Happy New Year everyone! We wish you and your families a year filled with Love, Happiness, Success, and Unforgettable memories, and we hope that 2025 brings you good health and exciting new adventures and opportunities!
We’ve had a nice relaxing holiday break and we are looking forward to getting back to classes again very soon! We’ll be starting new courses on
3rd and 5th February at the regular venues – see the timetable further on under the CLASS INFORMATION heading.
To help promote our new course, we are running a competition whereby if you bring a new Beginner student to our classes, you go into the draw to
WIN A TEN-LESSON PASS! See further on for all the details.
Could we ask a favour please? If you are on Facebook and haven’t already liked our page, could you please search @FootlooseRockers and like it please. We also have an Instagram page – just search footlooserockers. To help increase our social media presence, it would also help if you could like, comment and share any posts that you see. Social media is one way we can successfully advertise our lessons and keep Rock n Roll alive in the Illawarra, so the more you share and like our posts, the more they will be seen. Also, we update our pages regularly, so you are more likely to see what’s happening at Footloose on a more regular basis. We appreciate your help!
We have been asked if we will be changing to a new venue this year, so we just want to confirm that we will still be teaching at our two regular venues – Illawarra Leagues Club and Albion Park Bowling Club. At this stage we won’t be adding to, or changing these venues, however this may change in the future. We have been advised that Illawarra Leagues Club will be closing down and demolished, but we have no idea when this will take place. This may happen any time in the future – we have been in contact with their staff and have been assured that there has been no date set. So while the club is operating, we will still be teaching there!
THE YEAR THAT WAS 2024!
2024 was a great year for us – our class numbers continued to grow and many friendships made. It has taken a few years to get things back on track since the pandemic but we are creating a strong community of loyal and committed dancers, and we believe that 2025 will continue to build on this momentum. We continue to strive to make our studio a welcoming place for dancers, where Rock ‘n’ Roll dancing is alive and thriving.
We kicked off 2024 by introducing new classes in Swing dancing, which were extremely popular. Our Beginner’s Rock & Roll classes saw a surge in interest, with many new dancers joining us for their first classes. For our seasoned dancers, we created another Level 2 class – Level 2D – where we introduced a number of new moves to keep everyone interested and learning new things. Intermediate classes are still a lot of fun and students are loving the challenge created in these classes. So if you are wanting new moves to add to your repertoire, why not make a New Year’s resolution and get back into our dance classes and join us at our social dances!
Our monthly Rock ‘n’ Roll Sunday Social dances grew in popularity, bringing together dancers of all levels to share their love of Rock n Roll, Swing, Rockabilly, and Line Dancing. We attended other local monthly dances and had a number of nights out.
Our Christmas Party was a fabulous night, with 190 people attending – most people saying that it was the best one yet! We also had a great New Year’s Eve dance with around 100 people attending! We were invited to teach on the Flashback Music cruise and took over 30 students with us – that was the twelfth time we have taught on these music cruises! We were also invited to teach Rock n Roll and Swing workshops on two occasions in Tasmania for one of their dance clubs. All the attendees had a great time and can’t wait for us to go back again.
There’s so much more that happened in 2024 that we can’t cover, but we want to remind you that you are all invited to attend our functions and outings! Organising these functions is another way we can pay back to the community who supports us.
Following is a brief summary of what’s coming up – see further on for full details.
-
New 5-week courses start Monday 3rd February and Wednesday 5th February 2025.
-
New Competition! Bring a new Beginner student and go into the draw to win a 10-lesson pass valued at $110!
-
New BEGINNERS Rock n Roll classes are starting at ALBION PARK BOWLS on Wednesday nights at 6.30.
-
A huge Sydney Rock n Roll/Swing competition is being held on Saturday 8th March at St. Mary’s Band Club.
-
The Rock’n Vintage Roll festival at Ryan’s Hotel in Thirroul is on Sunday 9th March.
-
There will be NO SUNDAY Rock n Roll dance at Albion Park Bowling Club in January – the next dance will be on Sunday 23rd February
-
Westside Rockers will now have all of their dances on at WESTS ILLAWARRA, Hargreaves St, Unanderra. The next dance is FRIDAY 17 JANUARY from 7.30pm to 11pm; cost is $10 at the door. The band is 60’S MAGIC ROCK N ROLL BAND.
-
The date for this year’s Christmas party is SATURDAY 6TH DECEMBER at Wests Unanderra – Put it in your diary now so you don’t double book!
Now read on for all the details!
CLASS INFORMATION
🎉 YOU COULD WIN A 10-LESSON PASS BY BRINGING A NEW STUDENT TO OUR BEGINNERS CLASS! 🎉
Want to win a FREE 10-LESSON DANCE PASS valued at $110? Here’s your chance! Bring a friend or family member to sign up as a new Beginner student for our classes commencing on 3rd or 5th February and you’ll go into the draw to win the pass! Just let us know who you brought along, and we’ll put your name into the draw. You’ll get ONE entry for every person you bring – e.g. bring 2 couples, get 4 entries. The winner will be drawn on Monday 17th February at classes. So start talking your friends/family into coming along!
NOTE: this competition is open to existing students who bring new students along with them to a Beginners class.
As we are starting new Beginners Rock n Roll classes at Albion Park Bowling Club on Wednesday nights, students will have the choice of two venues – Illawarra Leagues or Albion Park, so bring them along with you to either venue. PLEASE NOTE: The BEGINNERS 5-week course is $50/person or $13/person paid weekly.
New 5 week courses start on 3rd and 5th February. Following is the timetable:
DID YOU KNOW? If you purchase a 10-lesson class pass for $110, that brings the class cost down to $11/person per lesson. 32 years ago when we first started teaching, our lessons were $10/person back in 1992, so this means when you purchase a class pass now you are only paying $1 per lesson more than our students did over 30 years ago! That’s what you call value for money!
CLASS PRICES
The BASIC BEGINNERS COURSE is $50/person for the 5 week COURSE or $13/person paid weekly.
LEVEL 2 and INTERMEDIATE classes are $13/person/class or you can purchase a CLASS PASS – prices as follows:
** 10-LESSON Pass – $110, reducing the cost to $11/lesson;
** 5-LESSON PASS – $60, reducing the cost to $12/lesson;
PASSES are valid for a period of 12 months from date of purchase – basically it works like a coffee card – each time you attend a class, we click one lesson off your card! These passes are available to couples and singles and can be purchased at the desk at classes. Couples can both use the one pass.
DON’T FORGET! If you’d like to do two classes each week, the second night in the same week is just $5/person! For example, if you attend Monday night’s class, you pay either $13 or use your CLASS PASS, then it’s just $5 to attend the Wednesday night in the same week. Doing classes twice a week helps to reinforce what you are learning, and will help you to progress your dancing more quickly.
ROCK N VINTAGE ROLL FESTIVAL
This annual Rock n Roll and Rockabilly festival is held once a year at the Ryan’s Hotel in Thirroul, and it’s coming up on SUNDAY 9TH MARCH.
The bands have been announced, and they are THE BONNEVILLIANS, COUP DEVILLE, and THE ROCKIN MUSTANGS!
It’s a one day event with a small car show, retro market stalls, Rock n Roll/Rockabilly bands, dancing (small dance floor) and pin up parade. The time is from 10 am; tickets are $15 pre-purchased or $20 at the door. It’s always a great day, and there’s always a large group of us attend!
SUNDAY SOCIAL DANCES!
Our next Sunday Rock n Roll dance is on 23RD FEBRUARY 2025!
PLEASE NOTE! THERE WILL BE NO SOCIAL SUNDAY DANCE IN JANUARY AS THIS COINCIDES WITH AUSTRALIA DAY. The first dance for 2025 will be on SUNDAY 23RD FEBRUARY, then every 4th Sunday of the month throughout the year.
It’s FREE and EVERYONE IS WELCOME! These dances are held at Albion Park Bowling Club, and the band is ROCK N ROLL EXPRESS DUO. Don’t forget, the times are 4.30pm to 8pm!
The band is great and they play a great range of Rock n Roll, Swing, Rockabilly, Cha Cha, Waltz and Line dance songs! These dances are a great way to practice your dancing, and also get to know your fellow students in a fun, relaxed and safe environment.
ROCK N ROLL DANCES – WESTSIDE ROCKERS
Westside Rockers next monthly dance with a Rock n Roll band is on FRIDAY 17TH JANUARY. PLEASE NOTE that these dances are now held at WESTS ILLAWARRA, 1 Hargreave St Unanderra. The band is the 60’s MAGIC BAND; Entry is $10, and time is 7.30pm to 11.00pm.
They also hold dances on Sundays – sometimes there is a band, and other dates they have DJ Kellie playing songs. See list of upcoming dates below:
Sunday 9 Feb – Hit Makers 4 Band
Friday 21 Feb – Mr James Band
Sunday 9 March – DJ Kellie
Friday 21 March – Roc-a-tac Band
Sunday 13 April – DJ Kellie
Friday 11 April – Juke Box Jive Dance Band