by Honey-Lee

Friday 12th March to Sunday 14th March saw MoveIt return to Kensington Olympia for the 5th year of this all-things-dance conference. This year I bit the bullet and signed myself up for two of the three days (taking along Sharon on the Saturday, and seeing some familiar faces at the event) and squeezed in two seminars, NINE workshops and two stage shows – by Sunday morning I could barely move!

However I spent an exciting two days catching up on the latest developments in dance, along with trying my hand at some styles I had never done before and gathering ideas for moves and classes for all DTNA students. I attended: Swing meets Hip-Hop, American Smooth, Irish Step, Flamenco, Body Conditioning and flexibility, Cha Cha Funk, Argentine Tango, Sequence Dancing and Burlesque workshops and seminars on “changes to professional qualifications” and “the use of the internet”.

General impressions

Although the ‘face’ of MoveIt 2010 was Erin Boag, the focus was (possibly unsurprisingly) very much on street dance and hip-hop after the successes of groups like Flawless and Diversity and the release of the first 3D dance movie later this year.

Partner dances were not as well represented this year at MoveIt compared to previous years, but there were plenty of workshops from beginner level in Ballroom, Latin, Sequence, Argentine Tango, Rock and Roll and American Smooth. Usually these were presented with some tie-in to Strictly, either in the title, or using the professional dancers or choreographers from the shows.

There were lots and lots of stageshows – mostly representing the work of the big dance colleges such as Urdang, but also showcasing a particular style such as ballroom, or ballet. Mostly these shows were hip–hop based.

Music generally was of a more hip-hop feel with pounding baselines but given the style of workshops I attended it was surprising that only three didn’t use this style of music and in both cases I can think of more modern tracks that could have been used, though not hip-hop based, and I understand why the traditional music was used in the context of those workshops.

This fascination with all things street filtered through to the fashions with even ballet wear getting a distinct hip-hop twist (I even saw hoodies with “I does Ballet” in diamante) and dance shoes generally took on a more ‘street’ vibe.

I picked up my own body weight in flyers and leaflets and booklets... ok, not strictly true, it was 12lbs (or 5.45kg!) and that wasn’t including all the prospectus’ for dance schools and colleges! I now need to go through all the flyers and work out what’s useful to pass on to you, but that will take some time – so keep an eye on the links pages for updates there!

Next year I will be attending again – and hope to do at least two days again. I’ll be posting on the website as soon as details become available for dates and workshop tickets go on sale.