Rock ‘n Roll Afternoon at the Avoca Hotel
The weather was a sunny 27 degrees and we started arriving around 1:45pm. With the band playing at 2, we were keen to ensure we didn’t miss a single song!
Ben was there early to make sure the QuickSteps crew a good spot in the beer garden. One by one QuickSteppers started pouring in and enjoying relaxed chats and icey cold refreshments in the sun.
The Venue is a stand out!
If you haven’t been to the Avoca there are big bench seats around the outside of the beer garden and four main large umbrellas for a bit of shade. Just perfect!
As always most of the crowd took a little while to get up and dancing. In my opinion the first few songs are the best time to dance as there’s still a bit of room to pull out some of your Intermediate and advanced rock n roll and swing steps. After 6 or 7 songs you are more likely to be carefully using your beginner 1 and 2 material on repeat and crafting it to fit into tiny spaces.
Fra and I had committed to doing the ‘every dance challenge’. That’s right we danced every single song! This is probably why my fitbit racked up over 15,000 steps while I was there.
The Music
All of the 50’s and 60’s classics were on the playlist from Hounddog to Runaround Sue
That wasn’t all the band could do… I had a chat with them during the break and mentioned we also danced ballroom and Latin. Towards the end of the 4th set they played a cha cha version of smooth and even a Viennese Waltz by INXS.
They even managed to put together a rock ‘n roll version of the Australian National Anthem. You’ve got to love their creativity and patriotism!
The dance floor was beginning to get more and more crowded!
Soon it was too full to dance inside so we started spilling out into the beer garden and a few couples were even dancing on the edge of the car park. Have music, will dance.
Time For Dinner…
After 4 hours of dancing we were very hungry! The Avoca team quickly turned what was previously the dance floor into our own private dining room for 50.
One by one we went up and ordered at the bar before heading back to the table for a chat and to rest our dancing feet.
One of our waiters was even there at the end to take a big group shot as a keepsake. Thanks Avoca crew and we will certainly see you again soon!
