Everybody dance now! Move It brings dance fever to London’s ExCeL.
Move It boasts that it is the world’s biggest dance event, and the enormity of it is something that floored me. Lying somewhere between a festival, conference, and funfair, it’s a buzzy atmosphere. Karen Woodward, from the industry’s top dance floor provider Harlequin Floors, has been here to see Move It become what it is today, “it has grown: the amount of people, the amount of colleges”, and she would know, she’s a veteran at this stage, “it’s probably our twentieth time, we’ve been here every year”.
Skewing to a younger audience it’s got plenty of flash and vivacity to keep things engaging: the tumbling mat, roller-rink, sports massage parlour, endless rows of shops selling everything from therabands, to headshots, to costume jewellery. It’s an important weekend for these youngsters, for many this may be their first time dancing outside of their town’s studio, witnessing the level that their contemporaries are at and what it takes to be a professional. Dotted around the space, crews and troupes are almost perpetually rehearsing, hydrating, or stretching. To be a dancer is to be disciplined. And these kids are ready to learn, zipping around with their dance bags, guardians trailing behind, on to the next lecture or lesson. One little girl, no older than 8, listens intently as she has a one-on-one technique session on her side aerial. She adamantly nods her head, takes on board the corporeal magnitude of the acrobatics that she’s endeavouring to master, before giggling and skipping back to try it again.
This trend of dancers at younger ages pursuing their craft with a monastic seriousness is marked even among the senior conservatoires. “I notice there are more and more providers doing school level or pre-degree training”, says Hannah Dickinson from Trinity Laban, “I think there’s a real core of people who are very focused about what they want to do”. Among the youngsters dreaming of what their future may be, are those who are facing their future head on. Royal Caribbean Cruises and Disney hold auditions for performers, the rooms fill with preened hopefuls ready to get that contract. Musical theatre hopefuls make up a significant presence at Move It, one of the most popular stalls is that of Bird College, an institution renowned for its training for West End aspirants. Deputy Principal Jamieson Dryburgh remains optimistic: “I think there’s a lot of opportunities at the moment, especially in musical theatre. I think it’s a really exciting time for someone who’s young and interested in being part of the industry”.
Stylistically, Move It does amp towards technically impressive spectacles. At the main stage, Leicester’s Addict Dance Academy rip through their high-kicking half-time shows with Olympian aplomb, even through a sound malfunction they’re militantly precise. It’s not all about virtuosity though: at the freestyle stage the crowd goes wild for a young Bharatanatyam dancer battling an acro-girl, adults and tykes alike take on the cha cha cha en masse. Even with all the intensity of the training, it is still about joy — “even when coming off the train you’re like, okay, I know Move It is happening. There’s a lot of energy and excitement” says Dickinson. Dryburgh agrees — “it’s about people connecting. Coming together to celebrate dance”.
There’s also forums of discussion: in the Podcast Room industry professionals discuss a range of issues like creating digital portfolios or navigating dance in the age of social media. In fact, social media is a pertinent topic of discussion. One group of triple threat veterans discuss how much casting for musicals have changed, with auditionees sometimes being selected for a high follower count to reach a wider market — it is a business after all. The Podcast Room, though tucked away in its quiet corner, is not immune to the earth-shaking power of the bass-boosted speakers in the main hall or the auditions taking place next door — the backdrop, gaffer-taped within an inch of its life, was slipping with each seismic vibration. It’s only when you get back into the main hall when you realise just how loud it is. Between the booming performances on the main stage, DJs at the freestyle stage, and the shouts of 5-6-7-8 from sectioned off classrooms at every corner.
The event is much like a performance itself, a hectic but organised group of moving parts, whose effortless and controlled appearance defies the immense amount of work going on behind the scenes. At every corner is someone checking a time sheet, escorting an artist. Outside one class, an overwhelmed little girl is assured by a uniformed assistant, “it is hard trying something new, but you’re smashing it”. It’s this level of care for the next generation that underscores Move It, an emphasis on the joy of movement above all else.