Mindpoke dance

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...