The Guardian recently came along to one of our nights at Wilton’s. Here’s what they had to say:
Who’s out dancing on a weekend? All around the country nightclubs fill up with (mainly) young people bouncing until the small hours to amplified bass, getting intoxicated and, maybe, copping off. Yet there’s another, less visible network of clubs where people dance more formally – think salsa, tango, ballroom, jive. Here there is a wider age range, less drinking and lower decibels, and everyone’s likely to be done before midnight… They do love it – the place, the music, the buzz.
“You could go to a pub for your birthday…and have some drinks and be shouting in the corner of a bar. Or you can come to something like this, where you make new friends and get to do something more fun.”
The people and the place are big pluses, then, but don’t they need to know the steps? It’s not massively important, though they all agree that a few basic moves will get you a long way. Like many social dance nights, Swing Patrol runs a taster session for newcomers at the beginning of the evening (which doubles up as a great icebreaker). “We learned two moves,” says Greg, another of the group, “and then the teacher said, ‘OK, you’re ready for a night of dancing.’” And were they? “It’s easy to feel anxious at first,” says Dave, “but as soon as you’re dancing that really fades.” That rings true. Out on the dance floor, some dancers are clearly experts and others just as clearly newbies, but there’s an upbeat, open ambience that makes room for them all.
That includes Pam and Steve, a couple in their late 50s who have come down from Grimsby to spend the weekend with their daughter. But she was off out with her boyfriend on Saturday night, says Pam, “so we thought we’d go out dancing ourselves”. They’ve been learning lindy hop since Pam retired from the NHS last year, and it’s completely changed the pattern of their lives: weekly classes, evenings out dancing – and provided a new social network.
“It helps keeps us fit because we’re doing something we enjoy. It keeps your brain active too. And you can really adapt the steps to suit your own level.” But fitness is a byproduct: it’s the enjoyment that keeps them coming back. “The music, the dancing – I just love it!” beams Pam. “And it’s so nice to be among lots of different age groups. It makes you feel young.”
Will they be back? Put it this way: they’re already looking at the calendar to see when they can next come down to “visit their daughter”.
Read more here!
