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!

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 ]

The sharp-eyed of you might have noticed that before this Saturday’s HOT GINGER we’re offering a change from our usual Balboa dance taster class…

Yes, this Saturday we’ve got special guests Dai and Sharon Roland coming all the way from Newport to give us an exciting taster class in COLLEGIATE SHAG.

Carry On jokes aside, this is a very energetic swing dance that emerged on the 1930s college swing dance scene. It’s a lot of fun, and a few of us from Hot Ginger were recently knocked out by some awesome Shag dancers at the recent Hepcats’ Holiday weekender.

The taster will most likely be at a sedate pace just to get you used to the basics. We don’t think it will be quite as full on as the video clips below!

So make sure you take this chance to learn the basic step so you can take it further at your leisure. We’re not sure, but this might well be the first ever Shag class in Birmingham! It’s certainly a very rare chance to have a go at this increasingly popular swing dance.

Get there for 7.30. The class is free and part of your Hot Ginger Hawaiian Hula Party Night ticket.

See you there!

Well, we rolled out the red carpet for our first big 2011 bash and you really made it the greatest show on earth. There were over fifty of you in the free Balboa dance class early in the evening (run wonderfully by Stephen and Kerstin) and plenty of you were trying out the steps on the dance floor later on.

It turned into a cracking night with over 120 people piling in, dressed to the nines, and the swing swinging all the way till 1 a.m.

A big thank you has to go to our first ever live band, INTENT ON JAZZ, whose two sets had everyone dancing. We’ll definitely have them back to play for you at a future Hot Ginger night, but if you want to book the guys for your own party or event, give Roger a call on 07951 436 720 or email him. Everyone was buzzing about them, so they really put on a great show (and thanks to Lorna for scouting them out!).

A few of you were saying it was the best Hot Ginger ever, so the next nine dates for 2011 have a lot to live up to!

We’ll see you all for our Prohibition Party on 12 March… and stay tuned for news about a Balboa dance workshop on the same day. We’ll give you the details just as soon as we’ve got it all organised…