Strictly joins Streetdance: Where dance worlds collide!

Following a successful residency in the West End in 2012 where it attracted rave reviews, a brand new production of FLASH MOB will appear in Kent as part of a national tour.

The cast for this latest production includes Kevin Clifton and Karen Hauer from Strictly Come Dancing, Flawless from Britain’s Got Talent, and Dance Critic’s Choice winner and Olivier nominated Tommy Franzen from BBC1’s So You Think You Can Dance. Dubbed the modern day Romeo and Juliet by the media, contemporary duo Alleviate and Irish fusion couple Brosena, both from Sky 1’s Got To Dance, complete the impressive line-up.

If you’re new to dance, this show is the perfect introduction. FLASH MOB enables you to sample many styles from Latin to locking, from Celtic to contemporary and from street to Salsa.

The production climaxes with an exciting finale that is sure to see the entire audience on its feet, as it takes the show title to its literal conclusion when both cast and audience collectively experience the joy of dance through a shared FLASH MOB.

It will be the first theatre production to actively encourage social networking as an integral part of the show. Facebook and Twitter are used as tools to drive the storyline in the first act, so the audience will be invited to switch on their mobile phones and tweet as the show begins. It’s a hugely exciting concept to the many fans who engage with their dance heroes on social media.

Marina Blore, director of World Dance Management explains: “Many dancers work their way through weeks of competitive heats on TV with no public, live platform for their talent at the end of the programme. Whilst they may be offered A-list concert tours or West End shows, the dancers rarely get the chance to perform again in their own right.”

She added: “In this show the dancers have choreographed their own individual performances and with the help of Nick Winston, our artistic director and choreographer, we also show what can be achieved when these different dance genres are fused together. FLASH MOB enables the talent to showcase their work as part of a much bigger production.”

FLASH MOB is a celebration of dance, the art of movement, without the need to pigeon-hole or focus on any one genre, or an enforced or indulgent narrative. The intention is simply to celebrate dance as an art form that can “move” the audience emotionally.

Conceived and produced by World Dance Management, the show provides a platform for the amazing talent that has emerged from TV dance reality shows in recent years.

Kent Dates:

Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells – Saturday 21^st June 

Churchill Theatre, Bromley - Sunday, 29^th June 

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury – Monday 7^th July 

For the rest of the tour dates, please visit http://www.flashmobtour.com/208-2/uk-tour-2014

UDO South East Street Dance Championships at Medway Park

Fancy following in the footsteps of Diversity and Flawless? A European 2014 and World 2015 Streetdance Championship qualifier is being held at Medway Park on Sunday, July 13th.

The brand new event and venue for the UDO Streedance Championships welcomes all levels from beginner to advanced, with different age categories available.

Teams, duos and solo dancers can take part and free membership can be obtained via the website (membership is mandatory in order to do so).

Entries need to be made at least 7 days before the event, as there will be no late or on the day entries allowed.

The British Championships take place at Pontin's Bream Sands on 7-9 March.

Snippets: Strictly Come Dancing; The Voice; Streetdance

What did I say before - and 30 people complained about The Voice's 'live' recorded results show. 30! And it's headlines all over the press. Pathetic, isn't it. 30, out of 10.3 million. I'm leaving it there ...

The final eight in The Voice will be touring in September, going it alone (with each other) but without their coaches. Check out the tour dates here.

The BBC have launched a FREE on line game, Strictly Keep Dancing, where you can learn to dance, check it out here. I may even have a little tickle at that myself! Pasha or Mark Ballas, that's the dilemma...

Tess Daly is in Hollywood, according to The Sun, hoping to turn her debut novel, The Camera Never Lies, into a film.

And, Alesha Dixon In Shock Return To BBC Because Obviously, Presenters and Actors Can't Do Different Programmes On Different Channels At The Same Time Because That Would Be Weird, Like Freelance Writers Writing For Different Publications Or Something. Oh.

Snippets: Kath Jenkins on DWTS; Jersey Salsa Slam; Street Battle 2012; DVD offer

Katherine Jenkins and dance partner Mark Ballas are still topping the Dancing With The Stars leader board, this week scoring 29 out of a possible 30 for a gorgeous, romantic and emotional waltz to Josh Groban's To Where You Are.

Both song and dance were a tribute to Katherine's dad, who passed away in 1996, as the stars this week were asked to think of the most poignant year of their lives to celebrate. If you're not blubbing even before they begin then maybe you're having an exceptionally wonderful day. Or you have a heart made of granite mixed with concrete and steel.

Fancy a weekend away in Jersey? Salsa Fever present Jersey Salsa Slam on the weekend October 19th to 22nd. Staying at the Metropole Hotel in St.Helier, this second weekend is hosted by Rohan Brown and brought to you again following the success of the first last year. Deposit is £50, with an early bird half board offer of £154 or weekend passes for just £40. That sounds pretty good to me! Visit the Salsa Fever website for full details.

Sadly, if you go to Jersey then you can't attend Street Battle 2012, which takes place on the same weekend at Butlins in Skegness. There's over £25,000 in cash prizes plus workshops from some of the hottest talent in the street dance industry. See more info on the Street Battle website.

Dancing in the UK has 15 different DVDs for sale, at just £6 each, including P&P.  They cover waltz, samba, rumba, tango, mambo, cha cha, foxtrot, Latin jazz, Argentine Tango, salsa and street dance - email them for full details, there's a discount for anyone purchasing three or more. dvds@dancingintheuk.co.uk

Move It 2012

The UK's biggest dance exhibition/festival, Move It, the show for dancers, teachers, students and enthusiasts, will be held at Olympia from March 9th to 11th.

With 20,000 dancers taking part over three days across three stages, this amazing spectacle has performances from Flawless and the English National Ballet - together, fusing streetdance and ballet; Got To Dance's Akai, Alleviate and Chris & Wes; Britain's Got Talent stars James Hobley and Twist & Pulse and many more, including performances from the best performing arts colleges and streetdance crews.

The Big Dance Interview Sofa returns, with ex-Strictly Come Dancing champions Darren Bennett (with Jill "The Halfpenny", Series 2) and Lilia Kopylova (Darren Gough, Series 3) guests at 12.30pm on the Sunday.

There's a Dance Teachers' Convention, as well as the chance to grab a bargain in the leg warmer department and take part in a variety of different classes, so check out the website today to book your tickets.

Alesha Dixon's Search for Streetdance Stars

Former Strictly Come Dancing champion and current judge, Alesha Dixon, will be searching for Britain's top Street Dance stars with a new show on CBBC coming soon, Alesha's Street Dance Stars. The winners will be invited to appear alongside Alesha at Dance 2011 at Manchester's The Lowry, which is open all day for families to go along and join in.

In another interview, Alesha says she couldn't judge the show and send home a 10 year old - so dancer Turbo, choreographer Kenrick Sandy and So You Think You Can Dance semi-finalist Lizzie Gough will do the honours. Perri Luc Kiely and Jordan Banjo from Diversity will mentor the youngsters in the show which begins on August 22nd, with two airings, 9am and 5pm.

On the subject of Street Dance, did anyone else see the fantastically talented Peridot crew on Channel 4 Sunday night, scooping the Street Dance XXL title (they were totally the class of the crews) and then taking on the Americans - and beating them! Good luck to them in their full time careers as dancers!

Birmingham Duo Crowned Best UK Dance Act 2010

Streetdance act ‘Steadiflux’ have been crowned the first ever Barclays Live UK Dance Champions following a hotly-contested public vote. Students Nathan Marsh (18) and Jordan Breakspear (19) from Bartley and Harborne respectively, picked up over 100,000 votes on their march to the crown, beating off intense competition from top acts across the UK. See the winning dance here!

Having overcome stiff opposition from such acts as UK HipHop champions Smash Broz and Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists Mini Mezzos to become Barclays Live Birmingham champions last year, the duo are now officially top of the pile and will be dancing all the way to their nearest Barclays branch with a bumper £1,000 cheque! Speaking afterwards, Nathan said: “It’s an amazing feeling to be Barclays Live UK Champions! We put in a lot of work to come up with a clean, entertaining piece and feel the effort has paid off. We were up against some great acts and just want to thank everyone for their votes and continued support.”

Barclays Live was rolled out in various regions across the UK in 2010 with celebrity judges including Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole and Sky Sports pundit Chris Kamara. Five acts from Birmingham, Bristol, London, Manchester and Reading were then shortlisted for the prestigious title of Barclays Live Best UK Dance Act 2010, with videos hosted at www.barclayslive.co.uk and fans voting for their favourites online.

The Barclays Live competition celebrates continued investment in branches across the country and will pull up at a host of regions in 2011, starting with Glasgow at the end of January. In addition to the events sweeping the nation, Barclays Live has also teamed up with StreetDance 3D star Brooke Milliner to create Your Name in Dance, an interactive dance tool showing a users name in choreographed dance form. Check it out at http://barclayslive.co.uk/interactive.php

For all the latest news and upcoming events ‘like’ Barclays Live on Facebook www.facebook.com/BarclaysLive and follow @BarclaysLive on Twitter

Snippets: Flawless, Pamela Stephenson, Strictly Come Dancing

An excellent article and interview with Flawless.

Fanatstic blog from Pamela about her Strictly Come Dancing experience - very open and candid!

Warner's Fantasy Strictly Come Dancing line-up has been released, voted for by us! Could you imagine if the Beeb did manage to land all of them? Oh the rivalries!

Butlins Street Dance Festival Weekend

Butlins first ever Street Dance Festival will hit the Minehead resort this November, showcasing the UK’s top urban dancers, including Street Dance 3D stars Diversity and Britain’s Got Talent stars Twist & Pulse.

To celebrate the festival, the hottest talent on the British urban dance scene took to the high streets recently and treated unsuspecting shoppers to awe-inspiring performances. Disguised as members of the public, the dancers stunned passersby with jaw-dropping routines to launch the event.

Mike Godolphin, Head of Entertainment at Butlins said: “Shoppers had the time of their lives when they saw the phenomenal performances. The Butlins Street Dance Festival will be absolutely amazing – we’ve even got Diversity exclusively previewing their up and coming UK tour. This was only a hint of what we’ve got on offer for the UK’s dance fans!”

This 3 day street dance event is the first place you’ll see Diversity, stars of box office hit StreetDance 3D, giving us a preview of their up and coming UK tour, plus performances by Twist & Pulse and Peridot, as well as finalists from the 2010 Street Dance XXL Championships.

The weekend ticket includes 3 nights accommodation, free access to all of the star performances, live urban dance shows and street dance classes for all, plus Splash Waterworld, funfair rides, sports coaching and so much more – all included in the price.

So get you, your family and friends down to Butlins Minehead 19-22 November 2010 to experience the unique style and culture of street dance at Butlins family Resort in Somerset. Top tip: the better grade of accommodation you book, the closer you’ll be seated to the stage when Diversity perform live in our concert arena on Resort. Book early to avoid disappointment – these places go quickly!

Also - George Sampson's Street Party! Appearing on dates between September 17th and November 1st 2010!

Don't miss your chance to experience the street dance superstar and Britain's Got Talent winner, George Sampson in his very own show, George Sampson's Street Party - exclusive and live at Butlins on every weekend family break in 2010! This amazing show will feature George singing, dancing and offering willing volunteers up on stage to join in! See full details of both events here.

Snippets: Streetdance, Got To Dance, Dancing on Ice

The Streetdance 3D DVD is out soon and to celebrate, a launch party will be held at the hmvforum in Kentish Town on September 27th.

Kimberly Wyatt chats about Got To Dance.

Dancing on Ice judge Jason Gardiner is being his usual happy, chirpy self ...

Snippets: Don't Stop Believing; Britain's Got Talent

True Dynamix impressed the organisers of the World Streetdance Championships enough to be invited to perform at the championships next week! Well done!

Twist and Pulse, Paul Burling and Stavros Flatley are headlining the For One Night Only show in Torbay.

Snippets: Streetdance, Edinburgh Fringe, Strictly Come Dancing,

Streetdance 2 is lining up George Sampson, Diversity and Flawless again, to work with the same creative team who brought us Streetdance 1.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival news.

A very quick chat with Brendan!

Snippets: Flawless; So You Think You Can Dance

Britain's Got Talent finalists and Streetdance 3D stars, Flawless, are appearing at this year's Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford this month, on Sunday 18th July. The show is held each year to support the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust and is staging special tributes this year to mark 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Trav's rundown of this week's So You Think You Can Dance US style - results to follow!

YOUR NAME IN DANCE!

BARCLAYS LAUNCH INTERACTIVE DANCE TOOL

Ever wondered how your name would be interpreted in dance? Barclays Live has teamed up with award winning Street Dancer Brooke Milliner, to create an online tool that does just that. Observe my name in lights!

The tool, hosted at www.barclayslive.co.uk has been created to support the Barclays Live campaign, a nationwide search for the UK’s hottest dance talent in conjunction with Barclays branch launches. Visitors to the website can input their name in the interactive page and the “Your Name in Dance” generator will produce a bespoke dance for your name. Users can then share their special dance via Facebook and Twitter, or can copy the link and send it to a friend.

Brooke says: ‘Your Name in Dance was a really interesting challenge for me and unlike anything I have ever done before. I choreographed and performed a dance motif for each letter and these were filmed so that by using the tool you create a dance that combines all of the letters in your name. It was great fun to film the online tool and I am really pleased with the final result.’

Rafaele Petruzzo, Head of Launches, Campaigns and Innovation Development at Barclays, comments: ‘Your Name in Dance is a completely new concept that ties in with the launch of our new-state-of-the-art branches. We hope that visitors to the site will enjoy the new tool and that they will come along to their local branch launches to cheer on our Barclays Live entrants and see the new look branches for themselves.’

Brooke, the street dancer featured in the mechanic, is part of Street Dance crew the Funkstylerz and stars in recent dance film Streetdance 3D alongside George Sampson.

Snippets: Loop Dance Company Auditions, Streedance3D, So You ThinkYou Can Dance,

Loop Dance Company is holding auditions across Kent for young dancers aged 11+ to join their Youth Dance Company, LoopEd YDC.

LoopEd Youth Dance Company is a contemporary dance company for young people consisting of a group of talented and passionate young people who are committed to dance. The company gives young people in Kent the opportunity to practice and perform contemporary dance together with the support of professional dancers. More info can be found here.

Streetdance 3D may be getting both a sequel and a stage show; an interview with Cat Deeley.

Snippets: Streetdance, Diversity, Paula Abdul

Streetdance 3D topped the box office this week - as news breaks that Diversity will be supporting The Saturdays at the Rochester Castle Concert on Friday 16th July. And Paula Abdul will be lead judge and mentor on the US version of Got To Dance.

Streetdance

The "world's biggest streetdance" wants dance enthusiasts to join them in a parade during the Big Dance Festival between 3rd and 11th July. See more info here.

With the Streetdance film on general release today, the soundtrack will be a must!

Snippets: Streetdance, Don't Stop Believing, BGT

A review of the Streetdance 3D film, making me want to see it even more, were that possible!

Fun streetomedy act from Britain's Got Talent, Twist and Pulse, tell of their connection to Diversity and Flawless, plus UTV have linked the video.

And Emma Bunton will host a new Glee-style reality show, airing on Channel Five, called Don't Stop Believing. This means as soon as Over the Rainbow has finished I'm going to migrate music over to this blog too, since it'll include both dance and music - and I need to cut down on how many different sites I'm adding to, before I start to post music links on Rochester People and tell all of you what's happening at the Cathedral this summer!

Snippets: SYTYCD, Streetdance 3D, DWTS

Diversity are setting their sights on Hollywood as Streetdance 3D premieres - general release May 21st.

MJ brings us a few snippets from Nigel Lythgoe as the US prepare for their new series of So You Think You Can Dance.

And Trav has changed his website! But he's still covering Dancing With the Stars in full, with videos of this week's star performers Derek and Nicole - incredibly musical numbers, Nicole's timing is so spot on with Derek's. A real pleasure to watch, I preferred the foxtrot which was pure joy from start to finish.

Akai Wins Into The Hoods Role

Little Akai, the Got To Dance winner, is following previous Britain's Got Talent winner, George Sampson, into the latest production of Into The Hoods.

The production is also holding open auditions between 7th and 12th May at Dance Attic Studios, North End Road, London and the contract for the summer run of the show at the Southbank Centre is between 1st July and 15th August.