The other week I embarked on a quick trip to the
biggest dance event in the UK - Move It.
Ever year it attracts thousands of dancers from all
backgrounds to the Kensington Olympia exhibition complex in
London. Running from the 7th- 9th March, this year
it was bigger and better than ever.
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| Move It - Kensington Olympia |
Although this was my 5th visit to Move
It, it was the first time I’d been on the Friday. It was a little less busy,
but the incredible atmosphere was still there. It just meant there was a little
less squeezing down the aisles!
As a dance-addict myself, I adore going to Move It.
I could spend hours wandering round the hundreds of stands selling
products, advertising top colleges and bagging lots of good freebies...
There's an endless list of classes taught by professionals
that you can attend. They cover everything from lindy hop to advanced
commercial, musical theatre to tap, and beginner’s ballet to audition
technique.
However, if you prefer to spectate you can easily
fill your day with incredible performances and inspiring interviews. This
year artists included Sisco Gomez, the cast of Stomp, Dancers Inc Ambassadors,
Diversity, Darcey Bussell, Janette Manrara and many top dance schools from
around the country, just to name a few.
Here are a few of my highlights from the day:
· We bumped into to Karen Hauer and Kevin Clifton who
were at the Wheelchair Dance Sport Association stand. As always they were super
friendly and happy to chat. I love these two! They told us all about the association, and what an
amazing job it does providing dance opportunities for people in wheelchairs.
Anyone can get involved! You can visit their website here.
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| Karen Hauer and Kevin Clifton at the WDSA stand |
· We then wandered round the stands a little more and
came across the FitSteps stand, run by the ridiculously talented Natalie Lowe
and Ian Waite, who were selling DVDs and chatting to fans.
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| Natalie Lowe, Ian Waite and Mark Foster (FitSteps Creators) being interviewed by Annaliese Dayes. |
I joined in one of the four demonstrations
that were taking place throughout the day and had a chat with Natalie
after. (We took photos which I’ve left out as I horrendously pretty
gross and sweaty…) She said I should join in the next class too, so I couldn’t
resist. How often do you get to dance right up close to two of the best
ballroom dancers in the UK? (And for free!) Admittedly halfway through
the second one I began to wilt, but it still felt amazing!
(Fitsteps is a new dance-based fitness class that
is sweeping the nation. I started a couple of weeks ago and I’m so glad I
did. I cannot recommend it enough. You can easily adapt your workout to
whatever suits your fitness level, so literally anyone can reap the benefits.
Find a class near you here.)
· Sisco Gomez’ interview stands out for me. This man
has so much sass! He gave such a great talk covering his life as a dancer and
sharing invaluable top tips for being successful in the industry. He also reluctantly
name dropped the likes of Janet Jackson, Madonna and Kylie. He’s fab, just the
right amount of diva.
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| Trying to take a sneaky selfie with Sisco Gomez, looks like he's patting my head! (left) Sisco having photographs (right) |
· I have never seen Stomp, but after their showcase
at Move It I am making it a top priority to go. It’s seriously incredible; so
rhythmical and exciting.
· The Dancers Inc Ambassadors are regular performers
at Move It, in the past performing on the main stage the likes of Adam Garcia
and Kimberley Wyatt. They are all absolutely incredible, and their performance
is one of the things I look forward to most at the event.
I can’t help but notice my eyes always seem drawn
to the almost-not-human-he’s that-good-looking Anthony ‘BB’ Kaye. We attempted
so many selfies (he said he absolutely LOVES selfies, so would I if I looked
like that!), but the light was just not co-operating. Such a shame...it meant
we had to keep trying until we got a good one, which as you can imagine was
awful for me.. ;) I think I ended up with about 9 on my phone haha.
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| The Dancers Inc Ambassadors after their performance on the Main Stage. |
If you love any sort of dance, whether it be
watching or participating, Move It is the place for you, and I would 100%
recommend a visit next year. Maybe I’ll see you there!
You can keep up to date with next year’s show, and see photos of previous years here.
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