Last Saturday Vega travelled back in time to the 1950s – and boy, what a swell time it was!
Neat gentlemen donned in their finest suits oozed charisma as they stepped right into character and performed chivalrous gestures for the Danish dames. Ladies glided through the halls of Store and Lille Vega, fanning themselves and reapplying rouge lipstick and powdering their noses.
Poodle skirts and bountiful tulle crinolines swirled across the dance floor as couples jitterbugged and Lindy-hopped the night away. Big band the High Ts’ eclectic mix of swing and jazz had gents clicking their fingers and heels were clomping to the classic beats made famous by Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Bob Crosby and Dionne Warwick, just to name a few.
While young couples were busy tearing up the dance floor, those who heard the sweet 50s melodies the first time around could be spotted on the sidelines filled with nostalgia and wearing wonderstruck smiles. Many of those aged well into their sixties kicked up their heels and joined in for the odd slow dance or two.
A highly memorable moment was when hundreds of giddy guests followed the instructions of choreographer Signe Frydenholm as she led them in a hand-jive dance that had you wondering whether you had been transported to the set of Grease. If your feet began to tire, you could refuel with handmade sandwiches and snacks, completing the Rydell High School dance atmosphere.
The evening was not short of variety, with an enchanting hula-hoop from hula girl Miss Mia, crooning soloists, and the Beatophonics pumping out rock’n’roll hits in a packed Lille VEGA
The highlight of the evening was no doubt the guest soloists’ performance alongside the Beatophonics, whose renditions of '50s classics captivated and enthralled the pin-up lasses and beatnik boys. Silas Bjerregaard, the lead singer from popular Danish band Turboweekend, stole the show with his rendition of Elvis Presley’s ‘Kiss Me Quick’. His deep and velvety voice had the entire audience weak at the knees, leaving many to collect their jaw from the floor as he shot off flirtatious gazes as if they were bullets. The final encore was spectacular and it was hard to gauge who was having more fun – the ecstatic hip-twisting audience or the raucous singers on stage belting out Ray Charles’s 'What’d I Say'. The sheer excitement was palpable: it was like watching a teenager rock out in their bedroom with a comb for a microphone while simultaneously strumming on an air guitar.
It can be hard to do an iconic decade like the '50s justice, but gosh darn, there’s no denying this party was dandy!
