Dirty Dancing

Ever imagined yourself as Frances 'Baby' Houseman from Dirty Dancing? Then a new dance class maybe right up your street

We've all done it. A quiet night in, a couple of glasses of chardonnay and a moments inspiration. Before you know it, you're dancing round the living room…. It's the 1960's, you're 16 years old, and you're having the time of your life.

The class
On September 28th Dirty Dancing the Musical opens, to sell-out audiences at London's Aldwych Theatre. In celebration of this I headed down to Danceworks Studio to attend a new class, Theatrical Jazz. Using all the favourite songs from those much loved musicals and movies Faye Quinney teaches an hour long class comprising of a full warm-up followed by a choreographed routine.

The experience is a must for everyone, from the Broadway enthusiast to those who just want to have a bit of a laugh and a sing-along whilst doing some exercise. Singing is not technically part of the Theatrical Jazz class experience but I defy anyone to attend and not at least have a little hum underneath their breath.

We kicked off with a good warm up and full body stretch, all to the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing. Quiet humming abandoned after about 2 minutes I was already in full song. It seems I just can't help myself.

The next stage was to do some work on dance technique. Each week Faye will work through a different jazz step, typically one that will feature in the routine learnt later in the class. Pirouettes were the order of the day. Multiple rotations later I was feeling slightly queasy, a little disorientated but ultimately ready to take the next step. Bring on the routine.

Before we started Faye gave us a brief introduction to the musical that the song was taken from, the story and the message of the song and dance. This week we were going to be dancing to “Don't stop me now” from Ben Elton's We will Rock you: The Musical. The routine was broken down step by step, then built upon. As the routine fits in with the words of the song (again, singing optional) it's surprisingly easy to remember, particularly as you repeat the routine many times.

After 30 minutes I can't say I had all the steps sorted but I can say I'd learnt a few things and most definitely had a great time. The class was not too crowded and not at all intimidating. Faye runs the class with an abundance of energy and a friendly smile for everyone, even on a sweaty Saturday afternoon in September.

My intention was to mirror Baby's first steps and metamorphosize into an all singing all dancing superstar. This might not have been 100 percent achieved, but I'm definitely closer than I was and the next time I find myself dancing around the living room to the illustrious sound of Ronettes I'll certainly be adding a few new moves to my routine.

Theatrical Jazz takes place at Danceworks, Balderton St, London (just opposite Selfridges) at 13:15 on Saturday. See www.danceworks.co.uk for full class listings and prices.

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