The weekend was organised by Jon Keys and Val Self and it was a new venture for us all, the first time a weekend workshop event had been arranged specifically for dancers at beginner/improver level and no-one knew quite what to expect.

We arrived on Friday afternoon. With Michelle, who was resident instructor for the weekend, there was a group of new Peace Train passengers on their first weekend away, and a small band of helpers, there to take a wall during teaches, and generally help out where and when needed. Various other groups arrived from all over the country, some little groups of friends, some larger groups, complete with teacher. About a hundred people in all.

After dinner we dressed in our finery and assembled in the hall for the first evening. Mark Caley, our DJ for the weekend got us all up dancing with a variety of classics to warm up. Then Michelle got EVERYONE up and taught Patty Cake Mixer, better known to everyone who has ever been “Peace Trained” as La-De-Da.! By the end of the dance all the individual little groups had become one big group and from then on the whole weekend was like one big family party! That first night we partied until late, or shall we say early!

Click picture to enlarge

There were three workshops, the main one on Saturday morning, a shorter one on Saturday afternoon, and a revision session on Sunday morning. The instructors for the weekend were Michelle Risley and Val Self, and our DJ Mark Caley also taught. The list of dances taught is below. They covered a variety of styles including a waltz, a two-step and a cha-cha, giving the beginners something they could dance to almost any track of music.

The dancers were of mixed ability, but they all had one thing in common, they just wanted to dance and enjoy themselves. I was impressed throughout the weekend with their willingness to just have a go. Many did dances they would never have attempted before, some even picking them up “on the floor” by dancing next to an experienced dancer. Mark played an amazing variety of music and kept us dancing ALL night. The experienced dancers weren’t left out, he played a lot of the latest dances and suggested beginner alternatives for them all.

We were having so much fun the other residents of the holiday camp, who should have been in the other hall being entertained with bingo and a comedienne, decided they wanted to join us instead. Several spent the weekend just sitting watching us, several asked if they could join in, and some have even booked for the next weekend.

Click to enlarge

On the Saturday evening we had the lovely Gemma Fairweather to entertain us , as well as our resident DJ – Mark Caley and we partied again until the small hours. Gemma was in fine form, singing (and dancing!) a great selection of old and new. After her sets Gemma joined us on the floor for the rest of the evening and enjoyed herself so much she stayed over for the workshop the next day. All in all the weekend was a fantastic success, so much so that another one has already been arranged for October, as well as May next year. The atmosphere was amazing - relaxed, friendly, happy – the best weekend I have ever been to. I can’t wait for the next one!

Dances taught

Michelle

Fun dance -Patty Cake Mixer (La-de-da) by Carter Butler. Music - Tell me Ma by Shamrocks
Dixie Falls - Gary Lafferty
Old Friend - Ed Lawton
Charleston Strut - Jo Thompson
Cadillac Tears - Cato Larsen

Val

I love this town – Maria Wick
Holding a dream – Phil Dennington
Watcha Wanna do that for - Kim Ray

Mark

Ghost Train – Kathy Hunyadi
Dime a Dance – Mark & Jan Caley
Rio – Diane Lowery

Return to top