Dance: Beats on Pointe

Tonight, Up in the Cheap Seats again, for Beats on Pointe - my last Meetup of the month. Unfortunately, this is in the Peacock, rather than the closer Sadler's Wells. Either bus from the local stop would get me there, and mercifully, I didn't have to wait long - the Beast from the East is really starting to bite, and tonight had a deep cold, that penetrated right through my winter coat to my bones. Wherever the wind blows, you freeze.. and the wind is blowing constantly. I took the opportunity before the show to check the Hotel Chocolat in Monmouth Street, where I'd got my free sample of salted caramel hot chocolate on Sunday, and where I thought my best chance might be of getting some to buy. Sadly not - I ended up ordering it online, just before the show.

A wiggly walk, and a cold one, to the theatre then - and was I glad when I ended up down alleys, sheltered from that wind. Holding my phone, for directions, my hand was completely frozen by the time I got in - took several minutes to get back to normal. We met in the foyer to start, and at the end - in the stalls bar at the interval, the level where most of us were sat. Rear stalls for me - but it's one of those theatres where you don't have to worry about the view. My seat was at the end of a row, and jutted out anyway - so, unlimited legroom and nobody's head in my way!

From free fliers distributed in the lobby beforehand, we discovered that this group, Masters of Choreography, is Australian. We marvelled - at the interval, and afterwards, at their sheer energy, Energiser bunnies that they were: why move casually, when you can fling yourself across the stage? and at their numerous costume changes! Tutus aplenty, hip-hop-style outfits - some with sequins, some with LED lights. This, you see, is a mixture of hip-hop and ballet..

..and it's primarily aimed at kids. I had to wince when they started coming into the audience to get volunteers - they just got one, who wasn't required to do much. The dance experts among us remarked after that the dancing, well, isn't that good. A lot of it is played for comedy anyway. The first half is primarily hip-hop, the second more balanced - but I will say that it's energetic, it's fun, and hell, I was just glad to hear some music - I usually listen to music on headphones while I'm working, but they're currently broken, and the best I can do is white noise! Listening to it this evening, I realised what I'd been missing. Mind you, as they also remarked, a lot of the hip-hop music is quite old - think 30 years or so! But then, that's when it flourished.. me, I relished hearing a lot of this stuff. Sheer highlight of the night for me - Lose Yourself, of which a snippet was played during one set piece. Sod the dancing, that was the bit I loved.. runs till Saturday. Apparently the upper level was nearly empty, tonight..

It was fun afterwards, to see the two organisers present divvying up the new season shows between them! Afterwards, as predicted, straight home - mercifully, the bus came straight away. Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - better wrap up!

On Monday, I'm off to see Jake Bugg at the Palladium (yes, another that used to be walking distance..) Honestly, I'd never heard of him, but he sounded ok on YouTube.

On Tuesday, an opera in Sanskrit..! without subtitles. Satyagraha is at the Coliseum, and is about Gandhi. So I should figure it out - could do with the Sanskrit scholar from Tuesday's play! Gosh, it's ages since I've been there..

On Wednesday, Summer and Smoke (Tennessee Williams) at the Almeida. Does include actual cigarette smoke, and a gunshot. North London Friends are going, but I'm going independently. Sold out now..

Next Thursday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - and Meetup - at the Bridge Theatre, for what I hear is a stunning performance of Julius Caesar. You get the choice of being part of the crowd - I'm not. Modern setting.

On the 2nd, back with North London Friends, at Hampstead Theatre, for Acceptance.

On the 3rd, Up in the Cheap Seats, and Beginning, at the Ambassadors Theatre. For once, not an official ticket for this - got better value with What's on Stage!

On the 4th, I found another Southwark tour - excellent! The "Family Friendly Liberty of the Clink" tour is run by Walking in London.. therefore Funzing.. and Londonist is involved somewhere too. Hard to keep track of everyone involved in walks. The standard code (crazy_fun) is still giving 10% off on Funzing's website.

On the 5th, London European Club is headed to Monologue Slam, an actors' showcase at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East.

On the 6th, Up in the Cheap Seats is at Sadler's Wells for a performance by Ballet British Colombia.

On the 7th, Let's Do This is off to a jazz evening at Two Temple Place. Beautiful venue - should be a lovely evening.

On the 8th, Walking Victorian London is running a walk around Il Quartiere - Tales from Italian Clerkenwell. Excellent - I've had my eye on that for a while. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And on the 12th, London Dramatic Arts is at Caroline, or Change, at Hampstead Theatre. As usual, too expensive for me, and I got my own ticket, at about half the price. She's only going with one unnamed guest - maybe she won't go at all!