Feedback on Club nights

[Maxine]

IJig Wednesday Nights – Hatfield

I have been to IJig on a Wednesday night about 6 times in the last 3 months and have found it to be a consistently good night. I went there primarily as they were running a tango classes in conjunction with running their Jive class. They also run an advance Jive class after the main lessons, which I have done a couple of, they were not bad but I think I prefer to do a bit of freestyle.

After the tango lesson I usually go into the main hall for a bit of jiving. The main hall is really buzzing and very well attended with mainly a good mix of music, mainly upbeat and a good mix of dancers. If I really do not like the music then I can escape into the tango room for the milonga/pratica (plays mainly traditional tango music, which I’m told is an acquired taste, of which I’ve yet to acquire).

Can really recommend this as a good mid week night out, has a feel of a freestyle night about it and well worth the 40 minute drive for me

[robd]

IJig Wednesday Nights – Hatfield]Can really recommend this as a good mid week night out, has a feel of a freestyle night about it and well worth the 40 minute drive for me

It's about an hour for me though we usually manage a car share which makes things much more palatable. Arrived earlier than usual last night meaning I could join in the Progressive (read 'Intermediate') and Advanced MJ classes taught by Mick and Jo. Both featured smooth and interesting routines with elements that I was able to carry seamlessly through into freestyle which is always a good sign. Jon's music was the usual mix of stuff I really like, stuff I don't mind and stuff I try to sit out for. On the downside the freestyle was very well attended making available floorspace a bit limited but on the upside I still had a number of excellent dances which is ultimately what we go to these things for

[Allez-Cat]

So where in bucks is this new venue

Buckingham Community Centre, Cornwalls Meadows, MK18 1RP - just off the High Street.

See: http://www.cerocsmooth.com

[JiveLad]

IJig Wednesday Nights – Hatfield

I have been to IJig on a Wednesday night about 6 times in the last 3 months and have found it to be a consistently good night. I went there primarily as they were running a tango classes in conjunction with running their Jive class. They also run an advance Jive class after the main lessons, which I have done a couple of, they were not bad but I think I prefer to do a bit of freestyle.

After the tango lesson I usually go into the main hall for a bit of jiving. The main hall is really buzzing and very well attended with mainly a good mix of music, mainly upbeat and a good mix of dancers. If I really do not like the music then I can escape into the tango room for the milonga/pratica (plays mainly traditional tango music, which I’m told is an acquired taste, of which I’ve yet to acquire).

Can really recommend this as a good mid week night out, has a feel of a freestyle night about it and well worth the 40 minute drive for me

Yes - the tectonic plates around here (St. Albans being the epicentre ) have settled a bit since iJig was formed. iJig is now very clearly the leading venue for dancers round here. This is not just me saying this: I have had so many chats with different people about it.

For comparison, in the past 7 days I have been to Cheshunt Friday, visited Berko on Sunday, Harpenden Monday (Smooth jive), Luton on Tues (previous Tues I did Watford)- and will do Snorbens again on Thursday. None are as good as iJig in terms of atmosphere, depth of dance talent, quality of music. (I am excluding the Berko Blues room from this comparison).

The iJig Wed nights are better than most freestyle nights at other venues.....

Plus (if you are so inclined) you can Tango to your hearts content - and this seems to be proving very popular from what I see - loads of people in there for the lessons.

I wonder if Ceroc will 'up their game' a bit..........

PS And to tie in with another thread...........it seems iJig speakers have good integrity

[robd]

I wonder if Ceroc will 'up their game' a bit..........

It was amusing last night at the start of the Advanced class when a new lady was asked by Mick if she was joining in and she responded 'Is this Ceroc?....'

[Andy McGregor]

It was amusing last night at the start of the Advanced class when a new lady was asked by Mick if she was joining in and she responded 'Is this Ceroc?....'

If he'd said "yes", I'm sure Ceroc HQ would have sent in their team of lawyers.

[Maxine]

I wonder if Ceroc will 'up their game' a bit..........

Do they really need to from a business prospective?

I’ve been to the nearest venue in that area (St Albans) a few times (although not been back since I’ve started going to IJig) and that seemed very successful in terms of numbers and quite a good evening but IJig is just that bit better IMHO. I can’t see them trying to up their game unless their venues are suffering.

I would say that I think personally Berko is just as good as IJig for a regular night. It is consistently good, with the benefit of the blues room and the tango pratica (so that is definitely a case where ceroc has upped its game and I think that this proceeded IJig). Anyway both good nights worthy of a long trek for me.

[JiveLad]

Do they really need to from a business prospective?

I’ve been to the nearest venue in that area (St Albans) a few times (although not been back since I’ve started going to IJig) and that seemed very successful in terms of numbers and quite a good evening but IJig is just that bit better IMHO. I can’t see them trying to up their game unless their venues are suffering.

I would say that I think personally Berko is just as good as IJig for a regular night. It is consistently good, with the benefit of the blues room and the tango pratica (so that is definitely a case where ceroc has upped its game and I think that this proceeded IJig). Anyway both good nights worthy of a long trek for me.

Well having just returned from St. Albans - it was..........very good indeed! Loads of people.......good music - thx to all for a great nite.

So maybe you are right..........(ijig does just edge it somehow........).

[HelenB]

Something is stirring in Buckingham... Yes, Buckingham, formerly the lost child of Ceroc Central, is now the sole venue of a new franchise called Ceroc Smooth. Ceroc Central's main interest was and still is mainly centred on Milton Keynes / Bedford / Luton. Buckingham was just a small fish in large pond which rarely got much attention, but all that now looks set to change.

I'm not a really regular visitor but I had looked in there from time to time over the last year or so. The venue has always had potential IMO. It has a great floor, a nice second room, easy access and plenty of parking. It also has good music and teaching from Marc F. However the potential of the venue hasn't really been fully exploited up to now. Under the new franchise there is hope that things may well start to change for the better and there are already some promising signs.

I went there last night and had a really enjoyable evening's dancing - probably the best I've had there. There were more dancers there than normal and Marc had really pulled the stops out with the ambiance deploying lasers, a smoke machine and even an LED scrolling message display. I also noticed the deployment of additional large fans and the fact that all the doors had been fixed as wide open as possible to try to keep the temperature down. A really nice selection of free biscuits was another nice touch and you can now purchase soft drinks as an alternative to the free water (the venue doesn't have a bar so you are also allowed to bring your own drinks). The evening carried on until 11:00pm and if this could be made the regular finish time (instead of 10:45pm) that would be another bonus.

There is a free-style coming up in September (Howard and Nicola are teaching) which I think will be the first to be held here for quite a while so it will be interesting to see how successful that is. I understand that the new franchisees have a background in marketing and are very keen dancers so that should auger well for the future development of the venue.

This new franchise looks like being good news for dancers in the Buckingham area.

That's good to hear Pete. I'd also heard that they're planning a "smoooth" end to the class nights.

This is my closest venue being only 5-10 minutes away but apart from being a regular about 2 years ago I've been back only a couple of times due to it being a little uninspiring (don't shoot me down, I'm a wannabe blues hotshot ).

I shall just have to make a return visit to check it out

[JiveLad]

That's good to hear Pete. I'd also heard that they're planning a "smoooth" end to the class nights.

This is my closest venue being only 5-10 minutes away but apart from being a regular about 2 years ago I've been back only a couple of times due to it being a little uninspiring (don't shoot me down, I'm a wannabe blues hotshot ).

I shall just have to make a return visit to check it out

Sounds good - I think I may pay a visit next week.

One question: is it Monday or Tuesday? The website diary says Venue Day= Monday. Then the text says regular evenings = Tuesday.

Maybe I mis-read..........or something........

[Lost Leader]

Sounds good - I think I may pay a visit next week.

One question: is it Monday or Tuesday? The website diary says Venue Day= Monday. Then the text says regular evenings = Tuesday.

Maybe I mis-read..........or something........

Myself and Easily led will probably be there next week. If you and Helen B. make it we have the makings of a party! Late August might not be the best time to judge any venue but who knows. At least we are guaranteed decent music.

The web site is still "embryonic" (for example it shows photos of a completely different venue). The regular night is Monday.

[HelenB]

Myself and Easily led will probably be there next week. If you and Helen B. make it we have the makings of a party! Late August might not be the best time to judge any venue but who knows. At least we are guaranteed decent music.

The web site is still "embryonic" (for example it shows photos of a completely different venue). The regular night is Monday.

I'm on holiday next week so can't make it. Perhaps the week after?

[Lost Leader]

I now that that 2 room events with guest teachers and DJ's are going to feature at Buckingham The first 2 room event is in October - see Diary section of the Ceroc Smooth website. Tempting enough for even a dance recluse?