MOVE IT was the glorious celebration of dance and performing arts in London. About 22,000 dancers and dance enthusiasts participated in this event spread across three days, on the 18th, 19th and 20th of March 2016. Dancers had the opportunity to showcase their performances on the main stage, take part in various dance classes and discover new dance career options, one can even shop all their dance wear and needs at the event itself. It seemed like a little world of dancers and anything and everything to do with dance.
When I first walked into the venue, ExCel London, I stood there just absorbing everything around me. Thousands of dancers under one roof and their passion and energy was beyond anything. Being a professional dancer, I could understand and relate to the heights of passion prevailing in that room and the orderly chaos. It was quite evident from the energy, that for every performer present there, in that very moment, dance was everything, dance was what was driving them, dance was their way of existence and dancing was life.
Every single person there had a story to share varying from sad and painful to fun and silly, a story that the rest of us could learn from.
The arena was filled with people of all ages, not just watching but performing as well. The commitment each of them had for dance was inspiring.
Fighting my way through the enthusiastic crowd I managed to reach the media area. I jumped here and there between photographers, trying to find a place with the right angle until I found a nice spot to capture the action on stage. Performances after performances were so amazing, that sometimes I stood there frozen in awe, just staring at the dance forgetting to take photographs. The impeccable performances made me want to capture the action both through the lens and live with my eyes. The energy and enthusiasm was absolutely exhilarating and maddening. I didn't want to leave the place, I was contemplating whether to miss my flight to Edinburgh late that evening or stay back.
I made up my mind to leave, but not before capturing as many photographs as I could before I left. Though I left very hesitantly, the thought of the landscapes in Edinburgh and Lake District brought back my lost energy. In a few hours, I was en route to the capital of Scotland.
Next blog post coming soon...