MotIon City 2025 Highlights

This article provides highlights of my experiences along with details of my involvement behind the scenes. Also a summary of my networking on my dancing awareness feature.

It is all changed, as this year's edition of one of the UK's largest Latin-related dancing festivals has moved to the new venue at the Eastside Rooms, located on the eastside of Birmingham city centre.
Motion City is a three-day event with a combination of dance classes, workshops, daytime dancing matinee, late-night parties and live dance performances from dancers from the UK and around the world.
It attracts visitors from different parts of the UK & abroad.

Classes
I have attended a variety of classes and workshops on different types of dancing. 
Including Bachata (Fusion & steps to connection), tips on improving social dancing, an introduction to ChaChaCha and Manbo Con Son (focusing on the rhythm). I also attended a variation of salsa, which is different to the style I am used to. With teachers from John Barry, Gabriel Musulbas, All Tamba, Robert White & Elaine Grenwood.

Parties 
I also attended the late-night parties on Saturday and Sunday. The social vibes were much lighter and the social experience was much better. Because of this, it is the most amount of dancing I've experienced since I started attending the event back in 2016. Not only that, I also received more dancing invites from women dancing partners than in any previous version of this event.

Participation
My involvement in this year's event is different from previous years. 
The key part of my involvement was providing support behind the scenes. This includes monitoring to check everything is OK. When necessary, I would get involved on behalf of the event team members when specific situations occur. This includes providing guidance to a visitor, living with invisible disabilities related to how to approach dance workshops which does not causes risk to persons well-being.
In addition, I have assisted with packing with some of the equipment after the event has ended 

Travel advisory guides

This year’s change of venue to the Eastside Rooms could pose challenges for visitors, especially those not travelling by car, due to road restrictions, pedestrianisation, and a complex public transport system in the city centre. Having attended the venue before, I'm aware of these challenges.

So I decided to provide assistance by creating a family of travel advisory guides to & from the Eastside Rooms. These incluldes detailing taxi options, public transport connections from Birmingham city centre railway stations (including the tram network) and bus services to the venue.

With permission from Latinmotion & Motion City, these guides were shared on social media and in a WhatsApp group for volunteers. Special thanks to Clerissa for sharing them within the local dancing community.
Printed versions were also displayed at the event's reception areas. Feedback from attendees was very positive, and many found the guides helpful.

Also special thanks to Mauricio and Brighon for permitting me to share my travel advisory guides

Read my article for details on developing the travel advisory guides

Sharing my dancing related to awareness developments
As well as attending & participating. I have done some networking to spread the word of Embrace Dancing, my dancing awareness feature to the event's key participants. Including Jean & Robert White from London's Manbo City, Moe Flex (Teacher and host of the live show at Motion City & NYE Fest and at different latin festivals around the world), Superdixion (Teacher and online radio host) and Davina, one half of the teaching dancing duo Merchant and Davina.
With the feedback, some people are interested in collaborating on some of the content I have developed for their dancing communities.

Find out by visiting my dancing awareness feature "Embrace dancing"

Conclusion
I felt the change of venue had brought the best out of everyone. Therefore, the social and dancing experience has been enhanced. To me, it fits in the objective of what should happen: meet people, dance and have a positive time. I've already shared my feedback
 with the event leaders Mauricio, Jean, Robert & Zain. 
Separately, I suggest to Mauricio that we need to find ways to transfer the positive experience at Motioncity to the Latinmotion's annual event, NYE Fest (The UK's largest Latin dancing New Year's event), which will take place at Birmingham's NEC.
Special thanks to everyone involved with this edition of MotionCity at its new home, The Eastside Rooms.

Find out about my dancing related involvement

by visiting the feature "Dancing Direction"



Notice to editors

Keith Mckenzie
Keith is an awareness campaigner, a creative designer (Graphic design and digital art) and a salsa dancing participant
With a background in Art & Design (including Graphic Design & Digital art) and a participant in music-related film documentaries, events & record label project King Of the Beats including filming and behind the scene preparations.
Keith was educated at Hereford College of the Arts, the University of Northampton, Birmingham City University and Google's Digital Garage. Since 2000 , he has developed over twenty years in providing awareness projects, campaigns and activities with the Awareness brand Plus Value Awareness along with Differences Originals. Also am involved with salsa classes in the local community
as an assistant. I also have participated in major dancing conventions in Birmingham's, including Motion City (created by Birmingham Latinmotion and London's ManboCity) during the summer and Latinmotion's NYE Fest during the New Year public holiday.
In 2022. Keith became a featured community participant for Birmingham who became part of special projects and campaigns to promote a positive legacy beyond hosting the Commonwealth Games