Ice New Years Day party (St. Albans) - FAN-TAS-TIC.
What made it so good?
1. Music: an immaculate set!! Made you want to dance to every track. Some tracks I had never heard before - which had an immediate impact. The whole thing just flowed perfectly - absolutely brilliant. I was waiting for the 'duff track' section - and it never happened.......(and I know I am one of the people who can moan and whine about the music - so I guess it must have been good).
2. Atmosphere: everyone seemed happy and chilled - and there was a positive vibe throughout. Some great dancers from all over. Everyone I spoke to was really enjoying it. And some great dances with people who I had never danced with before..........thanks to all.
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Reflecting on the evening - and where it 'sits': clearly, this is not yer usual Ceroc freestyle - there was a dearth of those boomy, hippy hop ragga or Britney Spears tracks. Neither was it a Utopia experience with that eclectic cum esoteric mix. No. This was more accessible and danceable - and easier going. Neither was it Blues (although some of the tracks could have been part of a Blues set). So it filled a gap - call it 'Chilled' - that's about right. And it was even more memorable and enjoyable than the last 2 years (which were excellent in their own right).
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So.....my request: PLEASE CAN WE HAVE IT AGAIN THIS YEAR?? 12 months is a long time to wait!
How about a Summer Ice Party - when it is sweltering? You could even have dancing outside with a temporary floor.........
It does not compete with Utopia 'cos it is a different market. there are people there last night who would never go to utopia/blues (or who have been and it was not their cup of tea) - but enjoyed the Chilled experience immensely
Last edited by JiveLad; 2nd-January-2009 at 01:11 PM.
Sounds good to me, cant have too much of a good thing
Ah but you can!
For instance, if they ran this event every fortnight, you'd find that it wasn't so special, and you wouldn't concentrate so many good dancers (assuming that's what it was like - I wasn't there) in one event.
So actually it's a good thing that this sort of event doesn't run too often.
Love dance, will travel
You are right in practical sense I noticed that with Hammersmith when it was changed from monthly to fortnightly it was never as good apart from when it is one of the specials (still good compared to a lot of other venues. But in my fantasy world you can’t get too much of a good thing.
Twice a year should not affect the quality too much hopefully, especially as CerocMetro no longer hold the Mask Ball there is a gap in their market for a bigger event
Robin was the DJ - and hats off to him for this.
Yes - when I spoke to Robin at the end, I was in the "let's do this every week" frame of mind - and overnight I realised that would be silly. Still, - a summer Ice would do the trick I think, especially if an outdoor dimension could be added. So twice a year would be fine.
After having such a fantastic time at the B&W Ball on NYE, it was with some trepidation that I pitched up to ICE. I so didn't want it to be a "come down" after the night before. Well, I am delighted to say, that it wasn't. I had a lovely time.
As usual, the crew had made a fantastic effort decorating the venue and a lot of thought had gone into the 11pm food offering with lots of fresh fruit so that people could at least make a start onto their slightly heathier regime after the Xmas splurge.
The atmosphere was great - the gender balancing really helping here, because this is sometimes an issue here on normal freestyle nights. There were lots of lovely surprises when people you weren't really expecting walked through the door. This brought the standard of dancing up and I had several really memorable dances.
I don't usually do the gushy mentioning everyone's name bit (for fear of leaving anyone out, as much as not wanting to be too lovey dovey) but one particular Vegetable is worth mentioning. Sliced or diced, boiled or roasted, I would certainly consider giving up meat if I could have meals like that on a regular basis. It is such as shame you live so far away.
Special mention also should go to Robin - who played an absolute blinder. There was a fantastic mix of music with quite a bit of chilled stuff that I love, and, as JiveLad has mentioned, none of housey, boom boom or dodgy cover versions that should never have been covered.
All in all, a cracking night. I would love to see more of the same in 2009.
Pleased everyone had a good time ......
Keep the 9th May free
The Masked Ball at Walthamstow!
I have been wondering for some time what turns a good event into a magical event and ICE has given me my answer.
The music, the music, the music.
Taking the other ingredients first:
The venue - a larger than average school hall in a 1960's built bog standard school. Not much to play with there, althought the organisers did their best to dress it up.
The dancers - ranging from the very best (such as Silver Fox and Snow White) to reletively new beginners and probabally a normal statistical range of abiltity in between. OK, better than your normal night but not as good as many other events I have been lucky enough to attend.
The music - beautiful music with soul and emotion that did not stop coming all night. Not having the knowledge of most people the best way I can describe it is; take the best of the mid and fast speed Blues Room and the best of the mid to slower speed Latin Room music at a JA Southport, then sprinkle in some well thought out funky and Latin swing tracks This allowed me to experience a wonderful night of dancing to a magical set.
Thanks to everybody I danced with, the people that did all the back stage work and to Robin, a great set.
If this is what is planned at the Masked Ball, take a tip from me and make it a must do in your diary.
PS - if JA can produce the same quality in one of their rooms in Skeg we are in for a blinder.
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