Do movies and shows like Fame, Dirty Dancing and Strictly Come Dancing get your toes tapping?
If so, for one-night only you can get your dancing shoes on for a charity Freestyle Dance – and organisers are inviting all those who ‘secretly wanted to learn to dance’ to come along and learn some fancy footwork.
The dance, at Southmoor Village Hall, Southmoor, Abingdon, takes place on Saturday, August 30, from 8pm to 11pm, and tickets cost £15 in advance or £17 on the night. There will be a fun dance class between 8pm and 8.30pm and then the floor will be opened to all to strut their stuff.
Money raised will be donated to the cancer support centre The Hummingbird Centre, based in Launton, near Bicester, which helps people with cancer and their families, across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
Organiser Sue Clark, who has been a Modern Jive dancer for more than 20-years, said “It’s just about having fun “She said: “You used to be able to dance every week night around Oxfordshire, now there’s just one weekly Ceroc class in Wantage. Dancing is so good for you – whatever is happening in your life you can go dancing for a few hours and because you are concentrating on your footwork you just forget about everything else. “We dance to chart toppers such as Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé, Teddy Swims and more – it’s based on the beats per minute so as long as it’s a good tempo for dancing we play it.“You don’t have to be in a couple, in fact, it’s ideal for single people because you don’t dance with the same person you end up dancing with everyone – the etiquette is that you don’t refuse when asked to dance. “It’s very easy to do and I have certainly made some lovely friendships over the years. “It’s very sociable and really good fun!”
Sue, a volunteer at The Hummingbird Centre, decided to organise the charity dance to raise much needed funds for the centre. And to help guests prepare for the event, she has been running classes there. The charity dance event will also have a bar and raffle. Sue added: “I got into it through my brother. It was my mum’s 60th birthday and at the party my brother and his girlfriend started Ceroc dancing – it was amazing.”
She later found a class in Abingdon where she lived at the time. She has since helped instruct beginners – called a taxi dancer – and now runs a bi-monthly dance event in Witney’s Langdale Hall.
Mechelle Harris, founder of The Hummingbird Centre, said: “Our guests have thoroughly enjoyed Sue’s dance sessions so I’m sure a whole evening of dancing will be absolutely fantastic.”