Dancing, Writer's Blog

Lava – Ceroc Fusion’s hot new freestyle

It’s always a gamble to try something new, but unless something new is offered, nobody will ever know if taking a chance is going to pay off. Ceroc Fusion have been running themed freestyles for many years now, often focusing on older eras such as 60’s vs 70’s or 80’s vs 90’s and Motown and film-themed nights, but there has not yet been a freestyle catering for those who enjoy music from the most recent decade. That is, not until the idea of Lava was born.

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Making the most of the most recent, active, addition to Ceroc Fusion’s venue list, Acle Recreation Hall was booked and the planning of the newest freestyle theme began. Steve was the DJ for this event and his playlist combining a mix of funky and upbeat to smooth and flowing tunes of the most recent era was soon in full flow.

Anna made plans for a buffet table and, with the kitchen facilities perfect for such an event, also made provision for teas and coffees to be available. The event followed a closed staff workshop so there were plenty of Ceroc Fusion staff on hand to assist with the setting out of chairs and tables before the freestyle began.

Dancers started to arrive before the advertised start time of four o clock, eager to check out this new event, and seats were soon filling up, additional chairs squeezed in to allow dancers a resting spot when needed. The first hour soon passed and it was time to brew teas and coffees and prepare the buffet table, which became full to bursting with savoury treats including a variety of sandwiches, crisps, cheese straws and sausage rolls to name a few, with mini muffins and brownies, Victoria sponge cakes and chocolate fingers among the sweet treats at the other end of the generous table.

With so many buffet choices on offer, it was great to see so many people enjoying Steve’s top tunes, there certainly being an excess of calories to burn off after indulging in the gorgeous refreshments.

Despite the extensive buffet, the floor remained continuously full throughout the three hour event, the funky tunes were clearly a great success. I was pleased to have the opportunity to dance with some partners I have never had the pleasure of dancing with before, even though I was helping with the refreshments and buffet.

Steve’s on-point playlist consisted of possibly the most supreme mix of explosively funky and silky smooth tunes from recent years and dancers enjoyed the diversity and mixture of fast tempo flowing seamlessly into smoother, more soulful tunes.

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The event finished at seven, after three hours of solid dancing for many, with lots of dancers taking the time to compliment Steve for his awesome music and Anna for her well-received buffet and refreshments. This gamble most certainly paid off, with more than seventy dancers leaving the venue on a Sunday evening with smiles, many asking if Ceroc Fusion would be running a similar event in the future. I am confident they will take a chance on another later in the year!

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Credit to Dennis Briggs photography for the buffet pictures and the picture of me dancing with Clive at the end of the evening.

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Ceroc, Dancing, Writer's Blog

Annual New Year’s Eve Freestyle and Party.

Okay, so I am going to go all in and state that last night’s New Year’s Eve party might just have been the best I have ever been to.

We had decided upon and booked our tickets to the annual Ceroc Fusion New Year’s Eve freestyle and post-midnight party. We intended to say goodbye to 2018 with good friends and lots of fun.

Having offered to help with preparations, we arrived at Wymondham Central Hall just after five o’clock, joined by Julie, Anna and Steve, and proceeded to set out chairs, tables, cloths, candles and lights, while Steve the DJ and Richard, who was in charge of tech for the evening, prepared the stage, lighting and projector for the midnight countdown.

Bags, boxes and trays of food prepared by Anna with the assistance of Steve, were moved into the cool kitchen where they were stored safely and plans for the running order were discussed. With everyone playing a part, a well-organised and fun-filled night was ready to begin, just in time for the first guests, who started to arrive, keenly, before the start.

The hall was soon filled with smartly-dressed dancers of all ages, numbers soon into three figures. I wasn’t able to dance very much on this occasion due to a very minor, but equally painful, achilles injury. I had begun a new regime of activity which is commonly known as ‘exercise’ and it appeared to disagree with me. I will probably try it again in the new year, with the usual pounds to be shed after seasonal indulgence, but I will approach with much caution. After all, I don’t want any injury to affect my enjoyment of Ceroc, do I?

With the hall packed with enthusiastic dancers, it was time for Steve and Hannah to teach their ice-breaker class so, with everyone called to order, the short class began.

Less than half an hour later, the popular warm up class was over and, as if by magic, we had filled three large tables with savoury indulgences. The tables positively groaned, there was so much food – much credit at this point has to go to Anna and Steve who had been making sandwiches, chopping raw vegetables into sticks and cooking party foods almost all day.

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The trays of food were replenished as queues of dancers snacked, eventually the savoury being replaced with refreshing trays of melon, naughty chocolate biscuits, mince pies, bakewells and flapjacks. There was something for everybody.

The evening passed seamlessly, broken up with a ‘Dance with a Stranger’ competition where at various stages throughout the track, everybody changes partner and two lucky dancers who are dancing with the two secret ‘strangers’ at the end are rewarded with a bottle of wine each.

With minutes to go until midnight struck, the stage was prepared, the projector hooked to the laptop and the countdown to the New Year fireworks, London style, began. Everybody had been given party poppers with a couple of larger party canons per table too. As midnight struck, our poppers exploded in time with the first of the fireworks on screen. The hall was filled with the remnants of party popper streamers and cases as we all linked arms to join in the traditional rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

After the midnight kisses, cuddles and well-wishes were done, Steve played party tunes for the next hour. Old and cheesy favourites such as the Cha Cha Slide, Timewarp, YMCA and Superman were interspersed with a Conga and other party favourites.  The Ceroc-ers were all too keen to join in the after party having had their four hours of Ceroc dancing leading up to midnight. The atmosphere was truly electric. Sylvia and Russell, professional party hosts, led the moves to dances such as The Macarena and Oops Up-side Your Head and it was heart-warming to see so many dancers in a party light.

Ceroc Fusion dancers really do know how to have a good time be it dancing with a partner or taking part in other aspects of a fun party. I feel honoured to know such a fabulous bunch of people.

Happy New Year, 2019, Ceroc Fusion and all your members.