Disco returns to Moseley Dance Centre.
The much-loved Moseley Dance Centre is set to get its groove back with 70s and 80s soul, funk and disco night Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet!
It promises to be – in the words of Shalamar – “a night to remember”.
Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet! is aimed at a slightly older crowd (30, 40 & 50 +) and offers a funk-tastic night for people who remember the tunes first time round and still want to party – although twenty-somethings love HSDY too.
The Moseley night is the idea of Birmingham-born Paul Ferguson, whose partner, Nikki Spencer, set up HSDY in south-east London in 2010.
“For 14 years I lived round the corner from the Moseley Dance Centre and regularly went there on a Saturday night. When it closed down five years ago it was really sad,” says Paul.
“I noticed the dance centre was hosting the after party with Craig Charles for this year’s Mostly Jazz festival so we approached the owners about bringing Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet! there. They loved the idea and have been great helping us make this happen. The hall is the perfect venue for us as it has a large stage for our DJs and a sprung oak ballroom floor that’s great for dancing”, he adds.
Nights feature vinyl DJs playing classic floor-fillers with choreographer-led dance routines (Carwash, Oops Upside Your Head plus, of course, Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet after which the pop-up club takes its name) to get everyone into the groove.
There are prizes for the best outfits & dance moves, along with free retro sweets & ice pops. 10 per cent of profits from HSDY nights go to Cancer Research UK.
Nikki Spencer started the nights when she was in her late 40s. “I wanted to be able to go out dancing, but without feeling like I was gate-crashing one of my teenage daughters’ parties,” she explains. “I soon discovered a lot of other people felt the same way and our events have become hugely popular.”
“HSDY is a fabulous feelgood night and we can’t wait to bring the party to Birmingham. We always give out free retro sweets at our events and of course the Moseley Dance Centre used to give out Refreshers as people left so we will be bulk buying those for October 17th.”
Moseley Dance Centre is run by Wayne Stanton, who took over after former Miss Great Britain, Hazel Cleaver, passed away. In 2010 Wayne reluctantly called time on the regular Boogie Shoes Saturday nights after later opening hours in local pubs resulted in dwindling numbers. “It’s fantastic that HSDY is bringing disco back to Moseley Dance Centre. We have missed it! It was awful having to close our doors to the public and the plan is to host more events here in the future”.
And they have spruced the building up a bit in preparation. “We’ve made quite a few improvements,” says Wayne. “People always used to talk about the sticky carpet in the entrance but that has gone!”
On Oct 17th HSDY will have three vinyl DJs including Moseley DJ Don, who regularly DJs at The Patrick Kavanagh and at Mostly Jazz, playing a guest slot at 10pm.
Initially the HSDY event is for one night only on Saturday October 17th but if it’s successful the plan is to do more, in which case they will be looking for larger-than-life vinyl DJs to join the crew and a local dancer to lead their flashmob style dance line-ups. Anyone interested can contact HSDY at info@haventstoppeddancingyet.co.uk.
Tickets (£10 advance/ £12 door) are on sale from King’s Heath retro shop I Had One of Those plus online via www.haventstoppeddancingyet.co.uk. For more information call 0796 716 3247.