Mindpoke dance

Southport at the very end of September was - as it usually is - a scorcher. The sun shone, light winds cooled and dancers were outside dancing until 2am.It had as fine a collection of dancers as you will find anywhere largely because the Scots were there in numbers.  Not as many Scots as usual but then there were fewer people overall. They missed a treat - a fine collection of DJs on top form: Chris Uren, Dave Rokov, Garry Turner, Sheena Assiph and Paul Foster thrilled the room on Saturday as the sun blazed down. It's one of the oddities of DJing that some of the same DJs took up a similar challenge the next day and the whole thing felt a world away from what happened the day before (others loved it so this is obviously a personal view) I felt as the music got louder and faster it chased a buzz rather than creating one. . All of that said I have one gripe about Southport afternoons: I hear too little of Keiran Moore.  His sets that nestle in the depths of the sleepy early...

Why the fourth Ceroc Welsh Champs were the coolest yet:- 1) the atmosphere on competition day was febrile, partisan, loud, proud, knowledgeable and passionate.  Not since the first Champs (in the Coal Exchange in Cardiff) has the atmosphere been so exciting, Barry Memorial Hall became the place for the celebration of competitive modern jive. Friday Night Atmos 2) the competitors came from far and near - awesome Scots, manic Mancunians, exuberant Esssexians and jovial Geordies amongst the clans gathered.  It was truly an international affair too.  There were frivolous dancers, those who over-estimated their talent or luck, those who were nervous and didn't need to be, those trying really hard, those there to entertain and those taking it all in their stride: it was a great mix.  It was all done in a truly positive, competitive atmosphere - there were tears but no tantrums. Great example and formative experience for some of the youngsters. 3) I remembered ...

Ceroc Jamfest at Camber Sands and Ceroc Scorch at Southport. This is a blog post which mostly is grumpy about music and enthusing about music.  If you think I'm wrong that's fine: I'm often wrong. Please use the comments block below to say why. I will delete anything that is offensive to named individuals. There's a lot of good in weekenders - there are many good jive weekenders, there are some good WCS weekenders - they all far far away, if there was enough decent music there would undoubtedly be some good Tango weekenders and who knows what line dancers and swing dancers and Morris dancers get up to at the weekend meets. This blog is about music - it's not about DJs per se - it's what they play and why they play it when they play it.  For me the music at Southport was mostly terrific (but not everyone I've spoken to thinks that), whereas at Camber it was mostly horrific.  I offer no solutions, I'm no expert - there may be good reasons for the set...

Last night's CurlyWurly was astonishingly good. I'm not going to try and analyse all the factors which were at work here.  The likelihood is that others would chose different priorities to me.  What I will say is that I had a great time, as good a time as I had at any venue anywhere ever (my venue list has 101 names on it). The feeling exceeded the expectation I was feeling knowing the roster of super dancers I was about to encounter.  It was the kind of dance I enjoyed 3 years ago when CW first came onto my radar: all the more welcome because I thought that the kind of dance night was extinct.  I feared there was no demand for social dancing to nice music where dance style didn't matter, and that enjoyment of dance was the only goal.  Tango, WCS, blues and slow Ceroc co existed in harmony because no one form was carried for more than a couple of dancers.  More than a hundred people turned up I reckon. The first timers said they'd enjoyed it, those re...

I danced for 5 hours on Sunday night - the music at the CurlyWurly Sunday event in Huddersfield was wonderful, the dancers varied and considerate - except for a prat who danced like he was drunk (but sadly wasn't) and wandered across the floor (through the slots and in front of dancers) like he had no self-awareness (which unsurprisingly he didn't).  There was a gentleman who declined to dance with our host - how short-sighted is that? I danced the best I could but throughout I felt I should be giving more.  My energy was not sufficient to do my share - I had failed in my first task. A malaise sets in.   By Tuesday it hit a new low.  I gazed at the freestyle dance floor and it felt alien.  Three or four dances in it felt alien too.  What on earth was I doing there? But the time I was due to dance again I sensed the writing was on the wall for that night.  I didn't belong there. I left - heavy hearted at the change in me - assured it would change ...

Q: What would happen if real life ballet dancers dance to the music we regularly enjoy at modern jive dance venues? Well, I found out at an entertaining night out at the Peacock Theatre in Holborn a week or so ago. Ballet Revolución - a Cuba ballet company were in town for a two week run under the auspices of Sadler's Wells. They had enjoyed success last year and so the two week run was eagerly awaited though it was my first time in front of a proper ballet ensemble. In truth this was ballet-lite - classical ballet did figure in the first half and mightily impressive it looked. The remainder was a mix of dance styles and stylistic centre was the troop's response to the music of the company's homeland. A Cuban sound applied by the live band to popular tracks by Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Ricky Martin and the like - some already betraying latin roots but not all. There was some pre-recorded music too and in the first half a long instrumental track of heavy ...

I coughed and wheezed my way through this dance weekend and didn't make it to the end, surrendering to practicalities and the all too evident feeling of being at the limits of my scant energy most of the time  It's the ultimate frustration starting out a dance with an intention of giving your all and then finding the energy leaves you and the opportunity is lost.  I should start, therefore, with an apology to all those lovely dancers assembled on the South Coast that I didn't dance more and I didn't dance better. That said I was glad I went because the highlights were considerable and the alternatives much less interesting. And to some extent one always feel a little better as one dances. Early March is a tough time to hold an event like a weekender.  The weather was bad on arrival, calm on Saturday, cold on Sunday and snowy on Monday.  I was really impressed with the commitment of many of the people who work hard to make these weekenders.  Stu Bassie's in...

The great 18th Century essayist William Hazlitt defined gusto as  "Gusto in art is power or passion defining any object"   The key feature of this first Southport dance weekender was that of a defining power and passion.  And its no mean feat to maintain that force of enthusiasm for 60 hours on the dance floor or behind the decks.    So when I say this weekender was lifted beyond the bounds of the many others I attended, I don't do it lightly but I say it in the spirit of Hazlitt's Gusto.  It was awe-inspiring. In this age of austerity the investment we make in dance weekends must be rewarding at virtually every level and for many the impact must be immediate. This Southport - like no other in my memory - felt like the one where the music feed the dancer's enthusiasm and the dancers feed the DJs sense of adventure - passion was obvious, in surplus and building momentum and busting through to a festival of some of the finest dancing I've enjoyed ov...

At first glance Romney Marsh wouldn't be the first place that you'd guess jivers would assemble for dance weekenders.  The winding roads, ever present ditches, wind farms, sheep and acre after acre of fields would scarely indicate you were near a thriving dance venue.  And whom amongst the dancers there would venture beyond the wide expanses of teh Camber Sands themselves down to the spooky settlement of Dungeness where wooden houses nestle in the shingle bank.  In doing so there would pass not only a nuclear power station but also a fantastic nature reserve run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.   Venturing northward past Camber they would alit on the ancient town of Rye - its harbour home to 40 odd fishing boats and its tiny cobbled streets winding up hill replete with tower and 12th Century pub. But jivers assemble to do their thing at Pontins Camber Sands and one can hardly blame anyone as November's gloom descends for ignoring local history ...

So...what are the key components of a near perfect weekend of dancing:-   Franck stands on a chair in a kilt and calls the room to order. Sheena plays the Imperial March from Star Wars as the judges walk on.  Immediately the floor fills like I've never seen before here. Quality dancers here too. Competitors fly around all morning pinning numbers on their backs at speed because they've entered so many categories. Children in fancy dress play in a corner. Cakes are sold to add to the charities coffers.   The Autumn sun blazes into the room despite the chilly air outside.   Nerves of steel, audacious moves, laughs and mutual support amongst competitors. I blush - three very fine dancers asked me to partner them in competition - alas it's not in my make-up. A large red Dragon and large green Nessie embod y the nations and the fun. The winners are from Ceroc groups across the UK embrace and hug and cry. The represent ative from the childre...

Daventry - Cool, Blue and Funky I wish I could put my finger on the solution to the Daventry problem.   It’s run by good people, who work very hard, it’s a place to which many people love to go: but something has changed since I started going there and its not hitting the spot for me.   I will try and explain why. A lot of people enjoyed Daventry on that Saturday night, so what was my problem? I don’t know really but these are the things which I noticed were different:- When I started going to Daventry - it was daunting: two rooms full of the most accomplished dancers from across the country.  The Blues room was like the Roman colosseum: the competition for dancers was high and each dance occurred under the noses of one’s competitors.  The main room was a little more forgiving but it wasn’t for the self-conscious or reticent. But as financial pressures have applied to the pockets of dancers across the country so travel to dance distances have, I suspect,...

Southport Splash 2012 I was trying to remember the first time I went to a weekender at Southport - I do recall it was the last event that Jive Addiction held there.  I got the train up from London and the highlights for me are pretty sketchy - a blues room where there was a tranquil calm about the dancing which I found very appealing and the huge main room was staggering - so many dancers.  Also I recall a number of people saying how they would never go to a Ceroc event; its amusing now to see how many of them jumped ship.  I've enjoyed all the subsequent Southport's under the Ceroc banner: they have all had better administration than the other weekenders I've been to. And at Ceroc I've never been knowingly insulted by the owner in front of my fellow customers: a fate that has befallen one of my friends elsewhere. The layout is pretty much ideal: a large main room is connected by a remarkably sound-proofed glass door to a series of linked areas which comprise th...

Goole I'm undecided as to which venue is closest to my home but I think it is the Community Hall at Airmyn near Goole in the East Riding of Yorkshire.  Its a village of around 750 people and yet the hall is usually full of dancers as it was when I went recently - I'd estimate that there were 160 plus attendees.  The car park is also usually full and a snake of cars parks up into the adjoining housing estate. Airmyn has a long history which can be found here Its a rather good venue and I think it attracts dancers from the East Riding and South Yorkshire: it maybe one of the most easterly big venues in Yorkshire. On my previous visit I really enjoyed a great mix of tracks virtually all of which I'd describe as fast - certainly not much below the pulse of your standard Ceroc night track.  Unfortunately this time the variety wasn't there and the night dragged as I struggled to get energy together to dance to music which was distinctly middle of the road.  Others ...

First published Sept 2012 Many hopes are raised at the beginning of the dancing season.  Summer dances although very nice have the disadvantages of irregular membership, heat and the inevitable feeling that summer there's a better party going on - usually with a considerable quantity of sausages. My dancing season has got off to a cracking start. Tadcaster - a two room venue with a grand main room floor taking a large body of dancers and a series of connected smaller rooms upstairs where blues, tango and WCS tunes were offered.  There were more super dancers than you could shake a stick at, and a wide variety of tunes.  I really enjoyed being able to buzz between the two rooms and find quality music to which I could dance. This venue is better than Berko thanks to the quality offerings in the main room. Northwich - Keith Davies' freestyles for Revolution Dance are very well attended.  So much so I was hardly surprised to bump into a couple I knew from Bourn...

My Top Dance Experiences First published 2010 & updated 2011 - 268 views to Jan 2013 New additions in italics Curly Wurly Sundays - I'm pretty sure that even if I sat here for a week I couldn't come up with a word or couple of words that sums up the Curly Wurly Sunday experience.  One might conclude that Lisa Garydon's ideas all contribute: social media discounts, the unique chocolate focus brings in some, the half time jelly is essential refreshment for others, the location in Huddersfield, midway between Manchester and civilisation, helps too.  Many will point to the music and I'd agree that Dave Graydon has the most astonishing talent for mixing music across the dance spectrum and finding tracks including obscure cover versions of unique quality.  He's certainly a DJ we want and need to hear at weekenders. The quality of the dancers there is special - brash show-offs would not find this venue conducive to their needs.  Good humour is a must, reticence wi...