As I visited the Thornbury Ceroc venue for the first time yesterday, I thought I?d write up & post my opinions here?
The venue is very easy to find, being right in the centre of Thornbury. I only got lost once, which isn?t bad for me. There?s a nice big free public car park just outside the venue where you can bump into forumites?.Hi Blaster!
The venue?s a pleasant enough place ? nice bar, with friendly bar staff. And the hall is the perfect size & shape for a class. However, the floor isn?t the greatest. It?s very slow and unyielding ? my feet are still aching this morning. Elmgrove fans may well love it, though?.
H is a very charismatic teacher, and certainly knows his stuff. He organized the class very well. He?s far too perky for my tastes, though. I became quite annoyed at all the happy clapping each time the class successfully completed a move. I personally think it devalues any real achievements, and it has the total opposite effect to the one intended on me. But, hey. I?m a grumpy old goth. YMMV. The routines were OK. The beginners one is imposed by Ceroc? HQ, so that all the venues are consistent. The second routine was easy ? probably because this was their first Intermediates class. He seemed surprised at how quickly the class picked it up, but considering that there were a fair few experienced dancers from Glos, Cardiff, Bristol, Yate, SG, Wotton, etc. it wasn?t that unexpected? This routine also contained one of the naffest moves ever ? the Catapult Flip Flop.
And to my LeRoc trained feel, the routine didn?t really flow together that well, with hand hold switches & a catapult after a return.
The music was stunning. Absolutely fantastic. It was well presented, the sound was good, and the mixture of tunes was just spot on. John is a genius. One slight niggle ? he played the wonderful Dimelo by Marc Anthony in the class ? Oh for that in freestyle??
*sigh*Another good thing about H is that he makes a point of asking people to dance. It really encourages people when a teacher does this. I was quite impressed when he remembered me from when we?d danced just the once. Little personal touches like this can really add to the atmosphere & effectiveness of the class.
It was especially nice to see the old Viva team out. I had a lovely double trouble with Graham & Rai, but sadly didn?t get to dance with Dave.
I think the perkiness & the slow floor won?t make this a regular haunt. I still prefer the lovely Ceroc? Worcester for my Thursday fix. However, it?ll be nice to pop in from time to time.
