EASTLEIGH'S 12th annual dance festival was given a jumpstart at the weekend with a toe-tapping town centre performance from the Bollywood Brass Band.

The London based outfit launched the annual festival - now named Jump - in the dance garden alongside the town's dance and arts centre, The Point, before parading around the busy shopping centre stopping shoppers in their tracks.

As they blasted out a catchy beat, the band was also accompanied by two stilt walkers dressed in traditional Asian costumes in a show designed to leave no one in doubt that something special was going on.

The first day of Jump also included an afternoon performance of global dance with local community groups displaying jive, flamenco, Irish dance and Egyptian belly-dancing.

Meanwhile, there was a Bollywood dance workshop plus a finale by the colourful characters from the brass band.

The two-week dance event, which runs until June 27, is expected to draw visitors from all over the south of England.

Organisers say that contemporary dance events at The Point already prove magnets for people from as far afield as London, Bristol and Chichester.

Events will range from salsa and African dance to dance showcases put on by local schools and colleges.