Move it, Dance London 2006

'Move it' was held at Olympia, Kensington between 21-23rd April 2006, and "offers everything you need to know about dance – an unrivalled shopping and information arcade, conveniently gathered for three days under one roof." (dance-london.co.uk)

I went with Jo, Ali and Ming. I personally had a great time. So many dancers under one roof, and you can 'shop' and try out all these different styles of dance at the 'taster classes'. There were also seminars for things like make up tips or even for those who want to pursue careers as dancers and etc. There were 3 'classes' set up with proper floors. Each class had a small stage where an instructor would conduct a taster class. Each class would be different from the other and a variety of instructors from an array of schools throughout the UK (quite a lot form London), would give participants a 45 minutes session. You pay £6.50, a one of payment, so classes inside were 'free'. Unfortunately, for each class, you'd have to queue for half an hour to an hour just to be assured a place in the class.. if not you dance on the carpet behind. There was also an exhibition. Lots of stalls for companies selling material for costumes, shoes, etc etc etc.. there was also a main stage where there were performances.

When we got there, the girls wanted to go for the Make up seminar so me and Ming decided to opt out. We attended the Lambada (a sensual dance from Brazil) class instead. It was alright. It didnt stray very far from the basic latin moves. The girls somehow wriggled in but got bored so left. After the class, we met up with the girls and joined the 'Professional Warm Up' taster class. It's meant to teach the correct warm up techniques. It didnt feel very 'professional' to me. More like a kids game actually.. hehe.. but bits of it was quite good... very ballet-ish. We were only there for half the class.

Then we went upstairs for a demonstration. Caught the 'Get together' show. Had examples of Lindy Hop, Salsa, Ballroom. The London Swing Dance Society was there and in their group, they had members from as young as 17 and an old man who was 78 performing. Quiet impressive (though overall their performance was a little dull). The Salsa couple... er.. well.. nothing much to say about them. Didnt really like them and didnt like their costumes! :-S Ballroom was performed by Stephen and Gemma-Louisde Arnold (brother and sister team), ranked 5th in the UK with the English Amateur Dancers Association (EADA). Performed the Waltz and Quickstep. They were quite good :-).

After that we went downstairs to get in line for the East Coast Swing. I only knew of the West Coast Swing which is a little like a very slow jive, but has other moves too. The East Coast Swing feels much more like a Rock n Roll and incorporates Lindy Hop moves which is said to be the roots of Rock n Roll. Lots of hopping and kicking but it was tremendous fun really. The instructor was a little weird as in he couldn't count us in properly! He'd take like a whole 15 seconds just to get the correct timing which was very weird. Still, very fun class.

Right after that class we went back into the line for the next class (Latin Jazz). "A sensational unique fusion of Latin Dance Moves and routines based on salsa, lambada, chacha, rumba and even Ballroom Latin." Again the girls didn't really like the class but I could understand why. The instructor, though a great dancer, was a little fickle. She'd keep changing some of the moves, she'd change counts and confuse us... her instructions weren't always clear... people got fed up. However, most of us stayed. I strained to listen and watch and eventually got the routine. It was actually quite nice. Fast class, but I liked the routine. Very contemporary.. not so strictly latin. Only part I had a problem with was the 'battacadas(?)'. Bloody fast.

After that was the Flamenco. Very interesting. Very different style. Thought I'd give it a go cause it might help with stylistic improvements on my Paso. Came out of the class with one improvement to think about. No straight arms. But I was complimented by an observer.. hehe... the Lambada instructor liked me too.. hehe.. *head expanding*

Anyway, all in all, it was a great day with lots of fun and exercise. By the end of the day, I started calling the 'Lambada' the 'La Bamba' instead cause the stupid song kept running through my head, and Alison was calling the East Coast Swing the East Coast West Wing, and Ming was calling the Flamenco the Flamingo.. hehaheha... imagine how tired we were...