging at the end of each dance.
Dozens of dancers from around the South were competing at the 30th New Zealand Federal Association of Teachers of Dancing Otago Championships.
Chairman of judges John Gardener said the ''good crowd'' of dancers had performed at a high standard.
''It went fantastic. The calibre was very high,'' he said.
Twenty-eight couples
competed across 74 events.
The champion of champions crown went to Jackson Scoles and Mikayla Ferguson, of Gore, for winning the most events.
