One step to the left, one step to the right, one to the right, now two to the left. No, they are not the speeches of Trias in the middle of the electoral campaign. They are the dance machines of the ARCADE association (Association for the Restoration and Conservation of Arcades and other Entertainment Devices), an Eden of lights, sounds, music and little machines that transport you directly to a Japanese arcade.
Completely self-directed, the association, whose headquarters are in Cornellà, in a 650-square-meter warehouse divided into two floors, houses hundreds of pinball and arcade games, as well as music machines. It is a point of pilgrimage for the freaks of this world, who this Saturday have a musical conclave that has nothing to envy to Eurovision: with almost a hundred participants who will come from all over Europethe days May 20 and 21 will celebrate the ARCADE Rhythm Championship Seriesa dance tournament with three of the most complete machines in its catalogue, the Dance Dance Revolutionthe Pump It Up and the Dance Rush.
“I haven’t practiced for a few months, and the level this year is very high,” he says kevin sanchez, an expert in dance machines and one of those in charge of managing the tournament. He fears that he will not be able to repeat the good results of the two previous championships: he entered the record with the bronze medal. “It will be a tough competition, very pro people will come from all sides & rdquor ;, he warns.
To get an idea of what the event will be like: the machines Dance Dance Revolution and Pump It Up They are the ones of a lifetime, those typical two-thousanders that, with a table with arrows, indicate on the screen where to put your foot. “It is demanding, it requires technique and a lot of movement & rdquor ;, she warns, so participants bring a towel: sweat is guaranteed. To these machines is added the easiest modality, the Dance Rush“less technical, more relaxed, it doesn’t require such a precise ‘timming’, it’s a shuffle machine”.
Total, six competitions, two levels per machine. One amateur, another for the most professional. “We divided it because in the pro there are very, very good people& rdquor ;, says Kevin, pronouncing the very with the intensity of bold letters. “At the amateur levels, we make sure that, even if you are a beginner, you will have a good time, that you do not have the feeling that you will be eliminated in the first round & rdquor ;, he adds. Thus, you do not go home with the resignation of Blanca Paloma seeing her five points of her televoting.
This weekend’s is the third tournament that they organize “In 2022 we did two editions, this year we have grouped them into a single annual tournament, but in a big way,” he says. Lluis Cavalle, responsible for the communication of the association. And although it is not the first of its kind in Catalonia -in fact, its first edition was born paying homage to a tournament that was held in the 2000s, in the New Park on La Rambla, the reference recreational hall of the moment-, yes it he is biggerwith more participants involved.
Mark on the calendar: saturday, qualifiersand sunday finals. Of course, there will be prizes and gifts, and the food will be extra-calorie pizzas served on the premises. And yes, in a couple of rounds you will have burned them.
And, in addition, during the tournaments, the rest of the dance machines, even the most complex ones, will be available with the aim of opening this world to more people. “There are many machines that, since they are exported from Japan, are not in Spanish, so there is a language barrier to understand them. It is difficult to introduce yourself & rdquor ;, details Kevin. For this reason, there will be members of the association teaching them and assisting those who want to try them, making arcade pedagogy, so that even the most complex ones seem easier to obtain than a public contract for Ayuso’s brother. The 2000s are back!
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The tickets are already sold out, but that does not mean that the tournament cannot be followed: they will broadcast live, through his twitch channel, all qualifying choreographies. You’ll feel like you’re in the final of ‘Fame, let’s dance!’.