Everything you need to know - Great Gatsby’s Silent Disco

I went to my first Silent Disco 3 years ago, I was a bit skeptical and really couldn’t see what wearing headphones would add to the party experience. I was pleasantly surprised, the having music played to you directly through headphones was amazing.

The first thing I noticed was it was much easier loose my inhibitions, it was like dancing round my own living room. At the same time seeing other people getting down to the same tune gave me a direct connection with them on the dancefloor. The final bonus was when a tune didn’t rock my world, I could switch channels until I found something which did move me to dance.

Silent Disco in the street

Last year Elena and I went on a walkabout silent disco through the streets of Brighton, everyone sang their hearts out as they danced around town much to the entertainment of onlookers.

It was after this experience Elena and I started to think about running our own vintage event. The beauty of this is that we are not stuck in one decade of music and as much as we adore 1920’s jazz it’s hard to find quality recordings and dancing the Charleston for 3 hours would be truly exhausting!

The opportunity of having 3 channels meant we could have one offering music pics from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Another channel with a mix of electro-swing and modern jazz fusion. Finally we decided the third channel would be music which of black origin, early jazz has been the foundation for many styles of music such as funk, soul and hip-hop. This meant we could offer something modern without deviating entirely from the theme.

Great Gatsby’s Silent Disco is happening at the One Church, a venue we love and where they often run Ceilidhs. It is a great space for a dance event as it has loads of room to dance and yet the lighting is ambient and atmospheric. It will definitely be a dress-up and dance event and we are hoping people will customize their headsets to add to the glam.

We have some strolls and short dance sequences that people can easily pick-up so the plan is for flashmob style dances to emerge on the dancefloor encouraging people to join the channel for that tune. So get your dance shoes ready and join us for the first ever vintage silent disco.

MOVE IT 2019

MOVE IT is the world’s biggest dance event, celebrating all forms of dance and the performing arts across three amazing days. Big names in the dance world grace the stage at the Excel London every year and 2019 was no exception. This years headliners included Strictly Come Dancing power couple Neil and Katya Jones, JLS frontman Aston Merrygold and Greatest Dancer winner Ellie Ferguson. Needless to say that once we had been accepted to perform on the Main Stage and teach at this years show I felt excited, nervous, honoured and a bit sick…

Move it 2019 - Main Stage

When you are dancing and sharing a stage alongside the hottest artists and talent in the UK we had to pull out all the stops. Planning started back in December with Fiona and our dance captain Rachel on what our show stopping performance was going to be. After hours of brain storming we chose the song ‘Hold that Tiger’ by the California Feetwarmers and put together a circus themed routine: The Ringmaster and her Tigers. 

Over the next 9 weeks the team worked endlessly on every little detail on the performance. Rachel put together a fantastic routine and our 12 piece troupe worked extra hours in bringing it together. Alongside of this everyone chipped in on the finer details. One afternoon Elena and dance troupe member Mila spent 6 hours preparing the dresses and making 22 tiger ears! Another dancer, Serafine, was awake until 1.30am the night before sewing the ringmasters costume whilst Rachel spent the day painting a barrel to turn into a podium. These may seem like small things to worry about but all the small details bring the performance together. Alongside of music, there is also the logistics, the extra studio bookings, the music that needs cutting, the transport to get there and the hair and make-up which needs to uniformed.

Fiona Ring and Elena Collins at MOVE IT 2019

The energy on the day was electric however the team were controlled, prepared and pulled out what we consider one of our best performances to date. Our number was between the Greatest Dancer finalists and we delighted by the crowds energy and enthusiasm for us on stage. We were the only Charleston act there, nearly everything else was contemporary or street so we felt we brought something totally different to the stage. We were properly also the oldest dancers there, most performers where bendy 16 year olds auditioning for stage school but we felt proud to show that dance is for everyone regardless of age… and how unbendy you are!

After the performance I felt quite emotional. I am so proud of our dancers and of how far our team have come together. Fiona, Rachel and I started working together 5 years ago and I never dreamed that MyCharleston would be on the Main Stage of MOVE IT. It really was a dream come true… and to top it off we even got a snap with Neil and Katya from Strictly!

Rachel teaching at Move it 2019

Rachel and Elena with the Strictly Come Dancing Pros.

After the performance we taught a sold out workshop which was a master class in Charleston where Portsmouth and Ryde teacher Mel joined us. It was great fun and a privilege to be the only people teaching Charleston over the whole weekend. 

Our video from the performance will be released soon so keep an eye our for the final video! 

Elena

The Ring Master and her Tigers. MyCharleston dance troupe at Move It 2019.

Everything you need to know for our 1920s Afternoon Tea

This weekend we are hosting 1920s Afternoon Tea at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, and because it's just around the corner we wanted to share with you everything you need to know including how to get the 1920s look to what’s on the menu.

First thing to remember, this is not just a regular Afternoon Tea. Throughout the afternoon we have Sam and the Jazz Cats who be playing our favourite Charleston tunes so we can dance the afternoon away. we will be running mini Charleston lessons where you can learn the basic steps and Our MyCharleston dance troupe is also going to perform for you.

If you have not seen the menu yet, take a peak at what is in store. Veggie and vegan options are also available:

What to wear

As this is a 1920s themed Afternoon Tea we would love to see you dressed up in the 1920s style. So we have put together a short 1920s fashion guide.

Women
Fancy 1920s dresses were sleeveless, shapeless, ankle to knee length slip gowns accented with beading, sequins, fringe, and some feathers. Rich jewel tones and soft pastels made the simplest of gowns look expensive. Top it your outfit off with some lavish accessories, such as a diamond tiara or headband, silk shawl, feather fan, long pearl necklace, and gold arm bangles, and you will look like silent movie stars!

Outfits from our past 1920s Afternoon Tea

1920s fashion inspiration from our past 1920s Afternoon Tea

Men
Men found relief in slightly more comfortable dinner jackets (tuxedos) instead of stuffy tailcoats. Many men cast off formal attire all-together and embraced the colourful life of striped suits, flashy neckties, Homburg hats, and gold capped walking sticks.

Hair and Make-up
If you want the complete 1920s look you can have a look at our blog, which we recently wrote, or head over to our Pinterest Board to find some inspiration.

Click here for the hair and make-up blog.

Seating Plan

Our tables are cabaret style which seat six.

Directions

 

The event starts at 1.30 pm on the 24 Nov at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, Kings Rd, Brighton BN1 2FU which is on the Seafront in between of the i360 and the cinema ODEON.

We will be dancing in the Clarence Suite, a converted Chapel from 1819, within the hotel.

If you are planning on coming by car, there are plenty of car parks around such as the Regency Square Car Park (4-minute walk to our venue) or the Churchill Square Car Park (3-minute walk to the venue).

Or you could come to the Afternoon Tea with the bus number 77 which has a stop directly at the i360, called British Airways i360. From the stop to the Hilton Brighton Metropole it is just a one minute walk.

If you now want to book for our Afternoon Tea just follow the link below.

Charleston Dancing Pier to Pier

MyCharleston dancers are toe tapping their way around some of the south coast’s most iconic landmarks

MyCharleston, showcases their students dance talents in a new video entitled ‘Charleston Dancing Pier to Pier’ which brings together dancers on their local piers in Brighton & Hove, Portsmouth, Worthing and Isle of Wight.

Pier to Pier in Brighton

MyCharleston co-founder, Elena Collins says ‘Pier to Pier is a celebration of the beautiful places we teach in and the vibrant people that life there. We wanted to show-off these stunning grade listed piers which are on our doorsteps and demonstrate the towns are dynamic places full of talent.

The Brighton based dance organisation, founded by Elena Collins and Fiona Ring, has gone from strength to strength in the past year as demand has grown for their classes and groups have developed all along the South coast.

‘We noticed a theme appearing that everywhere we taught there was a pier’ chuckled Fiona ‘therefore we wanted to create something which brought all our classes across the south coast together. The locations complement the nostalgic feel of the Charleston and capture people's imaginations of a vintage era’.

Elena said ‘It’s amazing to think that these piers would have hosted the original flapper girls from the Roaring 20’s. We also discovered that 1920’s icons like Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel performed at the Brighton Palace Pier to practice their comic skills early in their careers and music legends such as David Bowie and Genesis played on South Parade Pier in Portsmouth’.

‘From all the piers we filmed, the one that really stood out was Worthing Pier.’ comments Fiona ‘The art deco pavilion that was renovated in 2014 transports you back to 1920’s and feels like the perfect place to Charleston dance’.

Our Isle of Wight group

Our Worthing group

The film includes Brighton Palace Pier, Worthing Pier, South Parade Pier in Portsmouth which reopened in 2017, Sandown Pier on the Isle of Wight plus a dance around the twenty-four cast-iron columns now standing by the British Airways i360, which were originally part of the substructure of the West Pier in Hove. The West Pier, is the most at risk Grade Ⅰ listed building in the UK but it’s still the most photographed location in the city.

Elena and Fiona first gained national attention when they released the I Charleston Brighton film back in 2014 when they filmed 80 dancers aged from five to 80 filmed dancing the Charleston in 40 places across Brighton and Hove. Elena said: ‘Creating video content is a huge part of what we do as we love to bring our dance community together and now that we teach in multiple locations it only seemed fitting to create something new’.

‘Our next goal is to get even more people Charleston dancing in new cities so if you have pier in your hometown, we might coming your way’ laughs Fiona.

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We would like to thank the following dancers for taking part:

Isle of Wight group:
Bev Burgess
Louise Emery
Mel Griffith
Sarah O'Connell
Kathy Springate

Portsmouth group:
Johanna Newland
Andrew Bellenger
Betty Richmond

Brighton and Hove group:
Mar Balboa
Patricia Butler

Jen Else
Susie Edwards
Faith Holland
Liza Harrison
Sam Hart
Phyllis Hill
Phil Smith
Wendy Smith
Kerry Lemon
Clare Taylor

Worthing group:
Claire Davey
Fleur Howlett
Louise Toney
Madeleine Rishworth
Rebecca Trussler

Teaching team:
Elena Collins
Fiona Ring
Mel Griffith
Rachel Hulme

MyCharleston intern and runner:
Isabell Pagel

The film is dedicated in loving memory of our beloved friends and family whom we have lost in the summer of 2018:

Sam Whitehouse
Daphne Bevis
Ray Lihou

The film was choreographed, edited and directed by Fiona Ring and Elena Collins.

We would like to give an extra special thanks to Rosie Collins and Paul Saunders for inspiring us to make the film.

The history behind the piers

Over the summer we created the “Pier to Pier” Project, where we filmed all our summer students at their local pier a Charleston dance routine they learned in class. To slowly lead you into the project, we want to tell you a little bit of the history of all the piers we went to.

The Brighton Palace Pier

The Brighton Palace Pier, which was originally named Brighton Marine Palace, was designed by Richard St. George Moore and the construction works were started in November 1881. But the Opening Ceremony was not until 1899, due to a raging storm in 1896, which washed away the remains of the Chain Pier causing serious damage to the partly built Palace Pier. In 2000 the pleasure pier was renamed “Brighton Pier”, which is 1,722 ft long and acknowledged as the finest pier ever built. Today 67.000 lights illuminate the Brighton Pier each night.

And did you know that both Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel performed at the pier to hone their comic skills early in their career, before migrating to the US?

Brighton Palace Pier

West Pier

West Pier

The pier was designed and engineered by Eugenius Birch and the West Pier construction works started in 1863. In 1866 the pier was opened. Throughout the history the West Pier had to go through a lot of changes. The pier was designed for entertaining the visitors of Brighton, and it helped, but after World War Ⅱ the popularity declined and the pier needed to be entirely closed in 1974 for safety reasons. Nobody wanted to buy the pier so it fell into disrepair and it got even worse over next years. The West Pier Trust bought the pier for just £100 in 1983, so it got restored and reopened in 1987. In 2004 the pier was entirely destroyed after two fires and a few storms.

Did you know that the West Pier was the first pier to be Grade Ⅰ listed in Britain in 1982? Now it’s the most at risk Grade Ⅰ listed building in the UK. But it’s still the most photographed building in Brighton, because of the sculptural remains of the Pavilion.

Worthing Pier

Worthing Pier

Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, the 960 ft long pleasure pier opened in 1862. Over the years the pier had to be rebuilt because of several fires or storms, but also because it was being blown up by high explosives.
In 1898, when there was a grand opening after a complete reconstruction because the towns politicians and businessmen were thinking, that the pier was hardly grand enough to mark the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, they were treated Viscount Hampden by one of Queen’s representative.
And in 1940, during World War Ⅱ, a hole was blown into the pier to stop it being used as a landing point for an enemy attack.
Today the Pavilion theatre sits at the northern end of the pier and on the southern end the pavilion has recently been renovated into a café, after having been a night club for several years.

Fun Fact: In the 90s the Pier was really popular among indie fans after it was featured on the front cover of the band Gene’s album To See the Light.

South Parade Pier in Portsmouth

The pier, which was designed by R. Gale and was started to build in 1878, was opened in 1879 by Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar. Until today the pier has been destroyed by fire three times. One fire was in 1974 during the making of the film ‘Tommy’ by Ken Russel. In one scene with Oliver Reed you can clearly see the smoke. Many famous names have performed on the South Parade Pier, like Frankie Howerd, Peter Sellers, David Bowie or Genesis. And the pier also appeared in an episode of Mr. Bean entitled “Mind the Baby Mr. Bean”.
The in 2017 reopened pier is now an amusement arcade and food outlet.

Our Portsmouth Group

Our Isle of Wight Group

Sandown Pier of the Isle of Wight

The 360 ft long pier was opened in 1879. In 1895 the pier was extended to 875 ft with a landing stage for passenger steamers and a pavilion was also built on the pier. In 1965, when Louis Mountbatten was installed as Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ and Prince Philip toured the Island and at the end of the tour the Queen attended a ceremony at the pavilion.

Afterwards the pier underwent major renovations and alterations, but it was reopened in 1973.
Today the Sandown Pier still hosts an amusement arcade, many bars and a café and it still remains popular with fishermen, tourists and those who want to do a seaside cruise.

The whole video to show you the result will be uploaded to our MyCharleston YouTube site and Facebook site, when it’s ready. So, stay tuned!

Review: Also Festival 2018

You know the summer has arrived when you head off to your first festival. Last week we went to Also Festival to teach the Charleston. Never heard of Also? Its’ a small festival with big ideas in Warwickshire, created to get ideas in front of people and to stimulate new thinking. If that sounds like a festival for the middle class I would say it’s more for why-the-hell-not types. 

MyCharleston, Also Festival 2018

The setting was beautiful, as was the weather in fact the weather was almost too good for dancing around so I didn’t expect a great turn out. However before teaching the Charleston I was asked if I could go into the main bar and teach the Hand Jive and the Bunny Hop. I’d never actually heard of the Bunny Hop and so my research took me to Youtube where I found hilarious archive footage of men in suits, dancing around TV studio’s to this slightly ridiculous choreography, well worth a watch! 

When I entered the bar it was incredible hot and people were sat listening to a really interesting talk about the music industry. I’m not often intimidated but I really didn’t know how easily I could switch the mood and get everyone up and dancing. Luckily the Hand Jive can be done sat down so I eased people in and then got them up and dancing as I added the dance intro featured in Greece. Once I people standing I introduced the Bunny Hop and before I knew it we had a conga line of little rabbits hopping round the bar, it was brilliant! 

The Charleston workshop went down a treat, with a good thirty people joining in the workshop. The final a routine was so good we actually drew an audience! 

Work done (best job ever) we joined in the festival and were entertained by illusionists, choirs, a Pina Bausch Belkin line, and more. For me this Festival was the perfect size with just under a thousand people, however we managed to loose our friends as we got swept up in all the fun. 

MyCharleston dancers: Fiona and her husband Tom

The next day we had a very civilized breakfast, after using the incredible clean facilities, no Portaloos at this festival wohoo! We just had time to take in a talk before hitting the road. We had been browsing the book shop (yes they had a book shop) and were intrigued by a book called A New Map of Wonders by Caspar Henderson. The talk was just starting and it was really helped me connect with the premise of Also Festival by taking this opportunity to really think about wonder as an experience. I really warmed to the author Caspar Henderson he was endearingly humble and his ideas made me feel more hopeful about the world in which we live. The discussion was inspiring as not only did it make think more about this wonderful emotion, wonder! It also stimulated me to think about how I might nurture it in my life. Also definitely worked its magic on me and I would highly recommend it to anyone. 

Blog by: Fiona Ring

Strictly Misbehaving

Picture the scene: you’re at work; you step out from behind your desk, put on some leggings and make your way through the hallowed halls of the Hilton to an empty function room.

Inma and Rowena in rehearsals with Fiona.

There, you’re met by a moonlighting flapper girl in 21st century lycra and a bluetooth speaker to boot. Not your average morning at work.

That flapper girl is me, Rowena from Savoy Kicks, and that stupendous individual in the leggings is Inma - a most excellent employee of the Hilton Brighton Metropole. And that scene really happened a few weeks ago.

We got together for our first Strictly Charleston rehearsal after Inma had volunteered to take part in MyCharleston’s charity ‘Strictly Charleston’ competition at the MyCharleston Speakeasy in Brighton Fringe. On that first day, we spent two hours jumping around an enormous function room, trying out the signature Charleston swivel on the corporate carpets (tricky!), and belly laughing our way through all the basic moves. Phew!

Inma was full of enthusiasm that day, and as I write, after three two-hour rehearsals together, her enthusiasm for Charleston has only grown. She is (or should I say ‘was’!) a total beginner dance-wise, so I’ve been bowled over my how well she’s taken to the Charleston and how quickly she’s picked up the steps.

Rowena and Inma at the Hilton

The routine we’ve been working on is all about your classic cheeky flappers. I chose the song ‘Let’s Misbehave’ from Anything Goes to fit the ‘musicals’ theme for the competition, and decided to spin it from the romantic narrative in the show to a fun girl power narrative, where two flapper friends get together to dance, have fun, and yes, you’ve guessed it, misbehave!

After hours of choreography and rehearsals, we now have a full routine which just needs some ‘drilling and polishing’ (as they say in the biz), before the big day. The excitement is building!

I’m so proud of Inma for jumping far outside her comfort zone, getting stuck in, and challenging herself to learn something new, all for a good cause. She’s a superstar and, regardless of the outcome of the competition, she’s the winner in my eyes.

Keep an eye on the Savoy Kicks and MyCharleston Instagram accounts to get live updates from the rehearsals as we countdown to the Speakeasy - we hope to see you there!

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Giving back to the community

Dance in Brighton is about to boom, with a dedicated dance space being created in what used to be the Old Market, Circus Street. With cranes already dominating the skyline, South East Dance are working hard to engage people from the local Tarner community through The Welcome Project, their 3 year programme of dance activity in the lead up to the opening of The Dance Space.

Tarner is a little known and historically under-privileged area tucked between the Amex building, Planet India and the Setting Sun pub. So MyCharleston boldly went where no Charleston teachers have gone to before: The Brighton unemployed families project to surprise them with a pop-up Charleston dance class.

We had no idea how well our gorilla tactics would go down, especially as it was straight after lunch! But as people began to finish eating, we introduced ourselves and to our delight everyone stood up when requested. The group seemed genuinely happy to give Charleston a go and you can’t ask for more than that.

I don’t know if it’s down to the music or the dance but there is something about Charleston that always seems to put a smile on people’s faces. We had entered the building feeling very nervous and left with that life affirming feeling, everyone had been welcoming and enthusiastic. As to there dancing abilities, we were super impressed! not only did they master the Charleston, they even learnt a short routine, which they danced with energy and style.

Charleston is such a happy dance and it’s easy for beginners to pick-up. Over the years students have told us how dance has helped them with anxiety, confidence and social interaction. I know I am evangelical about the power of dance but I really believe this project by South East dance will bring a real gift to the Tarner community.

How to Have the Perfect First Dance

When I was a little girl, I had images of myself and my husband doing a beautiful waltz as our first dance for our wedding.  Unfortunately, as the date of our wedding started to get closer I was reminded that my husband-to-be had two left feet and had never danced in his life. My aspirations of a vienze waltz worthy of the strictly final flew out the window.

However, Michael knew how important dance was to me and suggested that we did a surprise Charleston dance as our first dance as our guests would never suspect it. I was already taking on  huge craft project by making all the decorations and stationary for the wedding, I was not sure that I also had time to teach him to dance. 

To help Mike get the basic moves mastered, I put him in the trusty hands of Elena and Fiona and he attended the beginners Charleston course with MyCharleston. He quickly realised why I love the Charleston so much and I was impressed with how quickly he picked up the moves.

I caught him practising his Charleston everywhere, while doing the washing up, in the garden, brushing his teeth, you name it he was charlestoning. Not only did he perfect the basic Charleston, he was also doing the 1930s Charleston too! 

We practised in our living room, which at the time was filled with craft projects for the wedding, so we didn’t have much space. When it was sunny, we pracised in the garden, and our neighbours must have thought we were crazy.  Rehearsing together was so much fun, and was easily one of my favourite parts of wedding planning. We laughed so much and it was a great way to de-stress from all the difficult parts of wedding planning.

As the wedding drew closer, Mike started to get a bit nervous but I knew he was going to be great. The only people that knew about the first dance were the girls from Savoy Kicks, MyCharleston's dance troupe and I was so pleased that we had managed to keep it secret. 

Our first dance was one of our favourite parts of the wedding. The Charleston is the a perfect dance for us as it is silly and fun, and we just had such a great time performing it. Our guests were so surprised and they were all cheering and clapping the whole way through. As soon as we started Charlestoning, I could hear my sister scream, it was lovely to see our guests so happy.  When we did the lift in the middle of the routine, our friends and family all went wild.

We did our Charleston dance to ‘Yes sir that’s my baby’ by Firehouse Five plus two as this was the music that Mike first saw me perform with Savoy Kicks. Before the Charleston, we danced to a cover of The Book of Love by Airborne Toxic Event. Mike introduced me to the band when we first got together, and this song means so much to us.

After our first dance, my friends who run the company MyCharleston got all our guests on the dance floor and taught them how to Charleston. It was incredible to see all the people we love all doing the Charleston together. It was a great way to kick off our evening celebrations. No one could use the excuse that they could not dance to avoid joining in, as if Mike could do it. Anyone could do it.

The Great Gatsby Fair takes on Bexhill this Summer

After much upset that the Bexhill Roaring 20s festival will not be running this year, Sharon Blagrove, Event Director of Bentley Fairs, has salvaged the beloved 1920s event by putting a new vintage weekender with a twist for 2018.

'My first thought was how everyone in the town, and those that look forward to it and visit from far and wide would miss this huge event. I decided to step up and put my own event on which ironically was being planned for another seaside location,  but with the title The Great Gatsby Fair it seemed destined for Bexhill after all, and just at the right time' 

The event is held along Bexhill seafront from the Metropole Lawns to East Parade and this years’ event will be over the whole weekend. A big celebration of the 1920's era, of people in period vintage costumes and all the song and dance acts that go with it.

There's something for everyone, with children's entertainment from 10-1 both days and nonstop music on the seafront with Morris dancers, Ukulele players, Dance school productions, Singers, jazz bands, Dixieland bands 40's singers, Dance troupes, competitions for fancy dress and Charleston dances. The Highland piper will play outside the Bexhill Sailing Club at 1.15 signalling the start of the procession towardsThe Metropole Lawns at the De la Warr Pavilion where there are ticketed afternoon parties from 2pm both days. 

Saturday 2pm-5.30pm is The Charleston Party.  Savoy Kicks will lead the way with a Charleston lesson on stage followed by a competition to find the best Charleston dancers who will win cash prizes. The Roaring 20's Orchestra will play and there are fancy dress competitions Bonnie and Clyde (with under 16'sentries too) The Best Dressed Lady and Best Dressed Gent.

Saturday evening entertainment in the large marquee with Swing and Blues bands a bar and food from 7 pm -10.30 pm Sunday Its Peaky Blinders Retro Party with fancy dress and cash prizes for the best Guys and Dolls(with under 16s entries too) and Best Dressed lady and Gent.40's singer Pete Wayre and dancing from 2-5.30. to The Hastings Stompers Jazz group & The Swing Street Orchestra Pop Up Vintage London will curate a fabulous Vintage Fair, and Food and Drink will be brought in courtesy of Food Feast South East.

It is advisable to get your tickets early for the parties. Only Adults need tickets Under 16s go in free. Go to www.thegreatgatsbyfair.co.uk