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View Full Version : Which is your favourite modern jive venue and why?



littlewiggle
9th-July-2006, 09:11 PM
As I'm a bit disillusioned with some of my usual haunts, I wondered which venues fellow forumites considered to be the best and why?

Minnie M
9th-July-2006, 09:20 PM
As I'm a bit disillusioned with some of my usual haunts, I wondered which venues fellow forumites considered to be the best and why?

If you mean the actual venue ? I have two

The Rivoli Ballroom (South London) - it is often used for filming and often seen on TV because it is such a nice venue (the ladies has a bourdoir :D )

and Dorking Halls - there may be other venues like this one, but to me it has all the right ingrediants - large hall, great floor, balcony, good air conditioning, a really nice chill out area (with comfy sofas too) plus bar that also sells hot drinks and cakes :clap: and a very very large free car park and also very easy to get to. :worthy: :worthy: :worthy:

If you mean places to go .... that changes:whistle:

littlewiggle
9th-July-2006, 09:33 PM
Yes thank you Minnie I should clarify, I did actually mean the whole experience. Where do forumites go that has the whole caboodle?

Interesting so far, Dorking Halls sound good and as for the Ladies boudoir, WOWEE!

Little Monkey
9th-July-2006, 10:13 PM
For me, the absolute best place to dance is
MELTDOWN!
(Previously known as Jango, or Monday Lush, or Monkey Lush, or.....)

Why? I like challenging and varied music (blues, latin, r'n'b etc, not just horrid fast pop!), and at Meltdown you get the best of the best! :respect: There's also a fab crowd of people there, and you are quite often spoilt rotten when it comes to good (really good) people to dance with. And there's normally cake, 90% of the time baked by the lovely Sparkles (and she's just as good at baking as she is at daning!). And of course, Amir is teaching!!

Also, I like it 'cus it's small and intimate, and never too crowded.

The only minus is that it's 480-ish miles away........:tears:

For a really good freestyle night (or tea-dance), Funky Lush is fab!:clap: I've only been to one, but it was great! Fab music, fab dancers, but unfortunately a really bad floor. However, they've moved venue (?), and I've not been to the new one, so have no idea what the floor / hall is like there.

Lynn
10th-July-2006, 12:13 AM
For me, the absolute best place to dance is
MELTDOWN!
(Previously known as Jango, or Monday Lush, or Monkey Lush, or.....)Still haven't made it to one of these, despite being in London on a Monday (and staying with LMC who was going) but my tango needs were greater. I will get there someday.

Have to say though that I think one of my best dancing experiences outside of a weekender was the Jango T-jive a couple of weeks ago. The music, the people, the atmosphere (and yes the cake and ice cream!) was so relaxed, chilled and mellow.

WittyBird
10th-July-2006, 01:39 AM
For me it has to be Ashtons :D I love the place
Closely followed by

In no particular order


Berkhamsted
Ealing
Greenwich - any venue
HMS President
Twyford
Daventy
O2 Swiss Cottage


I visited the Midlands recently and my God, Dire is not the word. I went to Sollihul (Solihell)
Wolvershiton Oops I mean Wolverhampton and HellsOwen (is that how it's spelt?)

HellsOwen was the worst we got there at 9-15 on a Friday night and I thought great, Freestyle. How wrong can you be :confused: Only to be announced at 9-30pm that the Intermediate class was about to start.

I asked the girl on the desk 'when is the class over' to which I got an extremely rude reply 'When it finishes' Not one taxi dancer was wearing a shirt, and AFAIC the welcome I received (being a new face) was non existant :mad:

Hence I will never go back. I can completely understand why Fletch travels for her dancing :D

I think everyone should PM her and request she moves to London :cheers:

Minnie M
10th-July-2006, 07:59 AM
I used to travel all over the UK (that's how my list started) and at that time IMO every Ceroc venue I visited I found extremely welcoming and friendly.

As a lone female, I would ring beforehand and when I arrived I was introduced to the venue manager and was made to feel very much at home.

If things have changed, this is a real shame - we would love Fletch to move down south, BUT we need all venues to have the same warm reception I had many years ago :flower:

Favourite regular venues/events
They are normally were you know your friends and your favourite dancers are going to be - other than that they can change as most have a shelf life (see previous threads)

I also enjoy going somewhere different every now and again, it is interesting how people treat and dance with the (almost) unknown - (nowadays you recognise or even know most people from the weekenders).:blush:

stewart38
10th-July-2006, 02:07 PM
[LIST=1]

I visited the Midlands recently and my God, Dire is not the word. I went to Sollihul (Solihell)
Wolvershiton Oops I mean Wolverhampton and HellsOwen (is that how it's spelt?)

HellsOwen was the worst we got there at 9-15 on a Friday night and I thought great, Freestyle. How wrong can you be :confused: Only to be announced at 9-30pm that the Intermediate class was about to start.


Hence I will never go back. I can completely understand why Fletch travels for her dancing :D

I think everyone should PM her and request she moves to London :cheers:

I have found every northern venue (North for me is passed Watford) to be friendly

A lot of the venues tend to have more chairs and tables and it would ‘appear’ to be more groups/ couples that turn up, up there

Piglet
10th-July-2006, 02:12 PM
My favourite in Scotland is

The King Robert Hotel, Stirling, for the Sunday workshops and Tea Dances

My favourite that I've been to in England so far would be the

one in Gloucester - a Hotel that I can't remember the name of...(oops) where I met Whitebeard and Firstmove Hatherley Manor just looked up my thread on my holiday!

And in Wales...

I've only been to one in Cardiff - can't remember that one either but it was where I met Baruch and Puresunrays Planet LeRoc

I've never been to any where I've not been made to feel welcome though :D

Whoops forgot to say Why!

Stirling: great dancers, great music, great teachers!
Gloucester: great dancers and very entertaining teacher!
Cardiff: 2 teachers who taught from both lead and follow perspective, friendly dancers with a very good sense of humour

fletch
10th-July-2006, 02:43 PM
As I'm a bit disillusioned with some of my usual haunts, I wondered which venues fellow forumites considered to be the best and why?

Sorry babes if you want inspiring music, and dances you need to travel.:sad:

I'm not sure where you actually live perhaps we can look at sharing.:flower:

earling will always have a soft spot for me, I love it, but it might be cos it was my first venture out of the midlands, and it all seemed scary but in reality it wasn't.:hug:

HMS president is lovely on a Sunday afternoon

but

Muswell hill yesterday was fantastic.:respect:


Ashtons is fab

I could go on and on but i'm still discovering new places week after week.

I'm on count down for Beach Boooogie:clap:

fletch
10th-July-2006, 02:47 PM
I have found every northern venue (North for me is passed Watford) to be friendly




Is that even when a fight brakes out

:rofl: :rofl:

that the Midlands for you :na:

Other than the fight :rolleyes: Party in the potteries was surprisingly OK

but looking at the comments not a patch on Twyford, which I should have been at:tears:

bigdjiver
10th-July-2006, 03:02 PM
Where I like to dance depends on the people first, music second. If the question is about location then I like something good, or something different.

I have fond memories of dancing on a sloping stage in the open air, on HMS President, and at The Rivoli ballroom, not just for the variety. Wicksteed Park stands out in the Ceroc Central area, but there are penty of other venues in it this franchise that I like a lot. As I said it is the people and the music. Quite the worst venue was a church hall with a cork floor 50 miles away from my home. I only went back there twice.

Magic Hans
10th-July-2006, 06:13 PM
Well .... I'm a fan of Marcus Garvey in Nottingham [Monday nights]

Good points .... some loverly dancers
big venue
has got a balcony ... well fire escape!!
Lively and fun atmosphere
Ok dance floor
Bad points ... Music is fairly standard, nothing to challenge
Only one person on the bar
Gets hot in the summer [heating never goes completely off!]
Bit daunting for newcomers ... maybe a little cliquey(?)
Only an ok dance floor
No real well defined chill out area
Can get very very packed
Lessons can drag a bit

Other than that, Bulwell TA centre isn't too bad on a Tuesday

Good Points ... a few lovely dancers
Music is a little more daring and exciting (not much)
Big friendly venue
Plenty of seating
Fairly decent location .... off the M1
Well manned bar
Short, tight lessons
Door straight to outside for cooling down
Very nice dance floor
Bad Points ... Only mildly inspiring music and dancers
Laptop DJ (?)


Hope that helps!!

!an

littlewiggle
10th-July-2006, 07:41 PM
Well .... I'm a fan of Marcus Garvey in Nottingham [Monday nights]

Good points .... some loverly dancers
big venue
has got a balcony ... well fire escape!!
Lively and fun atmosphere
Ok dance floor
Bad points ... Music is fairly standard, nothing to challenge
Only one person on the bar
Gets hot in the summer [heating never goes completely off!]
Bit daunting for newcomers ... maybe a little cliquey(?)
Only an ok dance floor
No real well defined chill out area
Can get very very packed
Lessons can drag a bit

Other than that, Bulwell TA centre isn't too bad on a Tuesday

Good Points ... a few lovely dancers
Music is a little more daring and exciting (not much)
Big friendly venue
Plenty of seating
Fairly decent location .... off the M1
Well manned bar
Short, tight lessons
Door straight to outside for cooling down
Very nice dance floor
Bad Points ... Only mildly inspiring music and dancers
Laptop DJ (?)


Hope that helps!!

!an

Yes Ian I like MG, the freestyles at Bulwell are ok but the laptop DJ thing is annoying and if you are at the top end of the hall, the music isn't loud enough. Both not at all bad though.

LW x