UNDRGRND in Brisvegas

Part dance party – part dance showcase, UNDRGRND has finally made its way up to BrisVegas. Mixing a club environment with dance acts and DJ’s, the Hi-Fi bar in West End was a buzz with the love of dance.

For the complete experience of a night out in West End, we first strolled around the West End night markets, enjoying the lovely Brisbane weather and casual out-and-about vibe, then grabbed a bite to eat at one of the many delicious stalls, before heading up to the Hi-Fi bar to dance the night away.

The first act got underway around 9:30pm with a DJ set in between acts to keep the party going. There was a mixture of acts including solos, duos, and group numbers, with some having more polished choreography than others. They all looked like trained dancers but some of the choreography didn’t showcase the dancers to their full ability and give the audience ‘wow factor’. However, we must keep in mind that this event is to showcase emerging dancers as well as choreographers for which the UNDRGRND event is the perfect platform for doing so. Highlights included a tribal fusion of Indian belly dancing and hip-hop. The indigenous fusion was also uniquely entertaining, and I’m a bit of a sucker for a contemporary duet. But it was the group numbers, which proved to be the crowd favourites. One act included a number of family members; mother, daughter, husband, wife, and extended family. The choreo for this act really popped and the group’s energy and obvious love of dance was contagious.

It was also wonderful to see this as all-inclusive event, amongst the acts was a group of dancers with intellectual disabilities getting up there and strutting their stuff.  But perhaps the best part of all was to witness the dance community out together and supporting each other with woots and whistles while their fellow performers were onstage. Let’s hope that this is just the beginning of a dance renaissance in Brisbane, and with many successful years of Paul Malek’s UNDRGRND running in Melbourne, there is already talk of a return to Brisbane in the summer. For more information, check out the UNDRGRND website: undrgrnddance.com.