Several months ago, I attended an audition for an upcoming show with The Posh Club They were recruiting roller skaters over the age of 45. I’d heard about the auditions from a few skaters and thought it might be a fun project to be a part of. Besides, what exactly did I have to lose at age 50?

The Audition Process

The audition process was headed by Karen Da'Silva [the Creative Director & Choreographer], Simon and Dickie [the Co-producers at The Posh Club], Frankie J [Pro Dancer, Skater, and Co-choreographer] and Tony [Co-choreographer] all the way from Australia.

Karen, Dickie and Frankie gave us all a warm welcome and briefed us on how the auditions would be run, and encouraged us all to treat the process like a creative skate workshop — and so we did.

It was a mixed bag — a small number of skaters that I didn't know, and many others that I'd skated with numerous times befire. Many of us taking part were pretty experienced jam skaters, while others were nearer the earlier stages of their roller skating journies.

Being an older bunch, everyone got chatting with ease and offered lots of support to one another throughout the process. The afternoon was divide up into a few sections. We started with a nice warm up before exploring different ways to express rhythmic skate flow — with and without use of props. It was pretty relaxed and quite enjoyable. We were led through a short, but more challenging routine by Frankie J before being prompted to play with it and make it our own.

Honestly, the whole process felt more like another one of our fun skate meet ups, but with a creative twist — it was a really enjoyable experience.

After the audition came to an end, we were told that we'd each be contacted by email to inform us of the outcome. As promised, I received an email with a verdict. I was pleased to find out that I'd been invited to join the shows cast. Better still, I had been paired with my good friend Laverne to take on the role of skate marshalls/opening act! We were to support the three lead skaters: Paul Shipp [Starlight Express], Janna Bedaux [Netherlands Skater] and David Graham [Jazz Dancer].

 

The Posh Club

Just before the start of rehersals in March, we were invited to attend one of The Posh Club events in Dalston, Hackney. And let me tell you this — it was a real eye-opener! 

The events are presented by Azara and supported by generous team of volunteers. Together, they deliver a 2 hour experience with care, consideration and a lot humour. It really is easy to see why The Posh Club is so often a sell out occassion. 

Here's the best part— The Posh Clubs over 65 year old punters are proper zesty and 100% ready to indulge themselves by having a thoroughly good time. Azara, Dickie and Simon have a great connection with their regulars and know them all by name. Their members are very familiar with The Posh Club set up, and are ready to be surprised, party and get interactive at every given opportunity. They're always up for an afternoon of fun.

The club offers up a variety of entertaining acts — from burlesque dance performances, comedy, singing and other displays of creativity and naughtiness! These lot are ready to shake a foot to reggae, pop, soca, soul, and jungle anthems before finishing up with some fast paced line dancing sequences. Mate — we had a proper lunch time rave up.

The Posh Club goers are basically us in a decade or two. I actually can't wait to be old enough to join! Who even decided that older folk are not interested in taking part in regular bouts of interactive, highly social, infectious fun? What a myth eh! 😁

The Rehearsals

Rehearsals began at the start of March, continuing straight through to the three-day show at Stanley Arts, [a historic cultural venue in South London]. Stanley Arts is a vibrant creative hub providing space for theatre, dance, music, community events, and emerging artists.

The three lead performers were rehearsing most days as they each had a solo to perform as well as a group act. Laverne and I rehearsed our opening piece both inside Stanley Arts with the team, and outside in other locations whenever we could manage to get together.

Our piece was high energy and funfilled. We loved experimenting with the various ideas and played around with the use of props. With guidance from Karen and Frankie J, we worked through the logistics of using the performance space to its fullest so we could prepare the audience for what was to come. 

The Show 

"The best Posh Club I've ever been to."
~Posh Club Punter

The show was supported throughout by our gorgeous skate agents [all dressed in red]. Each of the casts' costumes were created by super talented Claire Ashey, and our makeup on performance days was taken care of by Rachel Porter, which made everything feel that much more spectacular. It was an exciting process to be part of.

➡️ Watch Video: The Rollers Rehersals at Stanely Arts

➡️ Watch Video: The Rollers [The Posh Club]  Golden Girls

➡️ Watch Video: The Rollers [The Posh Club] Soul Train Skate

➡️ Watch Video: Getting Our 'Freak On' with The Posh Club Punters

The three consecutive days of live performances all unfolded well — from the many technical aspects [sound and complicated lighting lifghting to name a few] to costumes, make-up, cues, performances, right down to the food and wine served by our skate agents. Yes, there were one or two minor hitches on the day, but fortunately, they were quickly resolved by the team. 

The whole experience was a wonderful collaborative effort. This was my first show performed in a theatre [with all the razzle dazzle that goes with it] and I must say it was pretty thrilling! I think we all grew in various ways through the process. I expected it to be much more pressured and nerve-wracking, but instead it was filled with a string of unexpected rewards. I loved being a part of the entire experience.

The management team, cast members, staff members at Stanely Arts, volunteers and punters were all wonderfull in their own ways. The icing on the cake was seeing The Posh Clubs members really enjoying the show, as well as so many supporters [including a good number of our skating family] make the effort to come out to support us — it meant so much to all of us. There was also a great deal of support and encouragement from those who could not make it to the show. The spirited generosity was felt. 

There were many amazing images taken by photographer Roland Ramanan throughout the rehersal process and the show.

➡️ Photographs by Roland Ramanan

But hold up, it seems that it might not all be over after all! Having had a member of the arts council in attendance at the show, as well as Justine Simons OBE [London's Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries] and.... with such amazing feedback the audience — I hear tell there may be a London wide tour of the show on the horizon. I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

Watch this space .…just saying!