Jive Knight

Miley Cyrus knows how to cheer herself up! Flowers is a very popular song right now, listing all the good things Miley can do when she doesn’t have a partner. Are you in that situation (or have a partner who doesn’t want to take you dancing) and would love to ‘take yourself dancing’ but don’t know where to go? Modern Jive is a fun, easy-to learn style with a great social atmosphere. It’s a partner dance, but we move around in the classes, and almost everyone swaps partners with every track, so you don’t need to bring a partner. You’ll soon get to know plenty of people there. Don’t be put off by the high-energy ballroom jive you see on Strictly – this slows things down considerably. ‘Flowers’ is a song that we’re dancing to a lot lately, so that gives you an idea of the kind of tempo we are comfortable with. No need to make appointments, beginners lessons start at 7.30-7.40ish on Tuesday nights at BoogieNightz Jive (Eckington Civic Centre) or Ceroc (Tapton Hall, Fulwood), or Wednesday nights at Blitz Jive (Crookes Social Club, Mulehouse Lane). It’s the same style whatever the name, and we all go to each others’ freestyles on Friday or Saturday nights. Blitz is my favourite – on an average week we have more dancers and I think better dancers, though there are good dancers at all three. It’s Spring, and an ideal time to shake off that winter hibernation and go out dancing. See you on the dancefloor soon!

Strictly's back, and Sheffield's Modern Jive evenings haven't gone away! All the above still applies, and in this age of inflation it's good to know that the prices haven't risen - It's still £8 at Blitz and Boogie Nightz, and £9 at Ceroc. (And that's for two lessons and two hours of freestyle dancing!) Bar prices are at social club levels, not city-centre pub prices, so it's a good night out at reasonable prices. (And you don't drink much anyway, you're on your feet dancing most of the time.) Blitz still offers a voucher for four free evenings when pay for your first, Ceroc's first-timer offer has changed to 'pay £30, get your £3 life membership and 6 evenings' admission'. I don't know what Boogie Nightz' current beginners' offer is. Best of all, all three venues still have the same inclusive, sociable atmosphere and nice people who will get you party-ready in time to show off your moves at this year's Christmas events. (Hope it's not too early for the C word!) Ceroc, Boogie Nightz, and City Limits Dance Studios have regular monthly freestyles, where there are no lessons, just three and a half hours of dancing with dancers from both local venues and further away. So as the thread title says - Staaart Dancing!

Interested in seeing some 15th-century combat action? At the Central Library this Sunday, come and join us for a demonstration of the weapons and armour of the Wars of the Roses: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.co.uk%2Fe%2Fthe-arms-and-armour-of-the-wars-of-the-roses-a-talk-and-demonstration-tickets-516777374037%3Faff%3Debdsoporgprofile%26fbclid%3DIwAR15mkxx4rPNm6vSFZhhXsG81RUhYzZ_DIQjdbwb5myi-evQzaC2164gDBI&h=AT2U84gC_34PkIZBKQIFEa4IyJeAKAYKHOP3K7K0eNa4MoQ6JKP4UaA4IMXqzzm2qCnMoKbOk-7bTBET7wx2oMycSJsx-ZNa9ZQQe2g6XGVvbBpDwNuPlC1rjZltzMaV9aP5&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT0JA8a1H4bL47WPUpo0Yv7dC0KkBb0Ekdw8wVYJKJxdxeVvxJO5eIKItVZU4pRFBZMZWxg4s45YqbN9h34iWeUbS-Hy5cVofHm6VDDofB4lF4IDk_G04yptJOyzd8rluhxttC2suXCkYkzfGYM And if you like what you see, why not join us? We are Knights In Battle, a Sheffield-based medieval re-enactment group: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=0d599f9806d89e52JmltdHM9MTY3OTE4NDAwMCZpZ3VpZD0wN2ZkMTBkNS03YWFlLTY3M2QtMDEyNy0wMmJmN2I5NjY2NzYmaW5zaWQ9NTE2OQ&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=07fd10d5-7aae-673d-0127-02bf7b966676&psq=knights+in+battle.com&u=a1aHR0cDovL2tuaWdodHNpbmJhdHRsZS5jb20v&ntb=1 New members always welcome.

Tango in the Peaks, every Thursday night at St Andrew's Church on Upper Hanover Street, beginners' lessons start qt 7:00pm, or Sunday at 3:30pm at Cubana in Leopold Square. Tango in the Peaks - Sheffield | Facebook

Here's your friendly annual reminder that there's never a better time to learn to dance than right now! You'll be dancefloor-ready in time for the Christmas parties, and with a whole swathe of new friends under your belt as a bonus! Ceroc at Tapton Hall and Boogienightz Jive at Eckington Civic Centre are on Tuesday nights. Blitz is at Crookes Social Club (Mulehouse Road) on Wednesdays. Beginner classes for each of them start at 7:30pm. See you on the dance-floor!

Going back to the original question, Crookes WMC is now Crookes Social Club (on Mulehouse Road) and regularly presents live acts. I'm there every Wednesday night dancing Modern Jive , a brilliant style of partner dancing that you don't need to bring a partner for as everyone dances with multiple partners throughout the evening. Look up Blitz Jive for more details.

Good news everyone - Strictly is back and so are Modern Jive evenings at Blitz, Ceroc, and Boogienightz Jive! If lockdown's left you isolated and looking for something new to do, get your dancing shoes* on and start learning the easiest style of partner dance there is. Get moving, get sociable, and find yourself smiling a lot. *No need to splash out on special dancing shoes - you can dance in anything, but smooth soles you can spin in are best.

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It's an excellent low-intensity low-impact way to keep fit. How many people do you know who go to the gym and exercise for three hours at a time? But people think nothing of dancing for three hours in an evening. BBC Breakfast this morning covered a story in one of the papers about a new scientific finding that just 35 minutes of low-intensity exercise - and it specifically mentioned dancing - reduces the risk of depression by 17%. And that's before you take into account the social side of it - at Modern Jive you dance with anyone, and a lot of people build good friendships and even relationships on the dancefloor.

Strictly's back and looking like it's going to be a great season. Is this the year you're going to Staaart Dancing? Easy Jive's class has moved to Chesterfield, but the other venues listed above are still running Modern Jive classes on those nights at the same venues. Start learning now and you'll be fab-u-lous dancers by the Christmas party season.

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Can't help with step or aerobics, but why not try modern jive dancing at Blitz (at Crookes Social Club on Mulehouse Lane S10)? It's a full evening of 'stepping' exercise as well as a lot of fun and a good social scene. Come and join us any Wednesday - beginners' class starts at 7.30pm.

Most of the dancers are in the 40-65 range, and there's more above that range than below it. Sadly that seems to be normal in the North - modern jive attracts a younger audience down South for no apparent reason.