I thought my summer job at the Royal Festival Hall working on 'Free Summer on the South Bank' would be the usual thing of earning some quick and easy money before starting back at college. My first day of a month long stint of dance events dispelled that idea instantly and I felt as much an enthusiastic participant as everyone else drawn to the ballroom floor of the Royal Festival Hall - quite astounding in the height of the August heat.
Beginning with Bollywood Blast Off, where glitzy decorations and dancers transformed the exterior of the building, and with Akademi's Escapade project pumping Bollywood hits out of major sound systems it was a great party to set the mood for the festival to follow. And when I heard about the infamous finale, Peggy Spencer's Ballroom Blitz, I knew I had landed myself a dream job.
From ten in the morning till sometimes ten at night, events brought in wave after wave of enthusiasm and dedication from the performers, workshop leaders, participants and spectators. From a working point of view, it was one of those rare experiences where the job gives you energy rather than sapping it out of you - there was never a moment of boredom and it was a joy to go into work every morning. I never quite knew what to expect as each day brought not just new companies, performers and workshops leaders into the building, but this variety in turn brought in such a varied audience. Many people had never set foot in the Royal Festival Hall, but I think the building is unique because for some reason people seem so at home. Furniture gets shifted around, packed lunches taken out, someone might have a snooze on the sofa, someone else practices a dance routine in the corner, a group of women with their babies put down a rug and have picnic. And all the while there are dance classes, kids running through the building in fancy dress, chaired debates on subjects like the growth in clubs of British Jazz Dance, company rehearsals...
I think that is what I loved most about the festival - the variety. The range of activities on offer was vast, but equally important was the different ways to experience the festival. It was not all about learning Country Dancing or how to 'freeze' in Breakdancing. There was the opportunity to work more closely with some of the invited companies, for example, Angika, a British Indian Dance Company, or with movement director Liz Ranken, and be part of their final performance on the Ballroom floor. There were also things like an African drumming and singing workshop, which became part of a performance. So if you did not feel like dancing, there were so many other activities to take part in. I loved the 'make a carnival twirly thing' workshop for the conga percussion, and the Etiquette Class on how to bow and curtsy!
Where there were the week long residencies with open public rehearsals, it was a real insight to be able to watch how a company communicates and works through ideas and the drastic or subtle changes to the work over the days leading up to their final show. Watching the work evolve was just as enriching, if not more so, than seeing the finished production. I really enjoyed the New Art Club residency who chose the hothouse space to rehearse and perform in. It was interesting to see how their rehearsals built up daily to something rather complex, and really very funny, and then to watch the final performance, which had evolved into something far simpler, the humour darker. A really beautiful poetic work. To have this reference of comparison gives a far deeper level of involvement than usual, as having the opportunity to see a piece of work develop gave so much more insight into the ideas of a company and how individual the artistic working processes are.
There were so many dance workshops: Lindy Hop, Contemporary Street, Club and Rave dance, Be-Bop, African, Salsa, Tap, Breakdance, Country Dancing, Physical Theatre and loads more. And they were not just 'tasters': all those taking part, no matter what their ability were treated in a professional manner and so worked accordingly. There was dedication and concentration at all ages, from a couple of three and a half year old boys in a breakdance class to an eighty-year-old grandmother learning African dance. It was inspiring watching all these people having a go. They could not always keep up with the teacher, but they kept going, they put in the effort, and then straight after were ready to try another class.
Because not all the workshops were movement based, you could try things like drumming, writing poetry, or, my favourite, Maketrax with Asian Dub Foundation education department. In this workshop you could create your own soundtrack. The work they created on that day was performed in the evening with the workshop leader singing and two of the people from the workshop performing a rap they had written literally just twenty minutes before going on stage. They were fantastic! One of them was a fourteen-year-old girl. I loved their inhibitions and also their professionalism.
There was a great evening, an open dance competition for under 18's. There were kids practicing all over the building, mainly groups, and mainly from Brixton. But someone I recognised from coming to different classes was a young, shy girl from Hackney who has Downs Syndrome. She was in a corner with her mum, practicing for a solo. She was amazing when she got on stage: completely transformed, with attitude and confidence she really worked the crowd and came a very well deserved second place. I thought all the kids who entered that competition were fantastic and their energy and enthusiasm for dance was potent. I do not think they realised the impact they made at the Royal Festival Hall. It was an unexpectedly fun, energetic and successful evening and it was all because they took the time to turn up, practice, and show the audience a thing or two about the youth of today.
I loved this chance clash of audience/performance expectations. One of the nicest moments was seeing the foyer full of mainly over 50s waiting for the matinee performance of On your Toes to begin, watching, enjoying and applauding kids on the ballroom floor doing free-style break dance solos.
And then the finale... the doors opened at ten o'clock in the morning, and there was literally a stampede to get a table. The ballroom floor became a sea of waltzing from the word go and the dancing kept going till ten at night. And it was packed. Thousands of people came and there were suits, and smiles, and lovely dresses and the atmosphere was just so warm. Peggy Spencer spent at least and hour at the beginning of the day, welcoming everybody - catching up with her fans that come every year and meeting new converts to the bliss of ballroom dance. The audience changed during the twelve hours (although the hardcore ones came prepared with cushions and refreshments from home) and late afternoon, evening brought in a younger, mixed crowd, which kept the momentum up. There was lots of partner swapping and helping each other learn the steps that were new to first-timers like me. Then there were the much-needed rests throughout the day to watch the junior, amateur, and professional Latin American dancers add the sequins and glamour to a fantastic party.
The festival has been running for 15 years and it was good to talk to other members to staff who have worked on the event over those years. They would point out people who have come year after year to try as many classes as possible. It has been lovely to get to know some of those regulars as well as see those who just dropped by and found themselves putting their bags down, taking their shoes off and being part of the festival. Maybe they will become regulars too. I know I will.
Maria Benjamin can be contacted on mariazeb@hotmail.com For information about the Royal Festival Hall visit www.rfh.org.uk/education or call 0207 921 0953.