Yes, Hot Ginger is back for 2012 in our new venue of the Corks Club, with its great big dance floor, and a great big stage area too.
Last time you saw the small but perfectly formed Top Shelf Jazz onstage and they rocked you through the night. This time we’re going to try to fit a 15-piece big band on it!
The TOM DUNNETT BIG BAND are an exciting new swing orchestra comprised of young music students who like to swing hard, and they’ll be playing a couple of sets at our HOT GINGER RETROMANCE BALL on 11 February 2012.
Tickets are a bargain £7 with one of our flyers, which you’ll be able to find in various outlets around Birmingham, or £8 on the door.
Make sure you get there, because it promises to be an unmissable night of vintage fun!
We’re really pleased to announce that we’ll be starting a 10 week Balboa class commencing on Wednesday 1st February 2012 and running every Wednesday after that until April 4th.
The classes will start at 7.30pm PROMPT at Moseley Dance Workshop, 132 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8EE.  More information can be found on the venue here: www.dance-workshop.co.uk.  Google Map link here: http://g.co/maps/tj6y4
Classes will be taught by Stephen and Kerstin, will last an hour and cost £5 per person – payable on the door.
The classes will cover the basics as well as going in to the detail of Pure Balboa and Bal Swing. Â We’ll be teaching all the classics as well as some more complex moves including: crab walks, come around, swivels, triple steps, lollies, Texas Tommy and others.
The classes will be suitable for beginners and improvers alike. Â It doesn’t matter if you don’t know anything about Balboa or if you’re looking to improve your basics – there’ll be something for everyone. Â You don’t even need a regular partner as we’ll be rotating partners throughout the class.
As we only have the dance studio for an hour, we need the class to start at 7.30pm PROMPT. Â Please arrive at the venue in good time and be ready to begin at 7.30pm. Â Latecomers may not be admitted and will definitely be grumbled about and frowned at. Â There will hopefully be an opportunity for a social chat and possibly a dance in the workshop’s cafe/bar after the classes.
As this is a professional dance studio we would ask everyone to wear suitable shoes for dancing. Gentlemen – leather or suede soles if possible, non-marking soles are compulsory. Â Ladies – low heeled shoes are fine, but please no stilettos which will mark the floor.
Well, a TV show to be precise. Â We at Hot Ginger have had this request for extras for a BBC drama. Â Follow the instructions to apply if you fancy it!
“I write from Extra-People a casting agency in the Midlands and London. We are working on a BBC1 TV series directed by Stephen Poliakoff for 2012 called ‘Dancing on the Edge’ set in the 1930′s. We are looking for a number of dancers of decent ability to perform as extras within the series. Filming takes place in Birmingham in January but I am putting things together now.
Dates
Friday 13th jan, Saturday 14th and possibly Tuesday 17th Jan.
Payment
£80-£150 per day depending on hours worked and roles given.
Location
Central Birmingham
The quality of the dancers needs to be competent and experienced. Dancers will be taught ballroom choreography on the day so will need to be able to pick things up quickly. A background in ballroom would be great but having spoken to the choreographer , it appears swing dancers can work as well. It would involve learning the steps on the day of filming so we need people who could pick it up quickly.
Ages, we are looking for people of all ages from 16 upwards and welcome people of older ages right up to 80s!
People can email me at tom@extra-people.com stating who they are, how they found out about it attaching a picture of themselves. If they could also go to our website and register that would be great, the website is www.extra-people.com. The email is the most important – as we have many people registering across the country, I need to know who is specifically registering specifically for this. I will then email people inviting them in to meet us in Birmingham and we can start sending them out to work.
I need to give options to my client next week so please ask people to work quickly on this!
Unfortunately we’ve had to cancel the remainder of our planned Hot Ginger night for 2011. Â Fear not though! Â We will be back with a vengeance in Febraury 2012 with a loved-up Valentine’s Party.
Watch this space for updates on our 2012 schedule as well as info about the Birmingham Balboa Festival 2012!
We’ve moved! And we’ve got a great space with a nice, big dance floor and tons of seating for the next Hot Ginger.
It is, of course, our HOME FRONT HOP, and we’ve got live music from Top Shelf Jazz, so make sure you go to the right place!
We’ll be in the upstairs function room at the CORKS CLUB in Kings Heath. It’s only 4 minutes up the road from from our previous venue in Moseley village, just after Kings Heath High Street. It has, of course, recently become the venue for JazzJiveswing’s weekly Lindy Hop classes on Mondays, so many of you will already know what a great venue it is.
So don’t forget. It’s the Corks Club, upstairs, side entrance, and it’s Saturday 8 October.
It promises to be a cracking night what with a great live band and guest DJ Mel Calanglang joining us to spin some great swing tunes.
Birmingham Balboa Festival 2011 with Mel and Jo Calanglang
We’re very excited to announce Birmingham’s first ever weekend swing dance festival. The workshops are aimed at complete beginnersand improvers of Balboa and will be taught by Mel & Jo Calanglang, two of the UK’s finest exponents of this wonderful dance. For more information on Balboa visit our blog post here.
STOP PRESS:
With only a few days to go we’ve had a flurry of bookings from followers meaning there’s an imbalance.
This means we have now put a temporary hold on bookings for SINGLE FOLLOWERS ONLY. Â If you are a follower booking without a lead partner your booking will be held on a waiting list.
If you are a follower booking as part of a couple, your booking will be accepted.
Single Leaders – Your followers need you! Book now so that we can even things up and let more followers attend!!
VENUE
The workshops will be held at The MAC in Birmingham in their Foyle Studio.
There is plenty of car parking on site. Alternatively The MAC is served by a number of buses from Birmingham City Centre including 1, 35, 45, 47, 62 and 63.
Ladies (and perhaps some gentlemen!) please note: Stiletto heels are not permitted in the Foyle Studio as they will mark the fantastic floor, regular heeled shoes are fine.
WORKSHOPS
The weekend will consist of eight hours of workshops; four each day.
Doors will open each day at 10.00am in time for a 10.30am prompt start. Lunch will be around 1pm for an hour* with short breaks in the morning and afternoon between classes. The classes will end around 4.00pm-4.30pm.
*Please note lunch will not be provided. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating for packed lunches, alternatively we will arrange for lunches to be pre-ordered at The MAC’s Bridges Cafe Bar.
EVENING DANCE (Entry included in workshop booking fee)
The evening dance will be Hot Ginger’s regular dance at The Loyal Caledonian Corks Club Ballroom, 225 Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 6DT (10 minute drive from The MAC) which will start at 8.30pm and has a ‘Home Front Hop’ theme. However, this will be Hot Ginger with an extra twist of spice! We’ve booked the fantastic Top Shelf Jazz – Fine Purveyors of Filthy Swing to play a couple of sets throughout the evening. This will be a night to remember!
Check out their wicked licks here:
BOOKING
The weekend costs £40 per person for eight hours of dance classes and includes entry to Hot Ginger’s regular dance night on 8th October.
Bookings can be made through Paypal using the payment button below. You do not need an Paypal account to pay. Payment is totally secure and can be made using debit or credit cards or bank transfer.
If you would prefer to pay by more traditional bank transfer or cheque, or make a group booking, please contact us at: info@hotginger.org
UPDATE: You can now book for the entire weekend or for one day only; Saturday or Sunday. Whilst the entire weekend will be suitable for complete beginners, those beginners booking for one day only are recommended to book for the Saturday as the Sunday will be a continuation of the Saturday’s classes, and will therefore be harder for a complete beginner to join in. Prices for a single day booking are half that of the full weekend and also include entry to the Saturday night dance.
To book, please select your option from the relevant button below:
We look forward to seeing you all in October, if not before!
As well as the Birmingham Balboa Festival in October, we’ve now put all the necessaries in place to be able to offer Balboa classes on every Tuesday evening throughout August.
Stephen and Kerstin will be teaching the basics of Balboa in a series of classes and hope to be able to move beyond the absolute basics that they teach in their free Balboa taster classes. Â You’ll be able to learn a few more moves and look into some more detailed parts of this wonderful swing dance.
Classes will take place Upstairs at The Cross in Moseley, Birmingham (our usual venue) and will cost £4, payable on the door, for a 90 minute class.  Classes will begin at 7.30pm on August 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th and are suitable for complete beginners and improvers.
It’s the Hot Ginger HAWAIIAN HULA PARTY NIGHT this Saturday and many of you will be wondering what to wear for such a night (we know, because you’ve been asking us).
Well, first of all, you don’t have to dress up. But if you like to…
Ladies, think Hollywood 40s beach wear, South Pacific, naughty nautical, a dash of tropical, flowers in your hair and garlands round your neck.
Guys, this is the one where you get to out-do the girls. Because what guy hasn’t got a bad taste Hawaiian shirt in his wardrobe?
If it’s anything like the last one, it’s going to be VERY HOT as well. See you there!
[ Watch our slide show below, but you might also want to take a look at this photo album over at Hepcats' Holiday from one of their previous Naughty Nautical nights. Lots of ideas in there... http://www.hepcatsholiday.com/page21.html ]
Yes, we’ve had to make a slight change to our 2012 schedule, but hopefully we’re informing you well in advance about it.
