Hot Moves No Pressure is an invite-only, underground-style dance battle, where each performer can invite one guest only, making it the hottest ticket in town!
The energy at Boomtown Winery last Saturday night for the Castlemaine dance-off was electric! (In fact, the moves were so hot that the power blew halfway through the performances…)
A smorgasbord of fabulously outlandish moves featuring amazing choreography and even better costumes including glitter, fur, body paint, spandex, leather, feathers and sequins. There were nuns, cowboys, horses heads, space suits, and even Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice accompanied by a harem of women!
The song mash-ups were out of this world, with the age of the dancers apparent from the compilations heavily laden with 90s pop – one number was solely dedicated to the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet.
The first section of the evening was the no contest, no pressure round with performances by the Menawhores, the Mainsplainers and of course, event organisers, the Dance Moms, who shimmied and gyrated across the floor as they disrobed from their nuns habits.
The Castlemaniacs dance troupe, inspired by the local Facebook group Castlemania, gave a cleverly choreographed performance, wearing 80s town council inspired suit jackets over leotards with logos of the warring local supermarkets emblazoned on the front.
Giving strong keyboard warrior vibes, the Community House dance troupe, had the audience in hysterics as they played out the big topics of the town.
The number drew to a close with the wig-wearing women turning their back to the audience to spell out CaRstlemaine on their backs. ‘It’s CASTLEmaine not CARstlemaine!’
The fifty/fifty split of audience and dancers is a purposeful move, designed to put the performers at ease so they can thrust, glide, shake and twirl with pure abandonment.
In the competitive rounds, the winner was decided by audience applause, however, by the end, everyone was cheering, clapping and whistling so loudly for every performance it was difficult to determine the crowd favourites.
Now in it’s fourth iteration, Hot Moves No Pressure has become an institution in the town, with dance troupes now randomly selected to make sure everyone gets a chance to bust a move.
If you are ever lucky enough to secure one of the coveted tickets to this event, keep a close eye out because you will likely see a teacher from your kids’ school, your barista, neighbour or even your local GP in a state of complete abandon!
