It is the eve of the eve of the first Crystal Blues Challenge and I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on the route so far – before everything kicks off on Friday evening and there isn’t a moment to think!
2010 has been an interesting year already for us at Jive Nites. We’ve opened and closed venues, travelled to various parts of the country with our Blissfully Blues tour, taught at some of the best weekenders this country has to offer (Jive Addiction – check them out!) and probably most importantly committed ourselves totally to progressing the dance form we love the most – Blues!
You might think that taking the decision to dedicate our teaching, venue and freestyles to Blues was an easy step to take – but you’d be wrong… Although our hearts and passions have been down the Blues road for as long as we can remember – we are very much aware that Blues-lovers in this country are a very small minority of the Modern Jive world in general, and are scattered throughout the land. So committing ourselves to providing quality, progression, high standards and great expectations to the minority, in the hope that we can help to expand the horizons of Blues dancing and Blues dancers was not so much a small step – more like a huge leap!
We believe that by providing good quality events that we can make a difference. We only use the best Blues DJs, who take great pride in what they do and who are never complacent – we all know a DJ is only as good as their last set. We endeavour to provide a fun learning environment that focuses on getting the basic fundamentals right and to encourage every dancer to become the best dancer they can be. Individual, spontaneous, inspired and respectful…
But we also want to help to put Blues more firmly on the dancing map. And that is where The Crystal Blues Challenge comes in! A crystal clear competition that is open and fair and not based upon an artificial performance for judges. This is about dancing, with your partner and the music, to create a moment that is magical and special. The judges and the voting audience will have the privilege of being there to witness the magic and the moment and will show their appreciation accordingly – lucky enough to enjoy a ‘fly on the wall’ moment as you enjoy your dance. It is not about being a seasoned, professional competitor, with dance skills and performance skills above and beyond the usual – this is a competition being held by Blues dancers, for Blues dancers. And YOU are the Blues dancers!
An entire weekend devoted to Blues freestyle, with a little added friendly competition in there to break things up a little and give us the opportunity to appreciate dancing and dancers.
The response we have had so far has been wonderful, and I am massively impressed with those who have taken a deep breath and entered. I am also aware that on the day, it won’t be anywhere near as daunting as they imagine! The prizes being offered by Jive Addiction are fantastic – 2 fully inclusive weekend breaks at a brilliant, brand new dance weekender! But you have to be in it to win it… At the moment, I can honestly say, that on paper, there are no clear winners – it is a completely level playing field, so everyone that has entered has an equal chance of winning!
I would love to see a few more people biting the bullet and going for it though. I know it seems a really scary thing to do – but if you have faith in anything, have faith in knowing that a Jive Nites event is not about scaring you! We want you to have the most fun you can possibly have, doing something that you enjoy and to relish in the achievement… So go on – give it a go! If you are worried about anything at all, you could always contact me. I know about worry… I haven’t stopped worrying since we decided to do this!!
But I do have a dream for Crystal Blues. And it is a simple one. In years to come I’d love to hear a conversation along the lines of…
“The first Crystal Blues Challenge…? I woz there!”
And you might even have the t-shirt to prove it!
Thank you everyone in advance for your support of this weekend. Whether you are competing, supporting, being a part of the voting audience or attending any of the freestyles, you will be helping to make the weekend something special. We have a fantastic team who always work tirelessly to ensure that things run smoothly, and this weekend they will be pulling out all of the stops! Our judges and DJs are travelling ridiculous distances and giving up their time to be there and give their all and there is a small army of people behind the scenes doing everything they can to make this weekend a success. But everyone of us knows that the real success of any event relies on you… So now, it’s over to you guys!
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