Vintage at Southbank Centre

Posted on July 27, 2011

Take a trip back in time this weekend as Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway bring their award-winning Vintage festival to Southbank Centre, London, from July 29 to 31.

Over three days and nights, the Royal Festival Hall will be dressed as never seen before, its six levels transformed into a multi-venue playground where, over 13 hours each day (from 12pm to 1am), pass-holders can learn the dances of the decades, take in over 70 live performances, boogie along to the tunes of 150 DJs, enjoy exclusive catwalk shows and decade specific makeovers, sample food and cocktails, shop at one of world’s most exciting vintage marketplaces, and get style hunted as Southbank Centre calls out for people to glam up.

Wayne Hemingway said: “Whether your thing is swing, rockabilly, mod, soul, funk, disco, ska, film, art or design, or if you just want to dress up and get an authentic makeover for a day, Vintage at Southbank Centre is a sensual delight, a big dressing-up box, a collector’s dream and joyous creative feast.”

Each evening the Royal Festival Hall’s main auditorium will host a differently themed Vintage Revue – some of the world’s iconic performers coming together with contemporary talent to create a one-off genre-specific revue.

With stylists and barbers on hand, ticket-holders will also be able to get free decade-specific hair and beauty makeovers. The venues will not only transport visitors to the music and style of the decades, but also – via their taste buds – to the eating and drinking habits of days gone by with authentically conceived vintage food and cocktails served throughout the day and evening.

Throughout each day and evening, the Royal Festival Hall will also play host to eight Vintage nightclubs, immersing visitors in the dance and club scenes of seven decades of “British cool”. Each club venue will offer free dance lessons led by professional instructors so visitors can learn the foxtrot, jive or whatever gets them on the dancefloor, before trying out the moves in the Vintage clubs.

www.vintageatsouthbankcentre.co.uk

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.