The Tea Dance with a Twist

Posted on February 7, 2019

Participants are encouraged to dress up in bright colours and throw themselves into the action at DanceWest’s Tea Dance with a Twist on March 16 at Hammersmith Town Hall, London.

A contemporary, dynamic event with something for everyone, the Tea Dance with a Twist features a live jazz band, led by nonagenarian Jack Honeyborne, playing tunes ranging from 1940s jazz standards to modern pop classics. There will be opportunities to waltz and foxtrot, but, more than anything, this intergenerational event will provide a chance for dance fans of all ages to simply have a bop together.

The afternoon will also be peppered with live dance performances from flamenco expert Sam Quy and dance theatre duo Thick and Tight, alongside Sadler’s Wells’ Company of Elders, the DanceWest Bolder not Older Company, as well as the DanceWest Youth Company.

Sadler’s Wells Company of Elders will be performing an excerpt of their new work choreographed by Alesandra Seutin. The full piece will receive its world premiere as part of Sadler’s Wells Elixir Extracts Festival, on June 14 at the Lilian Baylis Studio. Bolder not Older Company will perform a new work choreographed by rehearsal director, Danielle Teale.

For more information, visit dancewest.co.uk.

Photograph: Dancers in Sadler’s Well Company of Elders. Photograph by Ellie Kurttz.

Nicola Rayner

Nicola Rayner was editor of Dance Today from 2010 to 2015. She has written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Independent and Time Out Buenos Aires, where she cut her teeth as a dance journalist working on the tango section. Today she continues to dance everything from ballroom to breakdance, with varying degrees of success. Her debut novel, The Girl Before You, was published last year in paperback, ebook and audiobook.