Move It
Dance London 2007

Katie Gregory reports from the UK’s biggest dance exhibition, held last month

Over the weeked of March 16-18, more than 14,000 visitors passed through the doors of London’s Olympia exhibition hall for Move It 2007, and with 140 taster classes and the same number of exhibitors, the event certainly lived up to its claim to fame as the UK’s biggest dance exhibition.
Doors opened at 10am on Friday morning, and the large hall quickly filled up with a steady influx of dancers from all over the country. Their first priority? The taster classes. By 10.05am there was a crowd gathering around the booking desk of those who hadn’t already pre-booked their £2 tickets online, or who were hoping to pick up on-the-door tickets for “sold out” classes.
Just half an hour in and the first act took to the stage – a vastly improved format this year, with a raised stage area and unlimited space for the audience to be wowed by some high-octane Capoeira from the stars of the BBC idents, Cordao de Ouro. So set the pace for a fully-charged weekend of dance in all forms. From ballet to bollywood, hip hop to lindy hop, tap to tango, there really was something for everyone – not only to watch, but also to try out for themselves.

On-stage highlights included an impressive performance from “Strictly’s” own Matthew and Nicole Cutler, whose ballroom and Latin taster classes over the three days were some of the first to sell out online. The audience watching their performance on Friday afternoon were rapturous – a mix of young and old sat in anticipation half an hour prior to the performance to guarantee top spots at the front. Next to me in prime position were Polly Cleaver (13), Jess Bijok (13), Becky Clark (12), and Chloe Daws (12), who between them take classes in every style of dance imaginable. The youngsters, from Swindon, confirmed that they were staunch “Strictly” fans, which explained the front-row vigil for Matthew and Nicole. When asked who their ultimate “Strictly” dancer was, they all replied unanimously – none other than the gorgeous Lilia Kopylova. And, luckily for them, Lilia herself made an appearance on stage on Saturday with husband, dance partner and fellow “Strictly” winner Darren Bennett, before making time to sign autographs for a grateful audience. In fact, the crowd of fans that gathered around the Dance Today stand swelled to such an extent that the entire cohort had to be moved to an area with more space!

Of course, Move It 2007 didn’t stop at performances and classes. The main floor area of the hall was filled with exhibitors, with everything from dance shoes, clothing and jewellery available to buy, as well as dance schools and organisations ready to chat to the many dance students, teachers and all-round enthusiasts who filled the hall throughout. The DanceAmo stand was particularly popular for the duration, and amongst the hoardes of people I found out why – Brendan Cole, Ian Waite and Camilla Dallerup joined Matthew and Nicole on the stand to sign autographs and meet their fans.
And, as if all that wasn’t enough, there was also a programme of seminars offering practical help and advice – Darcey Bussell popped in on Dance UK’s informative Dance Manifesto talk, much to the delight of participants. Plus, seminars aimed specifically at retailers were on offer for the first time this year and proved a useful source of information.

All in all, Move It 2007 was a huge success, and one which the organisers are already planning to build on for next year’s event, to be held from March 6-9, 2008. There’s talk of a media sponsor for what promises to be an even bigger, better weekend, as well as more classes, more performances, and a gala evening on the Thursday night to give retailers, press and VIPs a chance to get together before the exhibition proper gets into full swing. This is one event well worth attending – whatever your dance passion – so, book the dates in your diary today, and we’ll see you there next year!

For more photographs from the event, and for an exclusive interview with Matthew and Nicole Cutler, see the April issue of Dance Today – out now!