Freshly Social

MOVE IT is the biggest dance and performing arts event in the UK, where exhibitors and performers from around the country converge on the Earls Court & Olympia Exhibition Centre to celebrate all styles of dance. MOVE IT 2011 promises to be bigger and better than ever, and will host the Street Dance XXL UK Championships for the first time this year.

These street dancers, filmed by Rockhopper TV, have got moves that show off their raw talent – and many young hopefuls with a similar passion for dance will get the chance to show the world their talent at MOVE IT 2011!

Summery dance act R.I.O. will set European stages alight this spring with their house/reggae/pop infusions, as they embark on a massive tour across the continent.

Beginning tomorrow (26 Feb 2011) at MTP, near the German city of Bremen, R.I.O. will bring the party season to Europe early, and delight audiences by continuing the vibe throughout 2011. In addition to numerous shows across Germany, R.I.O. will also turn up the heat in Estonia, Denmark and Spain, amongst others. In addition, the act has also planned a gig in Sudan – highlighting the multi-lateral appeal this happy, commercially successful group of dance gurus have developed.

Founded by German super producers Manuel Reuter and Yann Peifer in 2007, the R.I.O. dance project has taken the world by storm, thanks in part to the dynamic performances and character provided by London-born vocalist Neal Antone (aka Tony T).

One of house music’s premier vocalists, Inaya Day, is releasing a package of highly anticipated remixes of the burning hot track she crafted with Giangi Cappai, ‘Rapid fire’.

Due out on 1 March through Kult Records, ‘Rapid Fire’ is getting top DJs excited following YouTube mix premieres from Midout, Nicola Viti de Angelis and Semion Berkovitch, to name a few.

The infectious track, which hinges on dominating base and melody lines, is reinforced for the dance floor with Day’s powerhouse vocals and signature writing ability. Capturing the soul of an audience, whilst injecting it with a necessity to dance, is a Day specialty, and ‘Rapid Fire’s’ upcoming suite of mixes ensure both commercial and niche house markets are indulged.

Following on from their spectacularly successful slot at massive UK festival Glastonbury last year, house sensations Snap! have delighted fans with news that they are about to embark on a huge European tour.

Incredulously, the popularity of Snap!’s Glastonbury appearance at the infamous WOW! tent took organisers by surprise. Clearly underestimating the appeal of the seminal house act, Glastonbury officials were faced with a hugely over-capacity crowd of festivalgoers, desperate to see the act that sound-tracked their early house footsteps.

Now, back on the road with an exciting new show, Snap! are set for a welcome return to the dance-fore, and thankfully can indulge the demands of fans. Snap! will bring their particular brand of dance power back to Europe with the tour, which kicks off in Slovenia on 5 March before taking in the UK, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Germany and Slovakia. More dates are likely to be added.

London Fashion Week has just drawn to a close, and the city’s style gurus are abuzz with news of the hottest trends that will soon be spreading beyond the catwalks and into the fashion world at large. Whether you like to strut your stuff in a solid pair of safety boots, or tiptoe around in six-inch stilettos, London Fashion Week served up trends to suit any taste – and according to reviews of LFW 2011, designers pulled out all the stops to make this year’s event a truly fantastic experience…

The iconic Vivienne Westwood looked to Lewis Carroll’s surreal classic Alice in Wonderland for her latest inspiration; her collection showcased at London Fashion Week featured models in oversized crowns and out-of-this-world make-up. The Queen of punk-inspired fashion lived up to her name with this beautifully bizarre collection, and fans will happily take this trend straight out of the Mad Hatter’s tea party to the streets.

In commemoration of Hard Rock’s 40 year history, Bon Jovi will be headlining Hard Rock Calling this June. The event is to be held in London’s Hyde Park on 25 June 2011. You can expect Bon Jovi’s legendary hit “Living on a Prayer” to be one of the songs included in the performance.

Hard Rock Calling is an annual music festival that features primarily rock music, and is organised by the Hard Rock Cafe and Live Nation.

Like the most brightly coloured of festivals, the Viareggio Carnival delights and amuses all on the isle of Malta. The Viareggio Carnival is a celebration of all things cinema, with themes and art inspired by Italian theatres most memorable cinematic moments. The exhibition comprises of over fifty-five unique pieces of artwork which covers the time period of 1955 to 2011; this will be dually supported by two cultural discussions which focus on the long and varied history of the carnival.

The inimitable Crystal Waters, famed for her 90s megahit, ‘Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)’, is making a welcome return to house music with hot new track ‘Say yeah’.

A teaser for the ‘Say yeah’ official music video, by Crystal Waters Vs French super-producer/DJ Fred Pellichero, is already making waves on YouTube, with a promise for the full visual production to be aired soon.

Waters has been a dance industry favourite for nearly twenty years, following the runaway success of ‘Gypsy Woman’, which spawned numerous ultra-credible remixes and even today still gets regular play in the world’s top clubs.

Cementing her house music tenure, Waters collaborated with Italian producer Alex Gaudino on the anthemic house-crossover monster, ‘Destination Calabria’, released in 2003. The track hit the top of the dance charts across the world, giving Waters the platform to showcase just how well her incomparable vocals complement a club hit.

Multi award-winning artist Kat DeLuna has described how she puts her worldwide audience ahead of industry balance sheets by including different songs on her latest album, ‘Inside Out’, to cater to different markets.

Since exploding onto the music scene with her 2007 debut release, ‘9 Lives’, which included the hit singles ‘Whine up’ and ‘Run the show’, DeLuna fever has swept across the world like a tornado.

Bonding together her multi-lateral appeal of pop, R&B, latin, funk and dance is DeLuna’s self-effacing character and an unambiguous girl-next-door style. Now back with her sophomore album, DeLuna’s new single ‘Party O’clock’ is already making waves across Europe.

Explaining how she manages her worldwide appeal, DeLuna says: “The difference between the American album and the European album is that the European album is more funky and has a lot of dance beats. The American [version] has the Kat De Luna formula: Latin Worldly Pop.

The name Mutya Buena is about to stand proud and tall in the industry of music as her sensational new single, ‘Give me love’, signifies the emergence of a premier solo act.

Shedding the impressively successful Sugababe gown, Buena has hooked up with hot UK producer Paul Morrell to give DJs, club goers and radio listeners across the globe the single they’ve been waiting for. A stunning mix of torched urban-soul vocals (reminiscent of a sophisticatedly raw TLC, Brownstone or even En Vogue cut), combined with an intoxicating London club groove provided by the über-talented Morrell, makes ‘Give me love’ the perfect introduction to a fresh new season of dance.

A founding member of the most successful UK girl group of the noughties, Buena’s Sugababe history saw many highs and received significant commercial and critical acclaim. Buena’s inaugural 2007 solo effort, ‘Real Girl’, showcased a premier artist in the making, containing several hit singles. Now firmly stepping out with a sound that is quite likely to soundtrack your next few months, ‘Give me love’ has put Buena on every self-respecting international DJs A-list.