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.

And yes, it's Strictly season again - will you be up to wowing everyone with your skills by Christmas party season? (Most women take about six lessons to become competent Modern Jive dancers, men take a bit longer because we lead so have to think about what comes next as well as what we're doing!) Blitz confirmed last night that beginners pay for their first night as usual, and get a voucher for your next four sessions free. Ceroc's offer is pay for 3 plus membership (total £26) and get voucher for entry for another 5 (worth £40).

This weekend (Sat 30th June & Sun 1st July) local medieval re-enactment group Knights In Battle are performing at the Bishops' House. Come and see us - there are combat displays in the gardens, and Living History inside the house from 11am - 3pm. Admission is £3 per adult, accompanied children free. (No dogs in the house, please.) As well as seeing our performances you can find out more about re-enactment and handle our armour, weapons, and equipment. Bishops' House is at the top of Meersbrook Park, Lees Hall Ave, Sheffield S8 9NA.

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Really, DC? All boys love football? All girls love netball? I wonder what that makes me, since I never enjoyed either. (OK, to be fair, I've never tried netball.) Believe me, since I speak from my own experience: being forced into sports they don't enjoy really puts kids off exercise. Don't do it. And you clearly missed a major point of the original post: "...exercise for exercise’s sake is not fun. You need to do something you enjoy for its own sake." A good smartwatch/fitness tracker should recognise dance steps as steps, Mariaco. After all, they are steps - it's just that some of them are backwards! Having said that, my girlfriend's doesn't always, but then it doesn't recognise most of the flights of stairs she climbs in a day either!

There is bound to be a minority of people who do have the motivation to do exercise, and to keep it up for months or years. But as the programme reported, most people find the social aspect a major part of motivation. Look around you for plenty of examples: people talking about or looking for gym buddies, running partners, walking/cycling groups, 'Zumba with the girls'... My original post said 'if you've already stopped going to the gym...' and that's something you hear a lot of, and who it was directed towards: people who start out with good intentions, but don't keep them up. It sounds like you or a close friend have had a bad experience, Tup, and you or they have my sympathy, but I can assure you that dancing's not about 'motives that are not platonic'. Most dancers I know have good, stable relationships, whether their partner is also a dancer or not. Others (including me) started dancing to meet someone, and having done so we continue to dance because it is pleasurable in itself. And finally, yes I know some people whose relationships broke down when they met someone through dancing. But that happens whatever people do in the world: if they meet someone, there's a chance they will fall for them: at work, in the gym, waiting around to pick up the kids from football practice... The fact that you mention that these friends were looking for "attention" tells me that they were feeling neglected in their relationship, taken for granted, and therefore the relationship was over before they went out dancing.

I’ve just watched ‘The Truth About Getting Fit’ on the BBC i-player. After rigorous scientific investigation, it agreed with several other high-quality health programmes in recent years: the best way to get fit is to take up dancing. It’s not just physical exercise, it’s mental exercise too. It trains your mind to multi-task, working out what move to do next while actually doing the current one and keeping in time to the music. The programme also made the point that the reason people don’t keep up their gym memberships is because (unless you get ‘runner’s bliss’) exercise for exercise’s sake is not fun. You need to do something you enjoy for its own sake. And it’s better to do things with friends, as the social aspect reinforces your motivation. There isn’t much that’s more fun and sociable than dancing. So if you’ve already stopped going to that gym you joined after Christmas, come Modern Jive dancing instead. It’s the easiest style to learn and you can do it to any music, so it’s great for dancing at parties. Don’t worry if you think you have two left feet: chances are your previous experiences are from being pitched in at the deep end with something with complex footwork. Modern Jive keeps it all simple, and you’ll develop the ability to follow the rhythm naturally and easily. Best places to learn are Blitz at Crookes Social Club (Mulehouse Road) on Wednesdays, or Boogie Nightz Jive at Eckington Civic Centre on Tuesdays. Both are very welcoming to beginners (no partner necessary), and many dancers go to both places. Come along and give it a try.

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Sounds as if Modern Jive will fit your needs perfectly. It is active, so will replace the exercise element of your badminton, but low-impact so it won't put too much strain on your knee. It's sociable as you meet and dance with everyone in the classes, then usually switch partners throughout the freestyle parts of the evening, but there's no commitment to more - you can dance with someone for one track, say thank you and walk away. It's not drinking culture - though it's usually in licensed premises (social clubs) most people are on soft drinks as they are more refreshing when you're dancing. It is danced to any kind of music so if you are into music you will probably find some tracks that you enjoy more than others. I recommend Blitz http://www.blitzjive.com at Crookes Social Club as it's the biggest and best-attended locally (which gives you the widest choice of partners), but I've heard good things about boogie-nightz jive at Eckington Civic Centre (http://www.uk-jive.co.uk). /org-details.asp?OrgID=1111 too.

Yes, it’s Strictly time again, and you’d love to be able to dance, or to have somewhere to go to have a good time that isn’t a pub or nightclub. Perhaps you don’t have a partner who will dance with you? You need Modern Jive. It’s a fab – u – lous easy-to-learn dance style that fits any type of music. Every class evening starts with a lesson aimed at complete beginners. It’s a partner dance but you don’t need to bring a partner. We all move around in both the classes and the freestyle sections, so there’s no need to worry about being nervous about approaching strangers. A smile and an extended hand is all you need to get a dance. You will get to know everyone at least a little bit, and we’re welcoming people who will let you into our great social life. Venues in Sheffield: Monday night: Easy Dance, Woodseats WMC. Tuesday: Ceroc at Tapton Hall, and Boogie Nightz at Eckington Civic Centre. Wednesday: Blitz at Crookes Social Club. Personally, I think Blitz is best because it has the most dancers (and therefore the good dancers go there for the best chance of finding other good dancers), but you can mix and match to find your favourite. Apart from calling a few of the moves by different names, we all dance the same style. See you on the dancefloor soon!

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