The Smooth Lounge at Maidstone - Friday 16th November

In a nutshell......

Teachers - Jim & Nicky teaching a Smooth Jive class at 8.15pm

DJ - John Miller (Great Bookham) a specialist in swing, blues, modern jive and tango music

Dancing til 11.45pm

dancers from many different areas and clubs to dance with

Cool air fans - candlelit atmosphere - chocolates

£9 entry (applies all night)

here's the address:

The Corn Exchange (back of Hazlitt Theatre), Earl Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1PL

(park in Fremlin Walk car park)

Venue link

Blues Class at Dartford TONIGHT! with Paul & Nicky

"Blues Dance enables intense individuality in expressing the music. It really is all about communication, emphasizing that the music, not the dancer, leads the dance; we are simply the interpreters. Blues Dance demonstrates the passion of the entire range of human emotions, not just the sensual ones. When done well, Blues Dancing can be one of the most rewarding and indescribable experiences any level of dancer can have" a quote from www.bluesdance.org.uk

Blues dancing can take your dancing to another level, it enables you to dance to slower types of music and learn musicality in the process.

We're taking it back to basics by teaching a 4 move routine with slinky hip rolls and stylish arm and footwork to help you get in the Bluesy mood.

DJ Steve Strong will incorporate some more blues style tracks throughout the night to help you get in the mood.

See you at Dartford tonight!

Happy Birthday

Wishing Nicky (Dance Riviera Director) a very happy birthday from all your friends at Dance Riviera.

x

Dartford - Thursday - Birthday Celebrations and 70s Cabaret

That's right, it's Nicky's birthday on Friday, so Thursday's going to be celebration night with cake and a 70s cabaret. A huge bunch of us are going to Party Weekender's Warmwell dance weekend and on Sunday night it's fancy dress night. Not only do we have to dress up, but lots of dance groups put their own little show on - we had to follow suit :-)

It may not be the best, but we've had a wonderful time doing it.

Come and see us perform it this Thursday at Dartford - please be kind to our egos and give us a massive applause at the end :-)

Double Trouble Class - Crayford - Wednesday 7th Nov

Clem & Tracy & Val will be teaching a Double Trouble class (that's one leader and two followers! at Crayford this Wednesday 7th November. They went down a storm at Herne Bay a few weeks ago - lots of people were doing it in freestyle - which is always nice to see.

So, get yourself down to Crayford for a great night of dancing and music by DJ Dirty D.

Crayford venue details

Happy Birthday John

Happy Birthday John (or Nicky's Dad :-), it's his birthday today. Have a wonderful day and he'll be coming to Warmwell, so you can wish him his happy returns then.

Oops! There's a leans/dips class at Herne Bay TONIGHT - Thursday

My fault! I put on the rota for Keith & Fran to do a leans/dips class tonight at Herne Bay, so they've prepared for it, but I told everyone on the email/flyers/blog that it was for next week!

So, Keith's going to do two lots of leans/dips classes, so no-one gets left out :-)

Thanks Flash!

Jim & I will see everyone else at Dartford tonight, DJ Dirty D (that's Dwain to everyone who doesn't know it!) will be spinning the discs.

Nicky x

Halloween came to Crayford last night...

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to Christine, Sarah, Terry, Cheryl and any other helpers for all their hard work last night at Crayford venue. The hall looked fantastic - very scary and the atmosphere sizzled with scary costumes; trick or treating and spooky happenings!

A great time was had by all.

Tracy x

Dartford's Buzz is back!

Our Halloween Ball at Dartford was a complete smash hit last night! Massive thanks to everyone that dressed up, it really made the night extra special.

We're still waiting for our Herne Bay pictures but they will be up and the website as soon as we get them.

Everyone was commenting on the buzz that Dartford has, hopefully you enjoyed yourselves too, please comment on this blog and let us know how you enjoyed it.

DJ Steve Strong played a great set and got lots of compliments, so well done Steve.

Nicky

p.s., if you're going to Crayford next Wednesday (31st October), it's another Halloween night, so get those outfits out again. Thanks to Christine and others for doing the decorations etc next week.

Happy Birthday to our very own Lara Croft!

Affectionately nicknamed Lara Croft (by Jim), aka, Laura - Dance Coach at Dartford is celebrating her birthday today. Hope you have a wonderful day love!

(for those of you who are trying to place Laura, she'll be in the red hotpants for our Halloween Ball on Thursday - by massive request!)

Nicky x

TONIGHT Rochester Opening Delayed

Halloween Balls this Thursday 25th October

We know some of you are new to Dance Riviera and may feel silly dressing up, or may be thinking you'll be the only ones, but believe us, you won't be!

We at Dance Riviera, like to make an effort every now and then with special themed nights and a lot of dancers feel the same way. It's not compulsory to dress up but it does add a certain special something to the night's atmosphere.

Same price on the door as usual (£7) and we'll be providing some spooky tunes, as well as some sweet treats.

Jim & Nicky with DJ Steve Strong will be at Dartford and Clem & Tracy with DJ Flash will be at Herne Bay.

See ya there!

Cruising along......

Jim & I recently went on holiday with teachers Keith & Fran, and Pete & Jill on a cruise around the Canary Islands. It was for 10 days and we had a fabulous time. The boat is one of the biggest in the world and it has to be seen to be believed.

For those that have never cruised before, it's a fantastic way of seeing lots of different places, be entertained by fantastic singers, dancers, ice skating shows, live music and other variety acts, PLUS, you get fed 24-7 (perhaps not so good for the waistline!).

We'll definitely do another cruise at some point. Let us know if you've been cruising and what you thought of it. We went with Royal Carribean and we hear they're the best.

Jim & Nicky

Special Dartford tonight!

Birthday Girl Celebrations......

It's Dance Coach Cheryl's special birthday on Saturday and there'll be some special celebrations going on tonight at Dartford, so come along and help her celebrate in style.

DJ Jules from Brighton's back......

Lots of good feedback from our guest DJ Jules from Brighton, he's back this week to play for your listening and dancing enjoyment.

Jim & Nicky back from hols......

After a 10 day cruise, Jim & Nicky are back in the real world and looking forward to dancing their socks off (to lose the extra few pounds we put on :-), so we look forward to seeing all tonight.

Come and Dance on Saturday in Dartford - 12noon - 2pm

Hi everyone

How about showing some new people what Smooth Jive's all about by dancing with us in Dartford's Orchard Shopping Centre this Saturday 20th October between 12noon and 2pm in the East Mall (outside Boots). It's an indoor shopping centre, so no excuses about being too cold to dance!

click below for the flyer. Please email Nicky on info@danceriviera.com to let us know if you're coming along - we need lots of dancers! Get a FREE entry ticket as a thank you.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Please note that unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, the new venue at Rochester will not be opening on October 23rd.
This is because the venue is a new-build and will not be ready by that date.
We will be opening later this year and will let you know the date as soon as we have it confirmed.

Strictly Come Dancing

Fourteen celebrities, fourteen professionals....one goal!

So are we all glued to the TV every saturday and sunday nights to watch this great mix of dancing; bad Bruce Forsyth jokes and celebrity smooze?!

I know I am!

As the show progresses, let me know who you are voting for and why....

Celebrity Strictly Come Dancing

What's got four former soap stars, one ex-footballer and more over-ambitious TV presenters than you could shake a stick at? It's this year's Strictly Come Dancing line-up, of course!

This years contestants are:-

Kelly Brook - Model, Acress and TV Presenter.
Dancing with Brendan Cole

Alesha Dixon - Singer with former band Mis-Teeq, and TV Presenter.
Dancing with Matthew Cutler

Gabby Logan - BBC Sport Presenter, married to rugby star Kenny Logan.
Dancing with James Jordan

Kate Garraway - TV Journalist, co-hosts ITV1's GMTV.
Dancing with Anton Du Beke.

Letitia Dean - Actress, best known as Sharon Watts in Eastenders.
Dancing with Darren Bennet.

Penny Lancaster-Stewart - Model and Photographer, married to rock star Rod Stewart.
Dancing with Ian Waite.

Stephanie Beacham - Actress, starred alongside Marlon Brando, Ava Gardener and most recently starred in Bad Girls.
Dancing with Vincent Simone.

Brian Capron - Actor, played Richard Hillman in Coronation Street.
Dancing with Karen Hardy.

Dominic Littlewood - Presenter of 'to Buy or Not to Buy' on BBC 1.
Dancing with Lilia Kopylova.

Gethlin Jones - TV Presenter of CBBC's Blue Peter.
Dancing with Camilla Dallerup.

John Barnes - Footballer, Played for Liverpool and England.
Dancing with Nicole Cutler.

Kenny Logan - Former Scottish International rugby Star. Married to Gabby Logan.
Dancing with Ola Jordan.

Matt Di Angelo - Actor, plays Deano Wicks in Eastenders.
Dancing with Flavia Cacace.

Willie Thorne - Former Snooker Champion and Commentator.
Dancing with Erin Boag

Strictly Come Dancing starts tonight, 6PM on BBC1

The Jive Aces this Thursday at Dartford

click to enlarge

We hope to see you there for this special night. At Dance Riviera we aim to give you variety with teachers, DJs and live music every now and then. We hope you'll continue to support these nights. See you Thursday.

Nicky x

Compliment for Swanley

Just got this email from Tony Still.......

Just thought you'd like to know, tonight has been one of the best nights dancing I've had for a long time, Pete and Jill did a good intermediate lesson, good moves and a lot of fun as well.....and Gazza played one of the best sets I've heard for a long time....everybody wanted to be up and dancing all night, a real good nights dancing like I remember when I first started.

I have had so many people say to me tonight how good the music has been, I went and told Gazza I thought he'd played a great set and that others had complimented him.

Fantastic, so glad that you had a good time. We always aim to give people the best night we can and it's nice to be complimented on it.

Nicky

Smooth Lounge this Friday - 21st September

The last two Smooth Lounges have been so well received for the teaching, music and dancers that come along to it. The good thing is that whether you dance pure modern jive, or you add some smooth jive, blues, west coast swing or tango into your dancing, you'll all be able to dance to our smooth lounge music.

Here are some of the comments we've received.......

"Your Smooth Lounge is the best night of the month". John

"Can we just aplaud you for making this such a fantastic and different night, we've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves". Angie

"First time to this type of night and we've had a brilliant time, we'll be back next month". Phil & Susie

"John Miller played such a fantastic set, get him back!". Barry

"What a wonderful evening of music by John Miller at the smooth lounge! We didn't want to sit down. It was a great evening". Angela & John

"It's about time someone played the popular Camber type music and not pop all night". Steven G

This goes to show that our regular dancers are enjoying the variety of music and dancers at the smooth lounge.

We are hoping that Ian & Mandy from Smooth Jive Fusion will be joining us to teach a lesson on Friday, however, Ian has sustained an injury over the past few weeks that's keeping him almost bedridden - if they can't come on Friday, Jim & I will teach a nice smooth jive class for ya.

Ladies......what are you wearing on Friday night? I can't decide!

Nicky

Happy Birthday Tony!

Happy Birthday to Dance Coach Tony Still (Crayford) who celebrates his 50-something birthday today :-)

Tony's been with us for over 3 years as a dancer and coach and those of you at Crayford, Swanley and Dartford will know him very well (especially as he brings those lovely big fans for you every week to Crayford).

Ladies, give him an extra special dance tonight and maybe a birthday kiss on the cheek ;-)

Have a great day Tony.

Herne Bay Festival

Just wanted to share this 'thank-you' letter I recieved from Canterbury City Council regarding the Herne Bay Festival dance busk some of you attended in August:

'Dear Tracy,
Thank you to everyone at Dance Riviera who participated in Herne Bay Festival 2007. I really enjoyed the demonstration and I hope you did too. It looked like great fun and I hope you attracted a few new members.

We received some great feedback from our Festival audience.

I look forward to working with you in the future.'

Thanks again to everyone who attended.

Happy Birthday!

Wishing Sue, Dance Coach at Crayford, a very Happy Birthday today.

Line Up for Saturday Night's School Disco

Click picture to enlarge

** Tickets still available **

Call Nicky (before 3pm on Saturday) to reserve your tickets - otherwise it's £13 on the door

** Fun Class with Jim & Nicky **
** 3 Guest DJs - Flash, Mikey and Lazy Dave **
** FREE buffet **
** Dancing til 1am **
** Fun Dancing Game with Prizes **
** all that for only £10 if you book before 3pm Saturday **

Call Now to Reserve your Ticket 08708 035503

p.s., if anyone has a schoolboy cap that would fit an unusually large head (Jim's shhh.....!), then please ring me or email info@danceriviera.com, thanks!!

Calling 12 week or less Beginners for a workshop this Sunday

CLICK BELOW

School Disco this Saturday 8th September

NEW Lemon Album Launch Party last night!

If you're familiar with "Latin Lover", "Easy Tiger" and "Suzi Q" then you know Lemon. We were invited to the launch of Eklectrik, which is a compilation soundtrack to a dirty weekend in a decadent boutique hotel by the sea!

The launch was held at South London Pacific which is a bohemian cocktail lounge and the Voodoo Trombone Quartet played a brilliant hour's set of funky, ska songs which had everyone dancing and bouncing up and down (mainly Laura! - what is that girl on?!?!?).

It was really good to see and hear a live band, we all really need to support live music more. The director of Freshly Squeezed Music, Nick Perring (Mr "Club Montepuliano" or Mr "Lemon") as we call him :-) had a great turn out for the new album and we know there's some fantastic songs (especially Batman with a Twist). We highly recommend you all listen to and buy it! Here's the link to Freshly Squeezed Music.

On a personal note, we were pleased to be able to dance to some fantastic songs that Nick put on during his DJ set, thanks!

Did you know........that Freshly Squeezed Music was formed in 2005 and has since enjoyed huge success licensing tracks to many international compilations, 5 major Hollywood films, many TV series including Ugly Betty and a Japanese TV show theme tune, ad campaigns for companies including Kelloggs, Walls, Alpha Bank and Coca Cola and as the exclusive source of all music for the latest DVD from Davina McCall.

We love this quote about the new album.......
"Completely sticks out because of it's tongue-in-cheek, bare-faced bollocks-to-you-all attitude, something that is miles away from all that is commercially viable at the moment....a big up to the label!" (Discoid Magazine, Italy)

and finally...... Freshly Squeezed are so sure anyone who hears ECLECTRIK will love it, they are giving away a mixed sampler version absolutely FREE. Download the MP3 now from www.last.fm/label/Freshly+Squeezed+Music/playlists and enjoy...

Jim & Nicky & Tracy

Broadstairs Closed this week (unexpectedly)

Happy Birthday!

A very special 'Happy Birthday' to 'Dirty' DJ Dwain.

Have a great day Dwain and girls don't forget to give him a birthday kiss next time you see him!

Jim & Nicky's "Feeling Good" routine at Dartford TONIGHT!

Learn Jim & Nicky's "Feeling Good" routine tonight at Dartford.

Lesson starts at 8.45pm (earlier than normal) and will last approx 1 hour. This routine has style, musicality and attitude!

We look forward to seeing you there tonight - don't let a little bit of rain put you off!

J&N x

Jim & Nicky at Hotshots, Hastings tonight!

We're teaching at Mike Marriner's Hotshots in Hastings tonight. We taught there last month and had such a warm welcome, we're back again!

If you live in the area, then why not drive out tonight for a dance and we'll see you on the dancefloor.

Venue details are at Mike's website here

Jim & Nicky

Date for your Diary: Dance Experience in BROADSTAIRS Saturday 1st September

Saturday 1st September in Broadstairs we have a Dance Experience between 2pm - 4pm.

Dance Experiences are a great way of showing new people what we do and encouraging them to turn up for a night and see what they think.

We need your help! Turn up and dance, hand out flyers and generally chat to people telling them what it's all about.

Wear Black & White and get a FREE entry ticket as a thank you.

Broadstairs Bandstand is by the seaside (near the Pavilion), hopefully it'll be a sunny day!

FLYER

Herne Bay Dance Experience on Saturday 18th August

Come along to the Herne Bay Festival this Saturday between 2.30pm and 4.30pm where Dance Riviera will be dancing 2 slots of 30 minutes by the ClockTower Plaza to show people what Smooth Jive is all about.

Dance Experiences are a great way of encouraging new people to join us, giving you more dancers to dance with and of course keep it fresh and exciting on the nights!

Wear Black & White if you can and don't forget your bottles of water to keep hydrated and we'll give you a FREE entry ticket as a thank you.

Click for Flyer. Click for Map

Smooth Lounge this Friday 17th August at Maidstone

Click here for Maidstone venue map......

Broadstairs Closed 15th August

Broadstairs Folk Week Friday 10th Aug.....

Broadstairs Folk Week starts Friday August 10th and runs till the following Friday. It is an event packed week which brings colour, music and dance to the town and into my life for one week each August. Sometimes the sun shines, sometimes it teems down with rain, but nothing stops that spirit of summer in my favourite seaside town. The torchlight procession to the beach on the first Saturday is always a favourite with the townspeople who turn out in thousands to line the street and watch the dancers and fire eaters, clowns and hobby horses . Carnival time!
Over the years I have participated in all sorts of dancing workshops, from European polkas and French bourrees to many different types of Morris dancing. This year I intend to try Cajun and Zydeco dancing which is fast hill-billy type dancing from the Lousianna swamps. I think the arm movements are like jive but I will let you know next week!
The best dances are the Ceilidhs , like American Square dance, but faster and wilder with a celtic element. The bands at Ceilidhs vary from the staider English country dance bands to multi instrument rock and roll bands . Whether you come to dance or listen to the band it is a laughter filled experience.
A lot of the events are free and it is quite possible to fill your day with wandering from one pub gig to the next , listening to groups and joining in choruses with fine pub singers. On the way you can pause at the various busking points to watch jugglers, dancers and in one memorable year the Rolf Harris appreciation society, all bearded, some with three legs and playing didgeridoos or stylophones. (Bet there is no one reading this who knows what a stylophone was!)
The craft tent is a place you can buy anything from a musical instrument to dance shoes , or wonderful local art and crafts. You can buy a load of tat too !

If you have never been and want more information, visit the website at http://www.broadstairsfolkweek.org.uk/

You may catch a rare site of me dancing morris !

Joe ( Broadstairs Coach)

DANCE X

As we follow the trials and tribulations of the wanna-be's from Dance X....just wanted to know who we all fancy the most....?!

I think Phoenix is gorgeous - bit of a mean, bad boy but very hot! Emmanuel is also very sexy in a latin sort of way.

So, over to you - guys and girls let us know?

Jive Hive's Charity Dance with Tango experts "Vincent and Flavia" - this Friday

'Dance For Life' Charity Dance Spectacular
Raising Money for The Cancer Care Trust
on
Sunday 12th August 2007

with
Five Dance Demonstration
by
World Champion Argentine Tango Show Dancers
'Vincent & Flavia'
as seen on BBC1's 'Strictly Come Dancing'
&
Ballroom, Latin American & Argentine Tango
music for you to dance to
from
Our Specialist Team

An Exciting Raffle, Personalised Jewellery Store,
& Special Dance Auction

at
The Winter Gardens
Fort Crescent
Margate
Kent

7pm until 11.30pm
Licensed Bar with food if required
(Please do not bring your own drinks)

Entrance £14 , £12 (Concessions for Senior Citizens) before 12th August,
£18 on the day if places are still available

Telephone The Box Office
01843 292795 or 0845 3899938

BOOKING NOW

Crew Day Out

For our Crew Day Out this year, we went to Leeds Castle in Maidstone. We had a gloriously sunny day and everyone was in good spirits. After walking through the beautiful grounds and visiting the castle itself (although some of the boys thought that castle was in the terrace bar :-), we had a competition of who could get through the Maze first and win a bottle of bubbly. Dance Coach Laura Luckhurst won!

After that we went to the picnic area and ate and drank, became merry and then proceeded to play some really stupid but fun games. These included football, orange in the tights (all I think about is Dwain and "PEACOCK"! - you had to be there to find that bit funny :-), egg & spoon race - although a yolk in the spoon doesn't count, land-ski race (thanks to Patricia), wheelbarrow race (Jim & Pete :-), piggy back race (Jim now has a bad back because he carried me!), three legged race and a funny one of the columbian race (although people really need to work on their footwork if they think they were really doing the columbian!). Needless to say, it was great fun and a fantastic bonding experience. Pictures are on the website, although here's a few piccies to remember the day by......

Click the picture below to enlarge the photos

The Official Word from Dance Riviera

Please click the flyer below to read the official word from us.....

Jive Aces in Dartford today

The Jive Aces are in Dartford today (Friday) at 12.30pm in the pedestrianised area playing, so if you fancy popping down there for a chat and dance, you know where they are!

Nicky

Latin flavour on Thursday at Herne Bay

Keith & Frances will be adding a little Latin to your Intermediate routine on Thursday 2nd August at Herne Bay. With Smooth Jive we bring in moves and style from other dances which is why it looks so good.

Keith & Fran look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Guest DJ Julian Hansford at Dartford this Thursday

We have a guest DJ, Julian Hansford from Jules Jive down in Brighton on Thursday at Dartford. Julian runs a successful independent modern jive club and is an accomplished DJ, teacher and dancer.

We look forward to welcoming Julian on Thursday and hope that you'll make it a date to be there on Thursday.

Nicky

Broadstairs is Open tonight - Wed 1st August

Broadstairs is OPEN tonight, so please tell your friends that our lovely seaside venue (with the most powerful air conditioning I've ever seen at a venue!) is open tonight.

Team Bruno takes the First Blow

The heat was on in Show Three and the battle between Bruno and Arlene - with Team Bruno taking the first blow. Arlene was ecstatic that her group won the most votes, while Bruno was forced to choose someone from his team to go home.
The Latin-themed show kicked-off with a spectacular group routine and both teams really looked like they were 'Livin' La Vida Loca'!
Team Arlene was first to perform with a routine that used chairs in an imaginative way – with the girls dancing on them and Daniel flinging one around in the air! However, Arlene was furious with the girls for forgetting their head movements and Bruno agreed saying "you didn't milk the diva moments." Arlene's choreographer Ashley praised Ife's timing commenting that "even though she's had issues with it during the week she did fab tonight."
Team Bruno was up next with a fiery routine that saw Marcquelle flipping over two of the girls in a slick move. Bruno was happy with the way his team looked but thought they could have performed better. "You have to be tighter, especially with Latin, you have to get on the beat." Bruno's choreographer Derek agreed that they were messy in places. He knew Marcquelle was not used to the Latin style and told him "Marcquelle you were out of your comfort zone but you managed to sell your performance with your personality."
In the singing round Team Arlene performed 'Balamores'. Vocal coach Joshua Alamu thought his group's voices blended well and had praise for Kalvin saying "I know you've been struggling, but tonight you nailed that harmony." Vocal coach for Team Bruno, CeCe Sammy, was not so impressed and made a remark about leading man Emanuel's vocals, but Arlene backed her Maltese man all the way saying "no way, he was not out of tune."
Bruno gave his team the thumbs up after their performance of Madonna's hit 'La Isla Bonita'. He was particularly pleased with Marie but had praise for the whole team who he said "connected with the words." CeCe was also proud of her group saying "singing is about using dynamics and you did that." But Joshua thought their two-part harmony was awful and questioned whether part of Claire's vocals really worked. Arlene was not as gentle with her criticism and commented "Claire can't even walk in time!"
The two groups performed for a final time before the result of the vote was announced. Presenter Ben Shephard revealed that Team Arlene had most votes and Team Bruno would lose a contestant.
Bruno had to make the hard decision about who to keep in his group. His first choice was Marie who he said "more than lived up to my expectations." He then chose to keep Marcquelle "the heart and soul of the group," and Phoenix "the rock." He also kept Rana and Claire in the group which left Rebecca and Daniele to fight for the last place.
Rebecca was gutted to be in the bottom two, and Daniele was lost for words, but they both had one more chance to impress Bruno who admitted it was a nightmare to have to choose between them. "I have to think of the group dynamic," he said, and gave the last place to Daniele, ending the DanceX dream for Rebecca.
Who will be next to leave the competition?

Belated Happy Birthday

Wishing Christine (Dance Coach at Swanley ...and a woman of many talents!) a very Happy Birthday for Saturday. Sorry this should have been posted on Saturday but I was too busy celebrating with you! Anyway, roll on next year's...should be a lot of fun so we can start planning now!

Love,

Dance Riviera xx

Herne Bay Dancers

An apology from Jim & myself, we were due to teach at Herne Bay last night but Jim has been ill with flu all week and just didn't have the energy to teach and dance. We know quite a few of you travelled to see us, so we're sorry we missed you, however, we know you all had a great time with Clem & Tracy. Hope to see you all again soon.

Nicky

Mikey Guest Teaching at Dartford - Thursday 26th July with Christine!

Mikey will be back at Dartford on Thursday 26th July demoing with the lovely Christine (our dance coach). Christine is celebrating her birthday on Saturday so this is an early celebration.

As always a fun packed class will occur and don't forget ladies grab Mikey for a dance and men, give Christine a birthday kiss and dance throughout the night.

Pete & Jill will be hosting the night and teaching beginners, Jim & Nicky will down at Herne Bay.

Broadstairs Closed Wed 25th July

Dartford Festival

Just to say a big thank you to everyone who came to help us out with our dance demonstrations at the Dartford Festival on Saturday. The rain managed to stay off for most of our slot and we had lots of fun not only doing our thing but also teaming up with the Salsa group as well!
A couple of 'celebrity' moments:
Keith got an interview with VPR radio ( the local Darenth Hospital radio station) and a great plug for Dance Riviera.
Len Goodman was watching us and when we came off said ' I was impressed with the way your bum wiggled!'...ooh err missus.
Thanks again for all your help and support.
Tracy x

Blues Class at Swanley Tonight

Paul & Nicky will be doing a special Blues class tonight at Swanley, we hope to see you there, it's always a great night there.

Happy Birthday Karen

Happy Birthday to Karen, one of our dance coaches that has been with us from Day One! Karen coaches currently at Crayford, although was at Gravesend, Dartford and Swanley. Wish her a happy day.

Happy Birthday!

Wishing Keith (aka Flash) our very own dance teacher, a very Happy Birthday today!

Have a great day Keith and make sure ladies that you catch Keith tonight at Herne Bay for a birthday dance.

Love from

Dance Riviera

Dartford Festival this Saturday 21st July

Dartford Festival

Dartford Festival 2007 will bring the X factor to Central Park on the 21 and 22 July

Dance Riviera will be doing a dance demo on Saturday 21st July in the Dance Zone at 1.15pm.

Come along and join in! Wear Black & White.

Day 1 - Saturday 21 July
12.00 p.m. Opening
12.10 p.m. Claire Graydon James
12.40 p.m. M Connection
1.10 p.m. Unpredictable
1.30 p.m. Len Goodman/Belly Dancers/Radio Kent/Bollywood Dancers
2.30 p.m. Tom James, Buddy Holly & Elvis Tributes plus Shane Hampsheir
3.50 p.m. Girls Aloud Tribute
4.45 p.m. Rod Stewart Tribute
5.45 p.m. Chico
6.15 p.m. Andy Abraham

Day 2 - Sunday 22nd July 2007
11.00 a.m. Church Service
12.10 p.m. SAX SEVEN (TBC)
12.40 p.m. Tokyo Jo
1.10 p.m. The Fore
1.40 p.m. Here For The Party TBC
2.10 p.m. Beach Boys Tribute
2.50 p.m. Kylie Minogue Tribute
3.30 p.m. Ben Mills
4.00 p.m. Kavana
4.30 p.m. Take That Tribute
5.10 p.m. The Real Thing

New TV Show - Dance X

Two giants in the world of choreography come face to face across the dance floor in the biggest clash of dance titans British TV has ever seen. Spurred on by presenter Ben Shephard, Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli strut back on to our screens and go head to head as they search for a sensational new dancing and singing group.

Town squares across Britain become a sea of leg warmers and lycra, as hopefuls turn up in their thousands for a series of open air auditions. Arlene and Bruno battle the elements and scour the country for the nation's hottest talent as dancers and singers compete for the chance to perform in front of the renowned judges.

From break dancing pensioners to nimble-limbed teens, auditionees mass freestyle their way into the judges' hearts with styles ranging from bangra to ballet. Arlene and Bruno are forced to make some tough decisions as they whittle the dancers and singers down in a series of gruelling call backs.

Each day, the remaining contestants are faced with a new challenge and the pressure mounts as they get increasingly close to the once in a lifetime opportunity. As the decisions get tougher Arlene and Bruno enlist the help of a West End theatre audience minutes before curtain up. The final 20 must up their game and put on a live performance to win over the 2,000 strong audience. The journey proves emotional for contestants and judges alike as the finalists are chosen. Across the country, thousands have auditioned but only 16 can go through to appear on the live TV shows.

Dance X starts on BBC1 tonight at 6.55pm

Happy Birthday!

A very special 'Happy Birthday' to Dance Teacher - Clem!

This is one with a zero on the end isn't it Clem?!

Have a great day.

Love, Dance Riviera x

The Smooth Lounge at Maidstone TONIGHT!

The Corn Exchange (part of Hazlitt Theatre)

Earl Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1PL map

Strictly Smooth Jive Class with Jim & Nicky 8.15pm

DJ Kevin Kapp will be playing music from a wide range of genres including modern jive, blues, swing, west coast and some tango.

You will be able to modern/smooth jive to all songs!

£9 entry fee (no loyalty card stamps or freebies)

It's also Clem's 40th Birthday so come along and help him celebrate in style and with his dancing friends.

Charity Anniversary at Dartford - Mankini Special!

For all those that attended last night's Charity Anniversary night, would admit that it was a cracking and special night. Not only did we raise approximately £600 for Breast Cancer charity, we got to see Pete, Dominic and Jim in "Borat" mankinis!

For those of you that didn't come missed a great night and this was topped by Pete and Dominic braving the jeers and cheers of the dancers and then dancing in near-nakedness! Dwain "Dirty D"J then got the crowd going to get Jim in a mankini! The cheers were deafening and Jim said he would but only if another £30 was raised for charity. Within 3 minutes, £35 had been raised!! For the last dance Jim strutted on stage and then proceeded to thrust and pose and then dance with Nicky who tried to maintain his dignity (too late!).

This is obviously not a regular occurence but we all had such a fantastic night with lots of laughs and great dances and music.

Thanks once again to everyone that has and does support Dance Riviera, we don't know about you but our lives have never been the same since we started this and we're so thankful for all the friendships we've made.

We look forward to continuing the fun tonight at Maidstone for the new Smooth Lounge. We hope to see you there.

Nicky x

DR's 4th Anniversary Party tonight at Dartford

Dance Riviera is 4 years old today! We're celebrating tonight at Dartford with the usual lessons with Jim & Nicky and music by DJ Dwain Dirty D. We're also giving all our profits of the night to Breast Cancer Research so come along and help support both DR and the charity. There will also be cakes, so make sure you don't have any dessert tonight!

See you there. Jim, Nicky & Tracy x

Broadstairs Closed TONIGHT - 11th July

Don't forget!

Broadstairs is closed tonight - Wednesday 11th July

Go to Herne Bay tomorrow instead to get your dance fix :-)

Hiya from Gozo!!!!

Hiya everyone, its been ages since I last wrote (do you still remember me!) - hope you are all ok and enjoying all the dance nights I keep reading about (very jealous I must say!) - we have been mega busy over here in Gozo, the bar is doing really well and we are having lots of fun (we had a very successful Beer/Curry night last week which had us cooking 65 curries!)

Its not all work and no play luckily and in between working in the bar, we are still getting the chance to enjoy the gorgeous weather, get back to diving and take the kids (and dog) swimming in the sea. Maria is coming over in August with her family and another dancing friend from Camber so smooth jive will definitely be on the menu then! I am back in November for Camber and to do some serious clothes shopping (Gozo is very lacking in that area!) so hope to see some of you dancing then. Anyway bye for now, have a lovely summer, hope the weather cheers up and take care, lots of love Shelagh xxxx

Gravesend goes out with a bang!

Well what a night...we had!

It was our final time at the Gravesend venue last night and it certainly ended with a bang.

Teacher Pete, surprised a few lovely ladies by calling them out of the crowd to take it in turns to demo with him on stage and then christening them Pete's Poppet's! They all loved it and, of course, did a fantastic job. This was followed by a cheeky 'perch' routine which went down extremely well for the intermediate class.

There were lots of the familiar regulars there to keep the evening swinging but of course a few sad faces at the end.

Special thank-you's go to Jill and Pete for a great night and regularly giving everyone great classes and cheeky banter; Pete's Poppet's; Wally for door duty; Steve the DJ; all the crew and teachers and of course all the dancers who have regularly supported the venue since it opened.

We look forward to seeing you very soon at our venues.

Happy Birthday!

Wishing our Dance Coach Kerry a very Happy Birthday today.

Lovely to see you up and dancing again Kerry....have a great day!

Gravesend Last Night on Wednesday 27th June

It's our last week at Gravesend this week, so turn up and get a FREE entry ticket for one of our other venues.

We'd like to thank the loyal dancers of Gravesend plus our wonderful crew, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our other venues in the area.

Jim, Nicky & Tracy

JiveHive Saturday Special in Deal 7th July

Our Friends John & Linda from Jive Hive are putting on a dance in Deal on Saturday 7th July at the Landmark Centre, High Street, Deal between 8.15pm and 11.30pm. Only £7 cheap bar!

Call Linda to book your place on 07751 362949.

Summer Ball only days away!

If you haven't got your tickets yet, ring Nicky 08708 03 55 03 to reserve your tickets before Saturday otherwise it's £13 on the door (if available).

It's always a fun night out so we look forward to seeing you there.

Jim & Nicky Class

DJ "Flash"

Dancing til 1am

Cash Prize Game!

FREE Buffet

A Polite Notice to Dancers attending

We have been asked by the venue to ensure that all dancers use the bar facilities and NOT bring their own drink. Anyone found with their own drink will be asked to leave without a refund. The venue give us a discount on the buffet which we offer to you for FREE to you on the understanding that the bar is used.

Please help us keep our events going by abiding by this policy. Thank you.