When coming to university there are some things that I expected to do, read a lot of books, sit around watching day time TV etc. One thing that I didn’t expect to be doing was taking dance classes, let alone be dancing around Rathbone doing a ‘cha’ to Psy’s Gangnam Style.
4 brave Storm FM members are now embarking on a series of dance classes with BU Dance, Head of News Caryl Burke and Illtud Jones, are preparing themselves for a session of ballroom, whilst Secretary Robyn Jones is dancing to Bollywood style music.
None of us are dancers and to learn our routines in two weeks should make for quite an interesting journey.
Rehearsal One
It was quite nerving first walking into a dance class, there were 4 of us in my little group, and no one of us seemed to know what we had signed up for – or I certainly had no idea – I was just asked to do it for charity and thought “why not”.
Our superb teacher Hannah taught us the initial steps, which I must say filled me with confidence once I’d mastered them – my dancing there looked much better than on a Monday in Academi that’s for sure.
My initial arrogance upon learning the first few steps was rapidly shot down though, as more steps came by terrible dancing skill and lack of co-ordination were soon pretty evident.
However our teachers soon stepped in to correct me, and I was certainly glad that they had patience. We however soldiered on, adding more and more steps to our once simple routine. Of course we had to take some time up to do the Gangnam Style dance as well – it’d be rude not to.
One thing that I definitely learnt from my first dance class is how tiring it can be – oh and not to forget my water!
Rehearsal two
My second class seemed a lot less daunting than the first – I even had time to pop into Storm and be cocky. We decided that our dance was lacking something so added some more, new and complex moves, which I must say we mastered…… it’s looking promising now but with the big show just a week away, and reading week hampering rehearsal time it’ll be interesting.
On a positive note having learnt the steps – yeah we all took two hours – we can now practise outside of classes – time to cha cha cha around the house then!
The run-up to the night
In the weeks before the big dance we’ve had a few Storm get-togethers, whether they’ve been socials, open-mic nights or meetings, it’s not been a rare sight to see everyone rehearsing their dances – mainly to laugh at Robyn and her “extra classes”. I think Bar Uno are now well accustomed to seeing Caryl and Tuds doing the quick step, even with their little jumpy segment; which I think Tud may enjoy too much. We also found out that we can’t bribe the judges – blast.
On the Thursday before the dance show we even had Robyn show us some of her much anticipated Bollywood moves – watch out for the signs her housemates have promised will be making an appearance.
It’s currently Saturday morning, the morning of the night, I think it’s been a full circle now, from heart wrenching nerves, to slight arrogance and back again.
The show itself went well, we all turned up early to get in some last minute practise, and probably to see what the other dances were like as well – we were all dying to see the “competition”. The actual event got a big turn out which made some people nervous. Or in the case of our Secretary Robyn, it made her hit the bottle – that powerade kept her going though!
I was quite lucky since Latin was the first style up, and we had the benefit of shock tactics – no one was expecting Gangnam style, and the audience reaction to the music certainly made us seem more confident on stage. Our reaction was well and we were followed by the wonderful Bollywood dancers.
The dances were all very good, everyone had clearly practised well but at the same time was aware that the event was meant to be a light hearted and fun affair. Caryl and Tuds were even part of an improv street fight in their ballroom routine.
The eventual winner of the competition was BEDS, who picked up £50 for their society. A worthy winner considering two of the guys from their society took part in the ballet routine – if we thought we had the shock tactic they went even further. 3 guys, 3 tutus, and a One direction song.
The dance show was a great success, and a good laugh, but the most important thing was that it was all done for a good cause. Raising over £200 for Children in Need was great, the generosity of everyone involved was excellent.
