Stepping back in time as crowds flock to ‘The Venue’ Tea Dance

Derry’s culture year got off to a swinging start on Saturday with a Tea Dance at ‘The Venue’.

The Tea Dance was The Venue’s first event and was attended by around 1,000 older people who relived the glamorous heyday of the ballroom era, with music from the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s played by Derry’s own Palais Swing Band.

The event was hosted in partnership with the Mayor, Kevin Campbell, and is a long running initiative that has been enhanced to a larger scale in celebration of the city’s culture year.

Mayor Campbell said it was a wonderful success and marked the first of many exciting and inclusive events as part of the City of Culture programme.

“The Venue looked incredible over the weekend and provided those in attendance with a wonderful location to meet up and enjoy a lovely afternoon of music, chat and dance,” he said.

“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in organising the event and in particular the Palais Swing Band who contributed greatly to the atmosphere.

“I know that they were delighted to have had the honour of being the first band to play in The Venue.”

The Tea Dance attracted older people from all areas of the city to come together for a dance, have a cup of tea and share stories.

Those who attended were also treated to a display of photos on large screens either side of the stage, taken from a City of Culture project.

Culture Company Cultural Programmer, Claire McDermott, said: “We’re thrilled by the positive response from all those who attended the Tea Dance on Saturday.

“It was a great way to kick off the 2013 celebrations and a very successful inaugural event for The Venue 2013.

“Special thanks must go to the area partnerships and the local community groups who worked with Culture Company to organise the event. We’re also very grateful to Translink for providing transport to and from the event.”