On Saturday evening I took a trip to see Bollywood Steps, a dance spectacular which was held as part of People Dancing; a strand of the Cultural Olympiad here in the West Midlands. (It was also part of the Town Hall’s 175th Anniversary celebrations.)

Essentially the life-story of originator Simmy Gupta told in dance, the first half hour consisted of a ‘basic steps’ tutorial, so the entire crowd could dance along during the wedding scene at the end of the show. I’m not much of a mover but bopped along in time; suppressing the urge to join in with the arm movements lest I accidentally bop someone on the nose. (Dancing’s not my strength!) I was actually really impressed with the number of people who got into it and gave it a go – there were arms waving round all over the place.

The performance-proper was fantastic – the dancing was, naturally, pretty impressive but fusing it with such beautiful, dramatic lighting and the backdrop of the Town Hall made it something really special. And there were fountains and fireworks and everything!

It was most certainly an invigorating way to spend an hour or so on a chilly October evening. (Especially for the floaty-sari-clad dancers who must’ve been blooming freezing!)

I’ll be keeping an eye on West Midlands Dance (a hub of local dance-related stuff) as I’m intrigued to see – following Bollywood, water features and pyrotechnics – what else will come from People Dancing.