Dan's 10 Year Ceroc Teaching Anniversary, Dance Community and a Chat with Lyndsey Hill

Dance and Community l This week we're looking back at Dan's 10 year teaching anniversary at Ceroc Derby, one of the most memorable nights we've ever had at Ceroc Inspire.

We talk about the surprises, the celebrations and why it meant so much to see former dancers return just to celebrate with Dan, proving that once you're part of a dance community, you're never really gone.

We also chat with Lyndsey Hill from Ceroc HQ about her upcoming SILC Foundations Workshop with Tim Stevens at Ceroc Derby and why learning to dance to slower music can transform your dancing.

If you'd like to join us at the workshop or simply enjoy hearing stories from the world of Ceroc and social dancing, we hope you'll enjoy this episode.

Transcript

Speaker 0 [0:09-0:14]:
Hello, and welcome to Ceroc inspires dance inspiration podcast. I'm Liz.
Speaker 1 [0:14-0:19]:
And I'm Mark. And we're here keeping you up to date with everything that's going on in Ceroc Inspire.
Speaker 0 [0:19-0:21]:
So let's get started.
Speaker 1 [0:24-0:38]:
So the podcast this week is slightly different to our usual format, mainly because last Monday was Dan's 10th year of teaching. So we had a little celebration, didn't we, honey?
Speaker 0 [0:38-0:41]:
Teaching at Derby as well for 10 years. Yeah. We did. We had a big celebration.
Speaker 1 [0:42-0:43]:
And we got him a big surprise.
Speaker 0 [0:44-0:51]:
We got him quite a few surprises, but there was 1 majorly big surprise that we really had to keep under our hats, wasn't it? That
Speaker 1 [0:52-0:53]:
was fun, wasn't it?
Speaker 0 [0:53-1:01]:
Yeah. I mean, the thing is that we knew if we told too many people that that it would definitely come out. Even though we did tell Holly, Dan's best friend,
Speaker 1 [1:01-1:02]:
we did
Speaker 0 [1:02-1:25]:
tell but we knew that she would keep it under a hat. And I think also Lucy we told Lucy one of Ceroc Heaven's teachers, just so she could help us to keep it a secret, and it was fun. Yeah. It was fun hiding it and hard to keep it a secret from Dan because he kept saying, oh, it's my my celebration on the June 22, but I can't tell you what's happening because Liz won't tell me.
Speaker 1 [1:25-1:26]:
June. Right. A
Speaker 0 [1:26-1:30]:
bit of emotional blackmail going on there. Oh, Liz won't let him in on it. She won't tell me what's happening. Nope.
Speaker 1 [1:30-1:32]:
Nope. All he had to do was turn up.
Speaker 0 [1:32-1:55]:
Absolutely. So the surprise was that we wanted a special guest to come, and enjoy the night with them and help us celebrate. And 1 of Dan's closest friends is Lyndsay Hill, who is head of marketing at Ceroc HQ, but also Yeah. She's, a fabulous teacher, isn't she? And she is also 1 of the teacher trainers.
Speaker 1 [1:57-1:59]:
She she taught her very own Nic.
Speaker 0 [1:59-2:02]:
She did teach Nic. Yes. She trained Nic. Sorry. Not teach Nic.
Speaker 0 [2:02-2:17]:
Yeah. So, Lyndsay had been to Northern Champs. Dan was going to Northern Champs. Dan didn't know, but Lyndsay stayed in Derby afterwards. And we'd arranged with her that she would, pop up as a special guest on his special night, didn't we?
Speaker 1 [2:17-2:19]:
We did. We did.
Speaker 0 [2:19-2:25]:
Yeah. It was a bit hard trying to hide it because, obviously, Lyndsay was here most of the day, which she got loads of work done, didn't she?
Speaker 1 [2:25-2:26]:
She did.
Speaker 0 [2:26-2:31]:
And then we had tea, and then we snuck her into the venue, didn't we, early on?
Speaker 1 [2:31-2:33]:
The definite secret squirrels keeping her hidden.
Speaker 0 [2:34-2:43]:
Yeah. It was interesting. So, so, Lyndsay is coming back, actually to Derby in July with Tim Stevens and
Speaker 1 [2:43-2:44]:
On the 26th.
Speaker 0 [2:44-2:59]:
July 26 to do, a silc foundation workshop and an afternoon silc freestyle. So we're we're gonna be seeing quite a bit o fLyndsay. And, again, later on, she'll be booking another date. So, might as well introduce her Yeah.
Speaker 1 [2:59-3:00]:
Well
Speaker 0 [3:00-3:01]:
on that night, hadn't we?
Speaker 1 [3:01-3:06]:
We had. So, you grabbed a few minutes with her beforehand, didn't you?
Speaker 0 [3:06-3:34]:
I did. So we we got into Rolls Royce at, like, half past 5. We don't open the doors till half 7, so we have plenty of time to, sit and have a little chat. So, I sat down with Lyndsay( in the boardroom, excuse the echoes), and we had a little chat. 

Pretty excited tonight because it's Dan's 10th anniversary teaching party, and we have got a special guest who has come to be and see Dan for the night.
Speaker 0 [3:34-3:37]:
It's Lyndsay, our Lyndsay Hill. Hi, Lyndsay
Speaker 2 [3:37-3:39]:
Hi, Liz. I'm
Speaker 0 [3:39-3:48]:
so excited. I'm excited too. And it's been so hard keeping this secret, honestly, because people and Dan in particular have been saying, who's who's coming? What's doing? What's what are the surprises?
Speaker 0 [3:48-3:50]:
What's happening? And we're like, I'm not telling you.
Speaker 2 [3:50-3:51]:
I know. And you want to almost, don't you?
Speaker 0 [3:51-3:53]:
Because it's like you're a bit cruel.
Speaker 2 [3:53-3:54]:
We're lying to our friends.
Speaker 0 [3:54-3:55]:
I know.
Speaker 2 [3:55-3:56]:
It's for the best reason.
Speaker 0 [3:56-4:05]:
It is. I mean, he's actually been announcing to the class that I won't tell him. I'm the baddie. I'm the buddy. So he's gonna be so excited when Lyndsay appears in front of
Speaker 2 [4:05-4:13]:
him with his celebratory cake. Celebratory cake and an outfit that will either make him jump for joy or give him PTSD.
Speaker 0 [4:13-4:22]:
Yeah. It might give him a bit of peace. So so Lyndsay is going to be wearing the outfit she was wearing when Lyndsay and Dan had a little accident at my 1st. What happened, Lyndsay
Speaker 2 [4:23-4:40]:
Just usual messing around me and Dan. A little lift off the wall went a little bit wrong, and, yeah. I ended up landing on my head, and then Dan landed on me and, cracked, cracked, cracked, instead of searing on my ribs. But, it's fine. I'm all healed.
Speaker 2 [4:40-4:41]:
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 0 [4:41-4:46]:
It doesn't matter. It's all good. But the outfit, we've said tonight, the theme is multicolored, haven't we?
Speaker 2 [4:46-4:47]:
And this is multicolored.
Speaker 0 [4:48-4:51]:
And, yes, so hopefully, it will now have a more happy memory
Speaker 2 [4:51-4:51]:
to it.
Speaker 0 [4:51-4:54]:
Yes. It's a great idea. You. You. Yes.
Speaker 2 [4:54-4:55]:
Turned it all over.
Speaker 0 [4:56-5:08]:
So, yeah, Dan has no idea that Lyndsay is here. We've been sneaking around a bit, and we've been off and had tea with Lyndsay. Dan would be so jealous. Anyway, we've had tea with Lyndsay, and we've snuck her in, and we're hiding her. Hiding in
Speaker 2 [5:08-5:12]:
a meeting room at the moment ready for the big reveal after the beginner's
Speaker 0 [5:12-5:17]:
session. So exciting. I can't wait to see his face. We need to have somebody there with a camera to see his face when
Speaker 2 [5:17-5:18]:
you see him. Please please send
Speaker 0 [5:18-5:18]:
me a
Speaker 2 [5:18-5:19]:
quote that. I'll get
Speaker 0 [5:19-5:29]:
I'll get Mark on on the floor so that with a camera so he can get his his expression. That's a nice idea. Me too. So yeah. But this is the only time that we have welcomed Lyndsay to Derby.
Speaker 0 [5:29-5:32]:
And but this is actually the 1st time you've ever been here, isn't it?
Speaker 2 [5:32-5:40]:
Oh, the venue is incredible, and you are so lucky. I've been going to loads of venues around The UK. Oh. This has to be 1 of the best. It really is.
Speaker 0 [5:40-5:44]:
It is amazing. Very shiny. Yeah. Very shiny. Made very welcome.
Speaker 0 [5:44-5:46]:
Given a nice coffee on arrival.
Speaker 2 [5:46-5:48]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The crew's looking after you.
Speaker 0 [5:48-5:51]:
Yeah. Yeah. That that's funny. But they're they're just like part of our crew, to be fair. Mhmm.
Speaker 0 [5:51-5:55]:
They are. They know us. They always put out what we need and Yeah. And manage it for us. Lovely.
Speaker 0 [5:55-6:04]:
That's great. So the exciting thing is that actually, we'll be able to introduce Lindsay to you as the teacher that is gonna be teaching our silc workshop
Speaker 2 [6:04-6:08]:
and afternoon freestyle. Yes. With the lovely Tim Stevens.
Speaker 0 [6:08-6:18]:
Yes. Yes. We've been telling you all about it. It's on July 26, Sunday afternoon, 2 till 8, and we cannot wait. Oh.
Speaker 2 [6:18-6:44]:
You know? We can't wait either because, Tim and I have been wanting to do this for a long, long, long, long time, and it's 1 of those things, like, you know, we say about old dog and new tricks. It's like, I always like to be, you know, really up there and and keep in mind my mind and my dancing really, really fresh. And Tim's exactly the same. We're we're putting ourselves out there all the time, and so to do the silk course, quite recently was something that we said, right, we gotta do it.
Speaker 2 [6:44-6:58]:
Gotta, you know, and we wanted to do it together and also become, you know, a teaching couple for silc, because I think silc works best when it's sort of like you've got the the the follow talking about what the follow is doing, the leads talking about what the leads do. Yeah. And then it's a coming together. It's,
Speaker 0 [6:58-6:59]:
it's so exciting.
Speaker 2 [6:59-7:00]:
Quite powerful.
Speaker 0 [7:00-7:07]:
I think so. I mean, there's a lot of interest. A lot of fabulous interest. I can't wait to come over. And it's it's also the 1st workshop we've ever done at this venue.
Speaker 0 [7:07-7:08]:
So that's that's a
Speaker 2 [7:08-7:09]:
new thing
Speaker 0 [7:09-7:09]:
as well.
Speaker 2 [7:09-7:11]:
I would definitely get here then.
Speaker 0 [7:11-7:16]:
Yeah. Definitely get here. You really don't wanna miss it. And you can book it online. It's or you can book it through me.
Speaker 0 [7:16-7:17]:
So it's fine. You know?
Speaker 2 [7:17-7:23]:
Well, also anyone thinking of travelling. I mean, I had a £36 hotel last night. It was quite clean. They're, like, 10 10 minutes down the road. Yeah.
Speaker 2 [7:23-7:27]:
So if anyone wants to come for a a little longer stay, they can do.
Speaker 0 [7:27-7:30]:
So Lyndsay is fresh from the Northern Champs? Yes.
Speaker 2 [7:30-7:31]:
I say fresh. Thanks. Fresh.
Speaker 0 [7:31-7:32]:
Yeah. I don't
Speaker 2 [7:32-7:33]:
I don't feel fresh.
Speaker 0 [7:33-7:34]:
She looks pretty fresh,
Speaker 2 [7:34-7:34]:
believe me.
Speaker 0 [7:34-7:36]:
She looks like fresher than I did.
Speaker 2 [7:36-7:46]:
And a week beforehand, but, no, that was an incredible event as well. So 1 of the busiest, if not the busiest, so far after lockdown, championships. So it was really good.
Speaker 0 [7:46-7:52]:
We were talking earlier, weren't we, about the Ceroc X category. Yeah. How was that? It was really good because,
Speaker 2 [7:52-8:18]:
I mean, for those that don't know Ceroc X, it's basically a set number of moves, set music. So if you're thinking about competing for the 1st ever time, then it's a really nice safe platform you can practice. Yeah. And it was really weird because when the swing blues came on, obviously, the demonstrations uses me and Tim Sant from HQ. And, the swing blues is like, I jump and then he jumps, and then we all go around in circles.
Speaker 2 [8:18-8:25]:
And it was so funny to see them all doing exactly the same. It was like and I was jumping around with them. But, yeah, they did incredibly well. So
Speaker 0 [8:26-8:26]:
That's so interesting.
Speaker 2 [8:27-8:34]:
Gonna be around. I think it's running at Welsh champs. They're gonna do it at Scotland champs and, at the sort champs in London.
Speaker 0 [8:34-8:36]:
So there's still lots of opportunities to do that, isn't there?
Speaker 2 [8:36-8:37]:
So what do you got at once?
Speaker 0 [8:37-8:42]:
Just music here. Because we've done the moves. Yes. They've all been recorded, so people can still practice. Yeah.
Speaker 0 [8:42-8:46]:
Yeah. We find partners. They need they need to partner up with somebody after they get Yes.
Speaker 2 [8:46-8:48]:
They do. Yeah. Yeah. This isn't like a lucky dip.
Speaker 0 [8:48-8:51]:
Okay. So that's something that you can all jump onto and do
Speaker 2 [8:51-8:53]:
as well. I see it as you've got them. Mhmm.
Speaker 0 [8:53-8:56]:
Once you've met Lyndsay, that's it. You'll be following around the country.
Speaker 2 [8:56-9:00]:
Oh, please. It sounds very stalkerish, but I like it. No.
Speaker 0 [9:00-9:14]:
Exactly. So those of you that don't know, Lyndsay is actually head of marketing for Ceroc as well as being an amazing teacher. So, you know, somebody that you want to get to know to find out all the ins and outs of the champs and everything and the med Fest holidays.
Speaker 2 [9:14-9:14]:
Yes.
Speaker 0 [9:14-9:18]:
Lyndsay always goes there, don't you? Not always. I have had
Speaker 2 [9:18-9:28]:
a few years off, but, yeah. Again, I've got FOMO. So if I'm not on it yeah. So I am going definitely on this 1. I'm I'm really looking forward to seeing a new venue because, I haven't been there.
Speaker 2 [9:28-9:31]:
Yeah. They held blaze there, and I've heard lovely good things about the
Speaker 0 [9:31-9:32]:
Hopefully, no low walls.
Speaker 2 [9:33-9:34]:
No low walls.
Speaker 0 [9:34-9:35]:
And no Dan Ayacres.
Speaker 2 [9:35-9:36]:
Oh, I hope Dan's there.
Speaker 0 [9:36-9:37]:
I think it probably will be.
Speaker 2 [9:37-9:39]:
My partner in crime. Yeah.
Speaker 0 [9:39-9:40]:
No falling off walls, though.
Speaker 2 [9:40-9:42]:
He is think he is thinking of coming, actually. So that'd
Speaker 0 [9:42-9:50]:
be great. I think quite a few people's actually they have been to MedFest with that, I think, and come back with stories. But we all know what dance like. Yes.
Speaker 2 [9:50-9:54]:
Yeah. Just ask him about the sparty duck. That's all I'm gonna say. Uh-oh. Yeah.
Speaker 2 [9:54-9:59]:
I'm not gonna say anymore. You're not? No. No. I'm just gonna let all your dancers know about the sparty duck.
Speaker 0 [9:59-10:06]:
Sparty duck. Remember that. Yeah. Remember sparty duck and ask Dan about it. You'll probably fall about it embarrassing because it's bound to be something embarrassing.
Speaker 2 [10:06-10:07]:
Yeah. That's what it might be.
Speaker 0 [10:08-10:12]:
It might be. That means it is. Definitely. It's sparty dock, guys. sparty dock.
Speaker 0 [10:12-10:24]:
So this tea dance that we're doing Yes. We need everybody to put the word out there, don't we? Yeah. We need everybody to, like, far and wide, come to Derby. It's an amazing venue, which Lyndsay now has venue in the Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2 [10:24-10:47]:
Yeah. Absolutely. But also, you know, if you are still quite new to dancing to slower music, you know, we're going to give you those skills to be able to, you know, learn Yeah. A few techniques that will help you get through and cope with it. There's so much extra time in slower music, so you can't really just do slow sarong No.
Speaker 2 [10:47-11:03]:
Because you get the end of the slot and you're like, what do I do now? Exactly. So, I mean, it's been a learning curve for all of us, and people are saying that my dancing has improved since I've really got on board with the syllabus. Really? So if I can improve, then, you know, obviously, I'm I'm hoping I'm gonna pass that knowledge on to others.
Speaker 0 [11:03-11:04]:
You're a new person.
Speaker 2 [11:04-11:05]:
I am a new person.
Speaker 0 [11:05-11:12]:
A new person. A new teacher. Absolutely. I think that's amazing because there are people that really do want to actually learn to dance slower. Yeah.
Speaker 0 [11:12-11:25]:
And we obviously do our, expressive classes and freestyles with Tor. But this is something in the middle, isn't it, really? I think Yeah. It's a bit different. And I think, you know, people do do just ceroc to a slower track when actually
Speaker 2 [11:26-11:33]:
And and there's I'm not saying there's anything wrong in doing that, but it can be a bit exposing. Yeah. You've got this time. It's like, oh, no. How do I fill that time?
Speaker 2 [11:33-11:45]:
Well, actually, if you learn the foundations and all the, the methodology behind it, it's actually something that gives you the confidence to actually say, well, I can now play. I can now do some extra extra stuff here.
Speaker 0 [11:45-11:45]:
So I'm I'm doing
Speaker 2 [11:45-11:48]:
the workshop. Fabulous. Oh, you love it. You love it. I mean
Speaker 0 [11:48-11:51]:
I can't I can't wait, actually. I can't wait. I'm really excited. Yeah.
Speaker 2 [11:51-12:08]:
Well, I've had, just lots of time with the the lovely Kieran and Charlie as well. So they've given me some sort of, like, private lessons as well. So that's always a a bonus if you wanna, like, really look at your own technique Yeah. In terms of, your silk dancing. So they've been really helpful.
Speaker 2 [12:08-12:20]:
I went to Chill recently Yeah. And I joined in with lots of workshops shops there. And, as I said, it's it's turned my dancing around, which is That's amazing. I know. I mean, it went about 20 years or so.
Speaker 2 [12:20-12:20]:
Oh, okay.
Speaker 0 [12:20-12:29]:
We could still change. We were talking to you, weren't we, at core in March, and you were saying, oh, I'm gonna go and do a silk taster class because I think I want to do it. Mhmm. And look at you now. I know.
Speaker 0 [12:29-12:29]:
It's March.
Speaker 2 [12:29-12:30]:
I know.
Speaker 0 [12:30-12:32]:
It's June, Lyndsay. It's incredible. Yeah.
Speaker 2 [12:32-12:35]:
And but, I mean, I think never stop never stagnate
Speaker 0 [12:35-12:35]:
No.
Speaker 2 [12:36-12:47]:
With your dancing. So, you know, give yourself that extra challenge because I think we it's lovely to turn up and see your friends and, you know, get you a few dances. But I think as as a dancer, I just want to think about how what's my next stage? What's my next step? Where am I going with this?
Speaker 2 [12:47-12:51]:
Yeah. And even at the well, I'm not gonna say my age. I was just about to say my age. I'm not gonna say my age. I'm not gonna say my age.
Speaker 2 [12:51-12:53]:
I'm not gonna say my age. I'm not gonna say my age.
Speaker 0 [12:53-12:53]:
I'm not
Speaker 2 [12:53-13:15]:
gonna say my age. I'm not gonna say my age. You're not gonna say my age. You know, I want to feed my brain. I want to give my body something different.
Speaker 2 [13:15-13:15]:
So
Speaker 0 [13:15-13:20]:
Absolutely. Absolutely. So it'd be really exciting. This isn't a 1 off, is it, that we're doing?
Speaker 2 [13:20-13:21]:
I hope not.
Speaker 0 [13:22-13:23]:
It's not a 1 off.
Speaker 2 [13:23-13:24]:
It's it's
Speaker 0 [13:24-13:41]:
an idea that Lyndsay had and Tim's had for ages that you wanted to do, is it? Like you said earlier. So, obviously, you asked us if you could come and do it here, which was brilliant. We're so excited about that. And to be able to provide such an amazing venue for something new completely in Derby.
Speaker 0 [13:41-13:45]:
I just think that's it's a great combination, isn't it? So we're gonna do it again, aren't we?
Speaker 2 [13:45-13:55]:
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So this is a foundation that we're doing, which is all your key movements and found you know, principles behind silk dancing. So we'd hope to bring you the next level.
Speaker 0 [13:55-13:56]:
Yeah.
Speaker 2 [13:56-13:58]:
After that, give you a few more skills.
Speaker 0 [13:58-14:05]:
Yeah. We'll help you. It's a bit of a a bit of a challenge to nail down dates, isn't it? But we're on it. We're on it.
Speaker 2 [14:05-14:06]:
Diaries. Oh,
Speaker 0 [14:07-14:08]:
cool. Busy, busy, busy.
Speaker 2 [14:08-14:09]:
But again, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaker 0 [14:09-14:13]:
No. Absolutely not. And I think once people start realising that this is a regular thing
Speaker 2 [14:13-14:13]:
Mhmm.
Speaker 0 [14:13-14:26]:
It's also a different teacher that always makes a difference. I think people like to come and experience a a different teacher. And if they've seen you at weekenders they'll know who you are anyway. So I think it's it to me it's a really exciting collaboration.
Speaker 2 [14:27-14:28]:
I'm really excited.
Speaker 0 [14:28-14:38]:
Yeah. Me too. 

So now the celebrations are over. It is nearly a week ago, and we can tell everybody how it went.
Speaker 1 [14:39-14:41]:
It was absolutely amazing.
Speaker 0 [14:42-14:49]:
It was the best night. We just loved it, Dan loved it, it just turned out exactly how we'd hoped.
Speaker 1 [14:49-14:51]:
And Dan didn't have a clue what was going on.
Speaker 0 [14:51-14:57]:
Dan had no idea what was going on, bless him, so it was, it was quite emotional for him I think in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 [14:57-14:59]:
Yeah Definitely.
Speaker 0 [14:59-15:06]:
So we let him do the beginners class and then we gate crashed his announcements, didn't we? Well, you gate crashed his announcements.
Speaker 1 [15:06-15:14]:
I gate crashed his announcements. He was just about to go this week's announcements and we went, no. That's not happening this week, Dan.
Speaker 0 [15:14-15:16]:
Nope. Nope. And he's like, oh, god.
Speaker 1 [15:16-15:17]:
And he he
Speaker 0 [15:17-15:22]:
knew that. So here it comes. It was a bit of a shock for him, wasn't it?
Speaker 1 [15:22-15:31]:
Yeah. So you came up on stage. Yep. And the 1st thing that shocked him was the award you gave him.
Speaker 0 [15:31-15:37]:
Yeah. So we made him we got him a engraved glass award, didn't we? Thanking him for his 10 years
Speaker 1 [15:37-15:37]:
We did.
Speaker 0 [15:38-15:52]:
Of teaching and building the community, at Siroc Dolby, which was which she was touched by, wasn't it? I think she liked it. It was nice. But then I I did say to her, we've got a video of it, haven't we? I said you're gonna have to turn around and say, don't trust you not to peek.
Speaker 1 [15:52-15:53]:
Yeah. And
Speaker 0 [15:53-15:55]:
then we called Lindsay up to the stage, which
Speaker 1 [15:55-15:56]:
We said we've got a special guest.
Speaker 0 [15:57-16:03]:
That special guest come up to the stage and we let him turn around and he was suitably surprised.
Speaker 1 [16:04-16:07]:
And there she was wearing the outfit.
Speaker 0 [16:08-16:32]:
She was wearing the outfit and she did a man r over it, but I think it was a good thing. It gave the outfit a new positive memory, didn't it? Yeah. Thing is that Dan wasn't expecting her, and it was a lovely surprise, and she brought his lovely cake up for him, didn't she, that we had made for him? So we literally had a, special cake made in Ciroc brand colors and we gave that to him and that's that was really lovely.
Speaker 0 [16:33-16:44]:
We carried on with the rest of the night and I think, you know, we obviously introduced Lindsay to everybody because she will be back at the end of July, as we said earlier, to do the workshop. So that was really lovely.
Speaker 1 [16:44-16:46]:
July 26, she'll be back.
Speaker 0 [16:46-17:13]:
And I think then the class the the night just carried on, but we had, like, Derby community is just so great at partying, Oh, yeah. You know, we we have our red carpet Christmas class every year, and, literally, our bring and share buffet table is ridiculously full, isn't it? It's literally we nearly always have to add tables to the end, and people come and load it up. This time we had 3 tables with several layers
Speaker 1 [17:13-17:14]:
on it,
Speaker 0 [17:14-17:17]:
but at the end of the night there was only 1 or 2 things left.
Speaker 1 [17:17-17:18]:
Yeah. I
Speaker 0 [17:18-17:19]:
think people were hungry.
Speaker 1 [17:19-17:21]:
Gonna say they munched their way through it.
Speaker 0 [17:21-17:24]:
They certainly did. Like I say, Derby knows how to party.
Speaker 1 [17:24-17:26]:
What do you expect with 113 people?
Speaker 0 [17:27-17:59]:
You know, the the thing about the thing that made my heart soar really was there were people there that hadn't been for many many years. Yeah. And that, you know, it as life happens, you know, things get in the way, people's health, relationships, you know, maybe a change of hobby, and as people drift away and come back and forth, but, you know, there was in particular, was 1 of his old demos Yeah. Not old person, but somebody demoed a while back. And there was also, that was Ali.
Speaker 1 [17:59-18:00]:
That was it.
Speaker 0 [18:00-18:00]:
And then
Speaker 1 [18:00-18:02]:
Beginner demo from the beginning.
Speaker 0 [18:02-18:16]:
Yeah. From the beginning of his teaching career, Ali was his 1st demo. And then we also had Phil who was in our taxi team for many, many years that, we haven't seen for a long time, and it was lovely to see him, wasn't it?
Speaker 1 [18:16-18:19]:
But they didn't just come, did they? They came. They danced. They had fun.
Speaker 0 [18:19-18:26]:
They did. They didn't just come just to see just to see Dan. They actually, well, they did come to see Dan, but they actually joined in the party.
Speaker 1 [18:26-18:27]:
They did.
Speaker 0 [18:27-18:36]:
And the other thing that was really great about it was that we'd decided the week just the week before that we would get a dress in bright colors, didn't we, and get everybody to dress in bright colors for that?
Speaker 1 [18:36-18:37]:
Everybody in rainbow.
Speaker 0 [18:38-18:53]:
Yeah. And they did. Everybody came in something well, most people came in something bright. Some people didn't get the memo, but you know what? It was lovely that people just came and saw Dan or, like, bought into the theme if they've got the memo, and it was just a proper party feel.
Speaker 0 [18:53-18:53]:
We had
Speaker 1 [18:54-18:54]:
certainly was.
Speaker 0 [18:54-19:02]:
The photo booth. We had so many photos in the photo booth. Dan was, like, having a picture of everybody. So we had that You were
Speaker 1 [19:02-19:04]:
certainly a busy boy that night taking photos.
Speaker 0 [19:04-19:07]:
Yeah. So normally, Dan has a dance card as long as you're armed, doesn't he?
Speaker 1 [19:07-19:09]:
No. We had a photo card.
Speaker 0 [19:09-19:21]:
He had a photo well, we had to have a queue for photos and then he had to do lots of dances, so he was pretty pretty tired by the end of that, I think. But we had we had 1 final surprise, didn't we?
Speaker 1 [19:21-19:28]:
We did. So the class went on and we did the intermediates, which Dan Oh,
Speaker 0 [19:28-19:28]:
we didn't? Yeah.
Speaker 1 [19:28-19:35]:
We did because Dan was nice, and what he did was he kept bringing up his different demos throughout the years to do that 1st move.
Speaker 0 [19:35-19:40]:
You you're going way ahead. We actually had a special message, and then he had to teach you into
Speaker 1 [19:40-19:41]:
the gifts after
Speaker 0 [19:41-19:42]:
the yeah. You're going ahead.
Speaker 1 [19:42-19:43]:
I'm jumping.
Speaker 0 [19:43-19:57]:
You are jumping. So, obviously, we we haven't been franchisees the whole of the time. We actually worked for the previous franchisee, Jeff. Yeah. From 2010 to 2024 when we bought the franchise.
Speaker 0 [19:58-20:13]:
So it wasn't us that, sent Dan down to, teaching audition. It was Jeff. And, Jeff has been unwell and hasn't wasn't able to come on Monday night, but he sent a really lovely video message.
Speaker 1 [20:13-20:15]:
So in in true this is your lifestyle
Speaker 0 [20:16-20:33]:
Yeah. Was. So we just said to Dan, we were explaining to everybody that he had believed in Dan and that he'd, you know, actually, trained him, if you like. Dan used to go over to his house, like, once a week to practice and practice, and Jeff really believed in him. And, because he's been so poor, he wasn't able to come.
Speaker 0 [20:34-20:43]:
I actually said that, and then I said, however, and then Mark pressed the the sound, and Jeff's voice came over, and it was a really lovely emotional message, wasn't it?
Speaker 1 [20:43-20:44]:
And it broke him.
Speaker 0 [20:44-20:50]:
It did break Dan. He did cry. Bless him. Yeah. It was it was lovely.
Speaker 0 [20:50-20:58]:
It was it was a whole a whole evening about Dan, and and it should be. 10 years of teaching in 1 Ciroc venue is a long time.
Speaker 1 [20:58-20:59]:
It certainly is.
Speaker 0 [21:00-21:01]:
And, you know, he is like And
Speaker 1 [21:01-21:13]:
let's face it, realistically, over them 10 years, he's not had that many holidays. Apart from what people are saying, is Dan still teaching you?
Speaker 0 [21:13-21:19]:
Oh, my goodness. Okay. We won't talk about that. No. It's fine.
Speaker 0 [21:20-21:30]:
He he loves his holidays. Bless him. Yeah. And, you know, people know him throughout Syrock from Medfest and the river cruises and things and the weekenders. You know, Dan Dan is well known not just at Derby, isn't he?
Speaker 1 [21:30-21:32]:
Yeah. He's known everywhere.
Speaker 0 [21:32-21:38]:
And everybody loves Dan wherever you go. Do you know our teacher, Dan? Oh, yes. I know Dan. Yes.
Speaker 0 [21:38-21:52]:
So it it was it was a proper party, wasn't it? It had a proper party feel. Yeah. And then he had to teach the intermediates, and then he brought up each of his old demos to come and demo a little bit of his routine. Yeah.
Speaker 0 [21:53-22:02]:
And the other thing that actually touched my heart was, bless him, the teacher that we had at Derby before him passed away suddenly.
Speaker 1 [22:02-22:03]:
Andy.
Speaker 0 [22:03-22:10]:
Andy Avis. And he and Dan always used to wear Super Dry t shirts, didn't they? With the Super Dry crew.
Speaker 1 [22:10-22:10]:
Yeah.
Speaker 0 [22:10-22:30]:
But, Andy taught a particular move, and Dan chose to teach that move on the night of his 10th anniversary. Yeah. I thought that was such a tribute to Andy and the the final piece of the jigsaw, it was so lovely Yeah. And he had each 1 of his demos come up and demo a little bit of that move.
Speaker 1 [22:30-22:32]:
He certainly did.
Speaker 0 [22:32-22:41]:
It it honestly it was perfect. It was absolutely perfect, I think. It was the best evening we've had for a really long time.
Speaker 1 [22:41-22:41]:
Yeah.
Speaker 0 [22:42-23:02]:
And I think, you know, the other thing is that the people that came, they're not necessarily going to come back again. They came to see Dan and celebrate with him, but they found out about the party. Yeah. They obviously still follow Sirrock Inspire and know what's going on. So it just shows you that, you know, even if you aren't coming dancing, you never really stop being part of the community.
Speaker 0 [23:02-23:03]:
You actually
Speaker 1 [23:03-23:04]:
You're in there for life.
Speaker 0 [23:04-23:05]:
Your dance family.
Speaker 1 [23:05-23:07]:
Yeah. You're in there for life. You can't escape.
Speaker 0 [23:08-23:18]:
Yeah. Anyway, it was so lovely having Lindsay with us. Lindsay has never been to Derby. I don't think the Stroke HQ has ever been to Derby, actually. Nope.
Speaker 0 [23:19-23:33]:
Lindsay loved our venue and, loved that we had a lovely air con. And I really enjoyed being there and it made her really excited to come back and do this silk workshop at the end of July.
Speaker 1 [23:33-23:35]:
She now knows what the venue's like
Speaker 0 [23:36-23:36]:
Yeah.
Speaker 1 [23:36-23:37]:
How many people it can hold
Speaker 0 [23:38-23:39]:
Yeah. And floors she's
Speaker 1 [23:39-23:40]:
not gonna overheat.
Speaker 0 [23:41-23:59]:
And she's not gonna overheat. And so I think, you know, it was lovely for us to also not only just celebrate Dan, but be able to introduce Lindsay to and they know who is gonna be teaching now. So, hopefully, that will encourage people to come along and have an absolutely fabulous workshop and our our 1st ever actually workshop at Derby
Speaker 1 [24:00-24:00]:
Yep.
Speaker 0 [24:01-24:09]:
And our 1st workshop taught by anybody from HQ Yeah. Which is also fab. Really excited about that.
Speaker 1 [24:09-24:12]:
So we're looking forward to welcoming Lindsay and her partner, Tim.
Speaker 0 [24:12-24:21]:
Dance the dance partner, Tim Yeah. To come and do the workshop, and we will be chatting to them after the the workshop to get their take on how it went,
Speaker 1 [24:21-24:24]:
I think. Yeah. See see how the silk fundamentals went.
Speaker 0 [24:24-24:43]:
Yeah. I mean, it's it's been something that, we've been wanting to do for quite a long time, so we're quite excited about it. Yeah. So, if you're not booked on it already and it's something that you think that you would enjoy, like slower dancing, get booked on it. Get booked on it.
Speaker 0 [24:43-24:43]:
I'm doing it.
Speaker 1 [24:43-24:44]:
.Com.
Speaker 0 [24:45-24:47]:
I'm doing it. Yep. You're not doing it. You're DJing.
Speaker 1 [24:47-24:48]:
I'm DJing it.
Speaker 0 [24:48-24:55]:
But I'm doing it. So, you know, get on there, get it done, and then we can have a really nice freestyle afterwards and, enjoy a little bit of cake.
Speaker 1 [24:55-25:03]:
Yeah. So get booked on. Go on to ciroc.com, workshops, Derby. You'll see it on there. You can book on there.
Speaker 1 [25:04-25:04]:
Book through
Speaker 0 [25:04-25:11]:
the event or you can book on the on the Facebook Yeah. Events as well. Or just message us.
Speaker 1 [25:11-25:11]:
Yeah.
Speaker 0 [25:13-25:30]:
So just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped to make Dan's celebration such a memorable evening. Do you know we even had the person on the bar, Tara, that was there at Dan's 1st ever class at Ciroc Derby?
Speaker 1 [25:30-25:35]:
Oh, Tara's part of the crew. Tara? You can't you you know, there's no way, is there?
Speaker 0 [25:35-25:35]:
No.
Speaker 1 [25:35-25:39]:
They all are, though, at Rolls Royce. They're all part of the crew, but Tara is
Speaker 0 [25:39-25:46]:
special to have Tara there. She was there on Dan's 1st night, and she was there on his 10th anniversary. How special was that?
Speaker 1 [25:46-25:46]:
Yep.
Speaker 0 [25:49-25:57]:
Anyway, thanks for joining us. We'll look forward to, speaking to Lindsay and Tim when they join us in July.
Speaker 1 [25:58-26:04]:
Yeah. And, again, thank you to everyone that come along and celebrated with the with us and Dan on his 10 years.
Speaker 0 [26:06-26:11]:
Thanks so much for joining us on today's Ciroc inspires dance inspiration podcast.
Speaker 1 [26:11-26:14]:
We hope you've enjoyed the chat as much as we have.
Speaker 0 [26:14-26:21]:
And you know that you can find us at Ciroc Derby, Ashbourne and Burton or online at ciroc.com/cirocinspire.
Speaker 1 [26:21-26:29]:
And don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for class updates and event news, and also check us out on TikTok and YouTube.
Speaker 0 [26:30-26:35]:
We'll be back very soon with more stories, insights and inspiration, and some special guests.
Speaker 1 [26:36-26:37]:
See you on the dance floor.