Review of JWAAD Fantasia
(Now extended with additional info!!)
by Fiona Robbins
Were you there?
Wow! I’m so glad I went. I’ve never known anything like it ….. and that was just the Souk!
It’s a good job that the workshops kept me busy, or I would be bankrupt right now! Of course, the professionals were all fabulous: how Ozgen found the rhythm that he was dancing to I will never know, and - boy could he shimmy (anything and everything!) I was worn out just watching - but totally inspired. Also, Princess Farhana could really move. I will get the hang of the belly roll if it kills me.
Talking of getting the hang of things, I must shout the praises of Dawn O’Brien. Her workshop was billed as Cyber Fusion but was a master class in isolation and control. Anyone and everyone would gain from Dawn’s expertise, based on the premise that if you use the right muscles then the move will follow. I would also like to give Samantha Neal a mention. Now there’s a lady with attitude! There’s no point being able to dance if you can’t sell it to the audience and Samantha is just the person to put you on the right track. Between the two of them, you could get anyone up there giving us an exhibition!
(Apologies to the other tutors whose names I have not mentioned. All the classes I attended were super and well worth the money and I only heard good reports of the others.)
Further Review of Fantasia
(just in case you’re thinking of giving it a go!)
Well, I was asked if I could give a bit more detail so you could see for yourselves whether or not you thought it would be worth a visit next year. I must say that I had planned to go along very much as a “one off”, so I decided to maximise the experience. Now I’ve done it once, I might just be back next year - although I probably won’t try to fit in so many classes (after all, I nearly didn’t have time to visit the Souk!)
Firstly the practicalities: I was going to drive down with a couple of friends, simply to keep down costs. However, I was a little concerned about the expense and practicality of taking the car into London. Happily I discovered that the train doesn’t cost so much if you go as a group. As long as there are at least three of you, there is a special “Group” rate which cut the fare almost in half. From here, we get in to Kings Cross: I believe the new link from Lincoln runs in to St Pancras, but this is more or less the same place as the stations are almost joined. Wherever you arrive by train there is always a Tube link nearby.
Fantasia was held in Chiswick, just a short walk from Turnham Green tube station. (This is one of those "funny" stations that does not get a full off-peak service eg the Piccadilly Line trains do not stop, so you have to finish the journey on the District Line if you are not travelling during commuting hours.)
My first class was at 10am, and they ask that you arrive in the appointed room 10 minutes beforehand, so I needed to be in the building by 9.30 to get the instructions and stow all my belongings. The cloakroom service only charged £1 for your coat/shoes/baggage, so I didn’t have to cart all my stuff about all day! I had opted to travel in an outfit which was simply adapted to make it fit for dancing, but in fact there was plenty of time and space to change. There were one or two men amongst us, but most of the participants were female. Most of the ladies were like me and did not need to strip off to prepare, whilst a few others used the loos and changing facilities. I would recommend taking some sort of light shoe or slipper for walking between classes. (In fact, some of the floors were quite dirty - and even gritty - and I was told that this was due to people arriving in outdoor shoes.)
Each class was scheduled for 1½hrs, with ½ hour gap to get to the next session. In practice our tutors were more concerned with achieving their objectives than watching the clock, so any session was likely to overrun by up to 10 minutes. This still left plenty of time to move on, even though the workshops were spread over 3 floors. Fortunately they had pinned up signs to point the way (the building reminded me of my old school, where I spent my first term getting lost!) I took a bottle of water and some fruit with me, to keep me going throughout the day but there was a refreshment bar which did drinks (licensed, hot and soft) and snacks including soup and hot sundries. This had run low by 2pm Sunday.
I booked myself into 6 classes in total, so I was fully booked on Saturday but missed the last class on Sunday when I went to the Souk. (I didn’t have time to get round all of it properly and I know they stayed open longer than programmed because people were still wanting to buy.) I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and thought that all my classes were excellent value for money at £15. However, it is important to think about what you are hoping to achieve before you make your plans. I could see that some participants were enjoying themselves even though they could not cope with all the elements, whereas others seemed unhappy with their own lack of ability. All of my tutors worked really hard to help us make the grade and any failure was totally down to my own defects! So before you book a class, make sure you know what it entails and whether it will suit you.
Back to practicalities: we booked into a hotel called the Chiswick Court which was no more than five minutes walk up the road. You couldn’t miss it because it was on a junction on the opposite side of the road (walking away from the tube station). We paid £35 per night B&B, for en-suite rooms - breakfast being toast, fruit juice, tea or coffee (no choice, take it or leave it). They had cheaper rooms but I like to scrub my feet in peace after I’ve been dancing! There was another hotel around the corner, about the same distance, where some of the others stayed and that was called the Swan. Prices were much the same. If you are prepared to share, you could probably pay as little as £25 each. Our hotel had some parking, but as we arrived before we could book in I did not want to mess about moving my car. There was very limited parking at the venue, which was mostly used by those running the stalls in the souk. Further out, there is a Travelodge, or something similar, which could be an option, but because we were going to the Show, we didn’t want to be travelling back late at night.
As it was, we were a little bit late getting to the show because my last class finished after 5.30 and then I had to collect everything and take it to the hotel. We know we didn’t miss much, but once we were inside we couldn’t see our programmes (next time I’ll take a small torch!) So we mainly worked out what we had seen afterwards! The professionals were obviously good whilst the student groups varied. There were some interesting routines and some less so. The two special guests were both spectacular and well worth the £20 along. My main comment is that it did go on too long and the seating arrangements did not lend themselves to “dropping in and out” as suggested in the programme. However, if the organisers have taken notice of our feedback forms (for the entire event), it should all run much better next time.
At the risk of repeating myself, I am sooooo pleased that I went. I would not have missed any of it. Even though it added up to quite an expensive weekend, it probably cost a lot less than any other “London Break”. I am quite sure that I will do it again. Also I will look out for my favourite tutors running sessions elsewhere. Nothing like a good workshop to challenge the body!
(Now extended with additional info!!)
by Fiona Robbins
Were you there?
Wow! I’m so glad I went. I’ve never known anything like it ….. and that was just the Souk!
It’s a good job that the workshops kept me busy, or I would be bankrupt right now! Of course, the professionals were all fabulous: how Ozgen found the rhythm that he was dancing to I will never know, and - boy could he shimmy (anything and everything!) I was worn out just watching - but totally inspired. Also, Princess Farhana could really move. I will get the hang of the belly roll if it kills me.
Talking of getting the hang of things, I must shout the praises of Dawn O’Brien. Her workshop was billed as Cyber Fusion but was a master class in isolation and control. Anyone and everyone would gain from Dawn’s expertise, based on the premise that if you use the right muscles then the move will follow. I would also like to give Samantha Neal a mention. Now there’s a lady with attitude! There’s no point being able to dance if you can’t sell it to the audience and Samantha is just the person to put you on the right track. Between the two of them, you could get anyone up there giving us an exhibition!
(Apologies to the other tutors whose names I have not mentioned. All the classes I attended were super and well worth the money and I only heard good reports of the others.)
Further Review of Fantasia
(just in case you’re thinking of giving it a go!)
Well, I was asked if I could give a bit more detail so you could see for yourselves whether or not you thought it would be worth a visit next year. I must say that I had planned to go along very much as a “one off”, so I decided to maximise the experience. Now I’ve done it once, I might just be back next year - although I probably won’t try to fit in so many classes (after all, I nearly didn’t have time to visit the Souk!)
Firstly the practicalities: I was going to drive down with a couple of friends, simply to keep down costs. However, I was a little concerned about the expense and practicality of taking the car into London. Happily I discovered that the train doesn’t cost so much if you go as a group. As long as there are at least three of you, there is a special “Group” rate which cut the fare almost in half. From here, we get in to Kings Cross: I believe the new link from Lincoln runs in to St Pancras, but this is more or less the same place as the stations are almost joined. Wherever you arrive by train there is always a Tube link nearby.
Fantasia was held in Chiswick, just a short walk from Turnham Green tube station. (This is one of those "funny" stations that does not get a full off-peak service eg the Piccadilly Line trains do not stop, so you have to finish the journey on the District Line if you are not travelling during commuting hours.)
My first class was at 10am, and they ask that you arrive in the appointed room 10 minutes beforehand, so I needed to be in the building by 9.30 to get the instructions and stow all my belongings. The cloakroom service only charged £1 for your coat/shoes/baggage, so I didn’t have to cart all my stuff about all day! I had opted to travel in an outfit which was simply adapted to make it fit for dancing, but in fact there was plenty of time and space to change. There were one or two men amongst us, but most of the participants were female. Most of the ladies were like me and did not need to strip off to prepare, whilst a few others used the loos and changing facilities. I would recommend taking some sort of light shoe or slipper for walking between classes. (In fact, some of the floors were quite dirty - and even gritty - and I was told that this was due to people arriving in outdoor shoes.)
Each class was scheduled for 1½hrs, with ½ hour gap to get to the next session. In practice our tutors were more concerned with achieving their objectives than watching the clock, so any session was likely to overrun by up to 10 minutes. This still left plenty of time to move on, even though the workshops were spread over 3 floors. Fortunately they had pinned up signs to point the way (the building reminded me of my old school, where I spent my first term getting lost!) I took a bottle of water and some fruit with me, to keep me going throughout the day but there was a refreshment bar which did drinks (licensed, hot and soft) and snacks including soup and hot sundries. This had run low by 2pm Sunday.
I booked myself into 6 classes in total, so I was fully booked on Saturday but missed the last class on Sunday when I went to the Souk. (I didn’t have time to get round all of it properly and I know they stayed open longer than programmed because people were still wanting to buy.) I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and thought that all my classes were excellent value for money at £15. However, it is important to think about what you are hoping to achieve before you make your plans. I could see that some participants were enjoying themselves even though they could not cope with all the elements, whereas others seemed unhappy with their own lack of ability. All of my tutors worked really hard to help us make the grade and any failure was totally down to my own defects! So before you book a class, make sure you know what it entails and whether it will suit you.
Back to practicalities: we booked into a hotel called the Chiswick Court which was no more than five minutes walk up the road. You couldn’t miss it because it was on a junction on the opposite side of the road (walking away from the tube station). We paid £35 per night B&B, for en-suite rooms - breakfast being toast, fruit juice, tea or coffee (no choice, take it or leave it). They had cheaper rooms but I like to scrub my feet in peace after I’ve been dancing! There was another hotel around the corner, about the same distance, where some of the others stayed and that was called the Swan. Prices were much the same. If you are prepared to share, you could probably pay as little as £25 each. Our hotel had some parking, but as we arrived before we could book in I did not want to mess about moving my car. There was very limited parking at the venue, which was mostly used by those running the stalls in the souk. Further out, there is a Travelodge, or something similar, which could be an option, but because we were going to the Show, we didn’t want to be travelling back late at night.
As it was, we were a little bit late getting to the show because my last class finished after 5.30 and then I had to collect everything and take it to the hotel. We know we didn’t miss much, but once we were inside we couldn’t see our programmes (next time I’ll take a small torch!) So we mainly worked out what we had seen afterwards! The professionals were obviously good whilst the student groups varied. There were some interesting routines and some less so. The two special guests were both spectacular and well worth the £20 along. My main comment is that it did go on too long and the seating arrangements did not lend themselves to “dropping in and out” as suggested in the programme. However, if the organisers have taken notice of our feedback forms (for the entire event), it should all run much better next time.
At the risk of repeating myself, I am sooooo pleased that I went. I would not have missed any of it. Even though it added up to quite an expensive weekend, it probably cost a lot less than any other “London Break”. I am quite sure that I will do it again. Also I will look out for my favourite tutors running sessions elsewhere. Nothing like a good workshop to challenge the body!
