Urban Games 2006

What a flop.
There was a lot of effort put into this year's Urban Games. Last year's went well, a few hundred turned up. 'Twas a sunny day. Everyone was out anyway.

2006, things were different. Rather than a nice, sub-tropical day, the rain began early in the morning, setting the low atmosphere for the day, and continued throughout. The main stage where most of the acts for the day was already behind in being erected.

Its hard to not criticise something due to bad weather. It's unplanned, of course, but preparations for something like it should have been made. Most of our crowd were parents, workers for the council and probably a few dog walkers!

I myself could see that the event wouldn't be perfect, as I checked the forecast for the weekend, but as for fellow dancers, its something we all want to make the most of: to go out and do a show for the public. When there aren't many people and you've put weeks of rehearsals into it, not having a lot of people turn up must feel terrible.

Rain made the event dangerous.
Let me explain: we had three slots for our performances - one on the main stage, two on the floor (arena). The stage had a canopy over it to shelter performers, and the arena was at nature's mercy.
The stage performance was okay for us, only we were told we would have a bigger one than the previous year - to me it was either the same size or smaller! This meant dances couldn't travel forward, and moving to the back was a hazard because there was no barrier!!
Later on, the stage was rendered useless as water gathered in an huge pool in the middle of the canvas, meaning it couldn't be used for the final breakdance sequence at the end.

The arena is where we were really at risk.
Attempts were made with towels to mop up rainwater, but to no avail as it kept coming. Dancing on a wet surface at full energy is not something you should try, but its not like there was a choice. Dancers got soaked, and sweat and rain mixed together. Some even slipped.

Very unpleasant.

Personally, I'm pissed at the council lying, saying we'd have a larger stage, and that they didn't foresee the safety problems with a canvas for a stage cover filling with water. Poking it with long sticks didn't help either!
They don't know this, but I'm fucking annoyed with the girls from Stanwell who distracted us from going on and doing the male parts we rehearsed for one of the routines. I was the only boy to go forward, yet I had to cover up the embarrassing mistake by acting like I was imitating the girls...

This year, I don't feel the Urban Games is something I'll look back on positively...