“Power” by NUDance
King’s Meadow Campus, Nottingham

NUDance present an annual showcase and this year the theme is Power. What does it mean to you? What would you do with it? What lengths would you go to in order to get it? NUDance are the Nottingham University Dance Society.

I have never seen NUDance before and this is also my first visit to the King’s Meadow Campus on Lenton Lane. This was the old Carlton TV Studios, and it really brought back memories for me walking through the entrance and through reception.

The evening is a collection of various dance styles, showcasing the students talents, and there is an abundance of talent in this group, and it's also a large group.

From street-dance to contemporary through tap and ballet to
ballroom, hip hop to body pop and K-Pop, there is something for everyone in this showcase.

The evening was peppered with videos of the dancers explaining the reasons why they chose the music and the dance style and what "power" meant to them. A clever idea as this also meant that while the video was playing, the dancers could get in place.

36 performances in just over two hours and too many dancers for me to count.The energy and passion from this group exploded from the performance area and when the dances slowed down, giving us a breather, it wasn't long before the pace was ramped up again, mush to the pleasure and excitement to the enthusiastic crowd.

There were several performances that really stuck out for me. I loved the breaking sections - growing up in the late 70's and early 80's when this music and dance craze was all the rage, this group had me mesmerised with their windmills and popping.

The ballet group, who danced to James Arthur's version of "The Power Of Love", were hypnotic and ever graceful.

The opener to the second half blew me away and the One Stop Cha Cha Shop left me breathless, oh and the Tap and Latin collaboration was technically beautiful. Being a massive "Strictly" fan has taught me to watch for things like the hands and the positioning of the feet and this group obviously had spent a lot of time on these points. Sheer perfection.

Dancers have to be so much more than just dancers because the strength they have to own for the ever more adventurous lifts, and we saw some big lifts in this showcase, which coaxed rapturous applause from the audience. Their core strength and stamina compares to any sportsman, which is why these dancers showed not one sign of being tired or breathless, even through the most energetic of pieces.

If I was pushed to choose any of the dancers to highlight, it would be Denis Lelin for his sheer energy, flexibility, fluidity and entertainment value, and I am sure it was he who was dancing in those high heels. Any bloke who can dance like he did in those shoes deserves a mention.

One of the most exciting dance shows that i have seen in a long time. Powerful and full of power, however you wish to define that word!

“Power” by NUDance is at the King’s Meadow Campus, Lenton Lane until Saturday 6 April at 12.30 and 7.30pm.