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 enjoyed the music and the overall sense of the evening was of a lot of friends getting together and dancing. There was, as with my previous visit, rather more socialising than dancing. I don't think there's much point approaching people who sit behind tables at dance venues when they are deep in conversation - I suspect that I at least subconciously think that kind of positioning is more about socialising. People who sit or stand next to the dance floor seem to me to be sending out a different signal strength in terms of their willingness to dance.
It was sadly not a night I'll remember with relish and although the welcome on the door was warm, it ended there.
Stokies at Barlaston
It was with some relief that I went to Stokies a week later. Since this event runs late I'd booked a Travelodge a little way up the M6. I'm getting to the point where a long drive back in the small hours is not as straightforward as it used to be, but with overnight accommodation booked I'm much more relaxed about the whole evening.
Nath Stokebloke is a better DJ than he knows and his 7 hour stint on Saturday ebb and flowed, waxed and waned, rocked and rolled with a natural cyclic rhythm: sympathetic to what his dancers want and need. It was quite an accomplishment. Genres were varied - from PSY Gangnam Style to delicate Tango tracks. Much that was new and challenging but not overly taxing. Its a night where there is something for everyone who wants to go beyond a constant beat, it does have a variety that means dancers don't get stuck in a rut.
The hard work that Essie and the team put in is understated but thoroughly thought through. It generally works like clockwork. They certainly don't deserve the bellowing demands shouted into the kitchen that I heard from one dancer demanding salt for his chips.
The venue sells soft drinks and tea/coffee but BYO is encouraged. The pit stop to take on carbs after 5 hours is brilliant and necessary not just to sustain the dancing but also as Nath points out to promote safer journeys home at 3am.
I have waxed lyrical on this night previously but a word should be said for the floor - which is always very good: good floors like hearts are hard to find.
Barlaston is surrounded by cheap accommodation so its worth planning a visit in advance: if you time it right you can then do the following in Sunday night
Sunday Sanctuary
Billy Smyth's venture is a natural development to Lisa Graydon's offer in Yorkshire. Sunday Sanctuary shares the same DJ, the same interest in customer comfort and it is run with a relaxed attitude to match the name.
Billy has recently had to change venues and the night is still bedding into its new home: a beautiful Masonic Hall with a big floor and excellent facilities. The real attraction of this venue is the character and quality of the people Billy's name attracts. And whatever the bedding-in issues might be the over-riding feeling I have is that people will tolerate them because the music and the dancers are attractive (in the broadest sense of the word). That's all that's needed for dancing - music & dancers.
I'd urge people to give it a try - its spacious, well maintained and there's bags of parking. The atmosphere is friendly and the music is varied and I'd say slightly more upbeat than Berko or CurlyWurly. The dancing is varied too - WCS and tango blend seamlessly with slow jivers and blues aficionados: someone will start a line dance while someone else will break into swing or Lindy. Its a broad church - and indeed a sanctuary on a Sunday.
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 enjoyed the music and the overall sense of the evening was of a lot of friends getting together and dancing. There was, as with my previous visit, rather more socialising than dancing. I don't think there's much point approaching people who sit behind tables at dance venues when they are deep in conversation - I suspect that I at least subconciously think that kind of positioning is more about socialising. People who sit or stand next to the dance floor seem to me to be sending out a different signal strength in terms of their willingness to dance.
It was sadly not a night I'll remember with relish and although the welcome on the door was warm, it ended there.
Stokies at Barlaston
It was with some relief that I went to Stokies a week later. Since this event runs late I'd booked a Travelodge a little way up the M6. I'm getting to the point where a long drive back in the small hours is not as straightforward as it used to be, but with overnight accommodation booked I'm much more relaxed about the whole evening.
The venue sells soft drinks and tea/coffee but BYO is encouraged. The pit stop to take on carbs after 5 hours is brilliant and necessary not just to sustain the dancing but also as Nath points out to promote safer journeys home at 3am.
I have waxed lyrical on this night previously but a word should be said for the floor - which is always very good: good floors like hearts are hard to find.
Barlaston is surrounded by cheap accommodation so its worth planning a visit in advance: if you time it right you can then do the following in Sunday night
Sunday Sanctuary
Billy Smyth's venture is a natural development to Lisa Graydon's offer in Yorkshire. Sunday Sanctuary shares the same DJ, the same interest in customer comfort and it is run with a relaxed attitude to match the name.
Billy has recently had to change venues and the night is still bedding into its new home: a beautiful Masonic Hall with a big floor and excellent facilities. The real attraction of this venue is the character and quality of the people Billy's name attracts. And whatever the bedding-in issues might be the over-riding feeling I have is that people will tolerate them because the music and the dancers are attractive (in the broadest sense of the word). That's all that's needed for dancing - music & dancers.
I'd urge people to give it a try - its spacious, well maintained and there's bags of parking. The atmosphere is friendly and the music is varied and I'd say slightly more upbeat than Berko or CurlyWurly. The dancing is varied too - WCS and tango blend seamlessly with slow jivers and blues aficionados: someone will start a line dance while someone else will break into swing or Lindy. Its a broad church - and indeed a sanctuary on a Sunday.
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