Staaart Dancing - it's Strictly time!

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!

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).

What is the mix of ages like at Blitz?

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.

Thanks for the reply. That age mix suits me so nothing sad about that in my mind.

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.

They say it’s a good way to keep fit.

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.

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.

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!

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!