Last night I was watching Brents son on the floor and I just couldn't take my eyes off watching those young legs dancing so effortlessly and it got me wondering , it must have been an amazing sight seeing 80 % of the room dance as well as that .

I mentioned it to Nige and he was saying that the best dancers danced at the front ... I wondered who they were and how was it controlled , or did dancers just know their place ?

It doesn't happen today I guess ? because there arn't that many exceptional dancers . I could have watched that lad dance all night .

That's just a myth, you danced anywhere you liked, loads of great dancers all over the place. Anyone could walk to the front and dance there, I did it loads of times, but we preferred to stay in our corner bottom left.

Exceptional dancers or what

Edited October 16, 201114 yr by Tony Foster

I tended to dance at the back around ten feet in near the middle. You tended to dance near your bags and mates.

I usually prefer back right hand corner or middle of the floor thesedays, if I can get in that space. Never left hand side or near the stage and never near the speakers.

So Pete favoured the left & Matt the right.

Just the same with your politics then

That's just a myth, you danced anywhere you liked, loads of great dancers all over the place. Anyone could walk to the front and dance there, I did it loads of times, but we preferred to stay in our corner bottom left.

Pete

I must admit I've read that about the best dancers at the front on here a few times & always thought well it was a rule I never knew about,glad to find out it's a "myth".

Looking from the stage we usually danced around about the back third on the left hand side.........there was some bloody great dancers round there so if the "myth" was true they must have been superstars at the front

Cheers

Martyn

So Pete favoured the left & Matt the right.

Just the same with your politics then

Er, probably the opposite actually LOL

At the front to the right of the stage didnt notice any heirachy ever you just danced .

Lol now thats funny Tone looks like Spanner on a good day. The first Rave eh

Last night I was watching Brents son on the floor and I just couldn't take my eyes off watching those young legs dancing so effortlessly and it got me wondering , it must have been an amazing sight seeing 80 % of the room dance as well as that .

I mentioned it to Nige and he was saying that the best dancers danced at the front ... I wondered who they were and how was it controlled , or did dancers just know their place ?

It doesn't happen today I guess ? because there arn't that many exceptional dancers . I could have watched that lad dance all night .

Hi Carmen how are you sweetie is nige o.k ? you know there are specialist clubs that strange women like you can go to to watch young men "Dance " regards Friday

Really really really ( said in an east riding accent ) Siiiiiiiiiimon you are the Bon lol , dandy mate

Exceptional dancers or what

Albainian car booters discover northern cd

Really really really ( said in an east riding accent ) Siiiiiiiiiimon you are the Bon lol , dandy mate

Thank you Carmen have a nice day love Simon.XXX

So Pete favoured the left & Matt the right.

Just the same with your politics then

Funny thing is you can never see the dancers at the front of the stage, so who knows who they are and how good? On the odd occasion i've been to Stoke and stood around the edge at the back I have no idea who is up front until it thins out around 5am.

Best place has to be at the back middle so the drinkers can stand and admire.

Edited October 16, 201114 yr by Matt Male

No best place is on top Matt.... the balcony view lets you see all , I have spent many hour at Blackpool picking out the best dancers from above , interesting how some dancers do move their pitch around the floor too.

Wigan - middle LH side looking at the stage, maybe slightly forward of that. In M's used to dance on the balcony on one of those pieces of hardboard, thats were I would perfect my moves !. Next day at Top of the World or Lacarno, would spend nearly all day just on the edge of the dancefloor waiting for the breaks to practice spins for WC the next week - seemed important at the time LOL.

I did hear that rumour about best at the front & Sparky & Winston always seemed to be round about there - never thought to check it & no one ever told me were not to dance....

Best Russ

That's just a myth, you danced anywhere you liked, loads of great dancers all over the place. Anyone could walk to the front and dance there, I did it loads of times, but we preferred to stay in our corner bottom left.

I, for one, danced wherever space opened up, didn't matter where it was, if I was in the mood then anywhere would do.

Right hand side near the front, was never told to get to the back, and i wasnt the best dancer in the world

Sa

That's just a myth, you danced anywhere you liked, loads of great dancers all over the place. Anyone could walk to the front and dance there, I did it loads of times, but we preferred to stay in our corner bottom left.

Wasn't the whole best dancers at the front thing a result of the Jethro (wolves)/ Sandy (bolton) dance rivalry and footsie on TOTP? Sandy was always at the front, Vernon (no1 spinner) danced near the front too, but I was always in the wolves corner - just as you walked through the doors into the main room

used to dance near the front, back to the stage, was a shyte dancer then (still am) never had any bad vibes from those with but one left foot (maybe they felt sorry for me)

There was no dance hierarchy at Wigan, I do remember the front on the stage got hogged with cassette tape recorders all on on 'record'.

Best dancer in my day was Chris Hurley, much better than Sandy, a remember a black guy called Winstone, OMG his spin was like no one else's, just amazing to watch.

Wigan - middle LH side looking at the stage, maybe slightly forward of that. In M's used to dance on the balcony on one of those pieces of hardboard, thats were I would perfect my moves !. Next day at Top of the World or Lacarno, would spend nearly all day just on the edge of the dancefloor waiting for the breaks to practice spins for WC the next week - seemed important at the time LOL.

I did hear that rumour about best at the front & Sparky & Winston always seemed to be round about there - never thought to check it & no one ever told me were not to dance....

Best Russ

Brum Locarno spent most of my time in those big changing rooms dancing in front of the full length mirrors

I usually spent all my time in the record bar, so when I had the urge to dance, it was at the back, left hand side as you came in. The only exception, I danced at the front, was near the front stage, near the gents toilets, as I used to mingle with the Preston crowd, Skat Cat etc, and searlings, first plays of Cecil Washington and Vickie Baines. Mind you though, there were some incredible dancers there, midweek.

I usually spent all my time in the record bar, so when I had the urge to dance, it was at the back, left hand side as you came in. The only exception, I danced at the front, was near the front stage, near the gents toilets, as I used to mingle with the Preston crowd, Skat Cat etc, and searlings, first plays of Cecil Washington and Vickie Baines. Mind you though, there were some incredible dancers there, midweek.

"gents toilets", that's a charitable description

Pete

I must admit I've read that about the best dancers at the front on here a few times & always thought well it was a rule I never knew about,glad to find out it's a "myth".

Looking from the stage we usually danced around about the back third on the left hand side.........there was some bloody great dancers round there so if the "myth" was true they must have been superstars at the front

Cheers

Martyn

Christ................ sat - nav dancer's, location, location masses. Exclusive empty and free dance floor Saturday nite freedom after friday nite oldies. Then set your compass for the next 3 saturday nites.

Next to the Geordies then Martyn,

I was a good dancer back then .........or at least I thought I was ...... If you know what I mean

Anyone remember a guy called Frank Bupa, from Warrington/Widnes?

I've met & spoke to him a few times in recent years, his day was before my time, but I"m told he was something else.

Next to the Geordies then Martyn,

I was a good dancer back then .........or at least I thought I was ...... If you know what I mean

Geoff

Alright matey not seen you in awhile,be good if you can get out to play soon you've been missed

The only Geordies I knew at Wigan or should I say N.East lads were Jinxy & Phil Joss..........I think you lot were a bit quiet & reserved so didn't notice you

Cheers

Martyn

Martyn

Anyone remember a guy called Frank Bupa, from Warrington/Widnes?

I've met & spoke to him a few times in recent years, his day was before my time, but I"m told he was something else.

You mean Frank Booper (spelling?).yeah he was a good dancer, but there loads of good ens as well in his time circa 73/74.

Next to the Geordies then Martyn,

I was a good dancer back then .........or at least I thought I was ...... If you know what I mean

If you were looking down from the stage Jeff the North East crowd were about half way down on the left as you know - that was when you had your bootleg wedge haircut lol

All the best

Manus

at the front (facing the stage) by the left hand speaker, handy for the bogs, and for my bag behind the speaker and my phillips tape recorder on top, ..only prob was suffering from Tintinitus but it was worth it.

I remember the dance competitions, never really liked them, they just used to break-up the night, lights on & all that.

Load of B@ll@@ks, it's ironic, cos it's not what the scene was really about, even though it was about dancing a lot, if that makes sense.

I know they were popular, just not with me.

Anyone remember a guy called Frank Bupa, from Warrington/Widnes?

I've met & spoke to him a few times in recent years, his day was before my time, but I"m told he was something else.

Yeah, years ago I was on speaking terms with Booper, us Luton lads first met him at that allnighter in a cellar of a house in Bradford about 1970-72, Chiefy deffo went there so did Soulcarp, Linda Williams from Keighley also used to go.

Booper, WITHOUT ANY SHADOW OF A DOUBT could dance the bollocks off any of the You Tubed Wigan dancers, the bulk of them HOP SKIP and JUMP, we used to glide, foot work was everything, the back drops/ forward drops/spins were optional extras, and as you say a lot of us from that era were pretty good.

I danced anywhere i could find the room not to get either a foot in the head or a fist in the mush from these`s spinning, kicking nutters

Julie

In 78 we had about a three month run of hiring 50 seater coaches from the Chesterfield / Mansfield area mainly we met at clay cross

On the bus they would be about 20 to 25 hardcore dancers we practiced all week we copied moves of other dancers.

At that time we mainly used to sit at the right hand side in the big room near the front

I always danced in that area Did not feel at the time that there was a pecking order

If I remember there was usually the Bolton crew at the front lots of Manc lads n lasses

Sandy holt Julie bebb and a guy called vinney from leyland all danced at. The front

Loads of top dancers if some one wanted to dance near you , you just gave them some space and respect if you knew that they were into fast spins or lots of acrobatics most dancers knew when to get out of the way!

There would be some collisions but a quick smile shake if hands usually ended up in a lifelong friendship!!

As the big floor was huge to me I did not matter where I danced as long as I danced there was some great dancers at the front but there was also some. great dancers All over

I'm mr m's. You just danced where you could !

I agree carms the best place to watch was from the balcony used to go up there fir a breather and a smoke???

Spike

Edited October 17, 201114 yr by spike1

All the people who were at the front at Wigan are now officially DEAF or "hard of hearing"!

Am glad this myth about best dancers at the front is killed off. Back then you danced where you wanted to or more importantly where you could find a bit of space on the floor.

Always danced at the front, only reason as others have said was to keep an eye on cassette recorder in bag.

I had boxes of those cassettes but chucked them all out when we moved house around 1991. Got back into the music in '95 and deeply regretted their loss.

na it was a fact in the late 70s and early 80s.i recall kids getting bumped off the floor for their lack of style and technique,if you werent up to the mark dancers would literally dance as close as possible to make you go off and dance else were,it happened at wigan,morcambe,stafford,parr hall warrington.nowa days its not prelevent at all dancers now seem to choose their own favourite spaces-mines usually away from the bar and exits to the loo,as people constantly walk up and down spilling drinks.some of the older dancers do still congregate around the left hand side of the stage at some venues.the good dancers are still out there,some like myself choose the venue and dj line up that suites.ive been to allnighters/soul nites were ive never left my seat,and others were the acrobatics come out of the closet because the music and atmosphere have been the right combination.(am i biggin myself up-yeh damd right-got the trophies to back it up,plus the artharitus and damaged hamstrings )

To be honest I always avoided the more 'acrobatic' dancers as you were more likely to get kicked in the head or smacked round the face if you were too near

Personally I thought the acrobatics went a bit too far, sometimes is was like watching a gymnastics competition. For me it was all about the feet and the interpretation of the music.

I'm sure I recall the "best" dancers right hand side of the stage, do remember one bloke always wore a vest and I'm sure he had longish hair, never stopped!

Last night I was watching Brents son on the floor and I just couldn't take my eyes off watching those young legs dancing so effortlessly and it got me wondering , it must have been an amazing sight seeing 80 % of the room dance as well as that .

I mentioned it to Nige and he was saying that the best dancers danced at the front ... I wondered who they were and how was it controlled , or did dancers just know their place ?

It doesn't happen today I guess ? because there arn't that many exceptional dancers . I could have watched that lad dance all night .

nah they just loved themselves more than any of the others

there's a really good chapter in a book I have about this, the guy who wrote it went onto become a professional jazz dancer, if memory serves me right, will have to dig it out think its in some cultural studies conpendium, edited by cosgrove.

iam not saying someone who does the acrobatics is a "good dancer" iam not,because there are people who do the "gymnastics" and it looks dire its about getting the footwork and acrobatics just right ie the right record,tempo etc.even tho iam one of the few who still do the "gymnastics" as i said the atmosphere,venue and djs choice of tunes has to be right.id never do the "fancy"stuff for the sake of it,i have to be in the right frame of mind and i do it for me not to impress other people.and in response to the "left or right of the stage" debate- is it your left or my left? is your back to the stage or facing it? because the more adventurous dancers seem to congregate on the left of the stage (the djs left)

Used to do the gymnastics back in the 7ts

But always concentrated on the foot work

Fast stomper style or smooth style depending on the beat

I don't have any trophies like lamberettanic but I do have the same dodgy knees and hamstrings

And my acrobatics stay firmly under lock and key!!

Love to see guys who can still do the floor work but fir me it has to fit in to the beat

Not just a gymnastic show

Just my opinion

Steve( just getting some more cod liver oil caps)

Pike

Don't k iw about dance police at Wigan

But there was some police who tried to dance !

The loverly police cadets who dressed like they were going to a disco and danced that way too !!

Av you got any gear mate??

Eff off !!!!

Don't k iw about dance police at Wigan

But there was some police who tried to dance !

The loverly police cadets who dressed like they were going to a disco and danced that way too !!

Av you got any gear mate??

Eff off !!!!

Hahaha! I remember them, didn't exactly "blend in" dunno about undercover, but definately in the the dark!

Er, probably the opposite actually LOL

Couldn't agree more Pete!

Edited October 19, 201114 yr by Gene-R

Personally I thought the acrobatics went a bit too far, sometimes is was like watching a gymnastics competition. For me it was all about the feet and the interpretation of the music.

I'm sure I recall the "best" dancers right hand side of the stage, do remember one bloke always wore a vest and I'm sure he had longish hair, never stopped!

He must have stood out like a sore thumb........... :D

He must have stood out like a sore thumb........... :D

Did he have a bag with badges on..?