Last night I went down to Aberconwy School. Around seven bands comprised of kids ranging from 12 to 16 were playing a set each. It was a good night and to be honest all the bands were really good, I was impressed. The entrance fee was £2 each with the proceeds going to the Chernobyl Kids charity.
There must have been around 60+ kids present. In the hall there was 1 teacher plus the one in the hall way taking the money.
From what I could see dancing nowadays is a case of picking your mate up on your shoulders piggy back style and spinning round as fast as you can, while your other mate tries to push you over. At one point I thought there was going to be a kick off, as the kids made a circle and then pushed and shoved each other in the middle, one lad went crashing into another group of lads who were doing the alternative "throw your mate over your shoulders and drop him on his head dance?" I sat there cringing and wincing as they went crashing into the chairs etc.
It's a far cry from when I was in school doing the "one foot in front of the other swing your hips dance" to "C'mon Eileen" and "Tainted Love"
Through all this the teacher present sat there laughing saying not a word to any of them, he was quite frankly neither use nor ornament. while I sat there wincing and cringing waiting for either someone to get injured or throw up. At one point the teacher from the hallway came in taking photos of the kids and the other teacher, more than likely to prove he was indeed there. I'm not easily scared as those who know me know but that was a real eye opener and I won't be going again without a crash helmet I can tell yer now.
On the up side it was a good idea, the kids all enjoyed themselves (in their own, very different to my day way) and amazingly nobody was hurt. My lad had a good time performing for the first time infront of a crowd, which was after all the whole point.
I suspect it's probably me just getting old...................
