Bringing the Ibiza spirit to the city for a clubbing event with a difference...
In an age where wellbeing is high on everyone’s agenda, dance music, the physical act of grooving to it, and the powerful mood-boosting properties, are increasingly being explored. While other organisations such as Morning Gloryville have wholeheartedly leveraged these benefits into its series of sunrise sessions, there’s a similar event, right here in Notts, that also understands the importance of dance music therapy – with a twist.
The Boogie is a dance night for women, led by Rachel Hinton. Any women who want a fun, safe space to dance are invited to join her tribe, with a series of specially selected DJs to ‘keep them glowing’ on the dance floor.
And by booking names such as Lisa Chadderton - more commonly seen on the decks in Ibiza rather than in the midlands - Rachel looks after the ears and the feet of her tribe well.
Rachel explains, “My hope is always that each woman who attends leaves having had fun, feeling more relaxed, happy and revitalised for their weekend. Although their feet might be a bit sore…”
Drawn in by the promise of free glitter, festival style fancy dress and a photo-booth to showcase it in, we joined her feel-good girl gang for its May event, held at the Surface Gallery in Sneinton.
Speaking to Rachel, it’s clear that The Boogie has been rejuvenating women for many years previously.
“It started about five years ago in a church hall with a friend DJing and another friend doing a café - it was called The Barefoot Boogie then. After a couple of years I stopped as life was taking me a different way and I began to spend a lot of time in Ibiza, and ended up moving there for a while. On my return I re-launched as The Boogie and decided to bring it into the city centre.”
This Ibiza spirit was clear to see, with glamorous mocktails on offer at the bar, as well as prosecco and bellinis (available with or without alcohol). With our naughty bellinis in hand, we headed straight over to the carnival style ‘market’ at the end of the room to get into the full party spirit.
Here, the Glitter Gyals offered a complimentary sparkly facial makeover, which could then be showcased fully by wearing one of Headcase’s dazzling creations. Every lady at The Boogie was encouraged to wear these headdresses while dancing throughout the night, creating a free, fun and festival-like atmosphere.
“Living in Ibiza influenced the night in so many ways, but if I had to put it into words, I'd say, bringing a sense of fun and light to the dance floor."
The Boogie has found home in the coffee shop 200 Degrees, as well as other art galleries such as The Nottingham Contemporary, The Bohunk Institute and the record store venue, Rough Trade.
“It’s always been in Nottingham, and we also did an event at Soho Farmhouse for International Women’s Day last year.”
Arriving at 8pm, we expected the dance floor, like most other nights, to take time to warm-up. Yet we were greeted with smiles, sweet smells and lots of movement as soon as we entered. A glowing Rachel shimmied and shaked around the room while local selectors Jodie Parker and Katriona Skrimshire played a mixture of funk, disco, soul and everything in-between, each song connected by its infectious beat. Tracks such as Jamiroquai Cosmic Girl, Dee-lite Groove Is In The Heart and Sister Sledge’s classic Lost In Music set the scene perfectly.
“The boogie was originally inspired by a Sunday afternoon boogie at home with my mum and teenage daughter,” Rachel adds. “And my own desire to have somewhere to go out for a boogie that offered a safe, friendly and inspiring space and atmosphere. A place where I could enjoy dancing freely and feel comfortable, dancing to the music I love. Also, my work over the years has been with women in various forms, with the common thread of ‘feeling good in our own skin’ and so it organically grew out of this. However, one of things that has been amazing is that lots of guys have told me that they want a space like this too! So who knows what the future will bring!”
A yoga teacher, dancer and therapist, Rachel is not your average promoter and after leaving the Surface Gallery brimming with naturally induced endorphins, it appears that The Boogie is not your average event.
“Yes, for sure my work has a big influence on my intentions and creating the energy for these nights. The ethos of The Boogie is about feeling good and connected to ourselves and others in a positive and uplifting vibe that hopefully ripples out into our worlds afterwards too.”
A highlight of the night took place as Rachel turned the dance floor into a dance studio for a few moments and had the whole crowd dancing in unison to her choreographed dance moves. Leaving no time to catch our breath, the floor quickly erupted all night long with the excellent tune selections that followed. Tracks such as Blondie’s Atomic, epitomised the unstoppable female attitude that was felt by everyone there.
Taking place from 8pm – 10:30pm, for night owls like us The Boogie was a fantastic way to start the rest of our evening, getting us pumped in ways like no other. Yet the timings also made it perfect to be enjoyed by all women, no matter which way your body clock functions.
The Boogie takes place throughout the year, keep up to date with the next event online.
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