Cutting a rug at Porchester Hall

Porchester Hall opened its doors to the London Swing Dance Society on Sunday night, where they hosted The Rug Cutters' Ball.


This beautiful venue, which dates back to 1929 was the perfect choice for a night of charleston, jazz and glamour. Complete with a very spacious sprung dance floor and chandeliers, it was a treat to have the opportunity to dance in this ballroom.




I had a fun time, although, unfortunately something about the night still just didn't feel right. I felt like the atmosphere was slightly flat - perhaps because it was a Sunday night and attendance was a bit lower than I expected, maybe the music didn't excite me enough, or was it just because not everyone made an effort to dress up smart? I don't know, there was just a certain je ne sais quoi that was lacking for me.


That said, I still stayed right until the end at midnight (when I turned into a pumpkin), enjoyed my dances and had a good time socialising. There were a few Charleston performances by dance troupe, The Bee's Knees as well as dance lessons (which I can't comment on, as I didn't check them out) and a couple of competitions throughout the night.




I had some good laughs, one being when trying to have a photo taken with a couple of friends and a completely oblivious guy persistently wondered in front of the camera, ruining our picture-taking attempts! Never has there been such a palaver when trying to take a simple snapshot!




I actually liked the fact that the event was held on a Sunday night, as there's not always that much happening on Sundays, especially with a central location that's easy to get to and get home from. However, I think that it would be fantastic, in the future, to hold a dance at Porchester Hall on a Friday or Saturday night - with an enforced dress code!!! - when people didn't have to worry about getting up for work the next morning and hadn't worn themselves out on the previous nights!




As the online booking had closed by the time I tried to purchase my ticket on Friday afternoon, it was £15 on the door, which I suppose was reflective of the grandness of the venue....but, to me it was a bit too expensive, considering that there was no live music. For this one-off event, I didn't mind putting my hand in my pocket (and I guess I should have booked online sooner, when the tickets were £12) but I think that in future, 15 squids needs to procure me a band...


All-in-all it was fun times, but if there's a next time, it needs a little tweaking to make it more jumpin'!