For two years, Signature has defined luxury and captivated ultra-affluent readers, delivering authoritative coverage of the luxury market. Each month, Signature Magazine highlights prestige brands that matter most to a sophisticated readership, offering uncommon insight, elegance and style. 

We are delighted that Ruth Dancer has been featured in the May Icon Special Edition as one of the recognised trailblazers in the events and fashion world.

Signature Magazine’s collector’s edition

Adam Smith, Editor in Chief said “This month Signature Magazine comes out with a special issue that will profile the best of the best, be it people or brands. We raise a toast to the most accomplished and stylish men and women in the local and international circuit in our People Section. We also bring you the famous brands in the same section. The collector’s edition will also deal with iconic brands that define luxury and elegance in today’s world.

What is Signature Magazine?

Signature Bahrain is an exclusive luxury lifestyle magazine. It is a premier guide to modern living aimed at a select group of affluent, premium readers. Signature Bahrain provides an insight into trendy lifestyle and spirited living to a discerning audience. From personality profiles, trends, travel destinations and  motoring to gadgets and art, Signature Magazine has an eclectic mix of topics and articles. 

A veritable smorgasbord of event entertainment

At Ruth Dancer International, we deliver a broad range of events, from VIP after parties to corporate launches, family orientated public events to beautiful weddings. The key strand that links all of our events is the high standard and quality to which we deliver them. So we require a broad range of different types of event entertainment, again, all performing to a high standard. In the past we have be known to use fire dancers, choirs, actors, stilt walkers, painters, pianists, magicians and of course DJs, to name just a few… 

New event entertainment wanted

….but we want more! We are always keen to hear about the next big thing, the oldies but goldies and the bizarrely sublime. So if you would like to be considered to perform at one of our events and you perform to a high standard, get in touch now. We hold events all over the country and the Middle East, so geography need not be a boundary.

‘English’ themed event entertainment wanted

Right now, we are looking for artists from England who provide event entertainment which can be considered quintessentially English – but no Morris Dancers please! It can be music, performance or indeed anything! So if you think you have what it takes to be part of an English themed event, and perform to a high standard, contact us now and provide us with details of what you do.

An Olympic countdown 

On 23rd July 2011, the UK will be celebrating the 1 year countdown to the London 2012 Olympics. Marking this huge event, FitBeat will host a series of games, competitions and activities for adults and children in Emsworth on the Hampshire border. Full details of the event can be found at http://www.fitbeat.co.uk/ or by contacting us at info@fitbeat.co.uk

FitBeat, fun and fundraising

FitBeat will be hosted by Innovations Fitness, the county’s foremost outdoor fitness brand. Owner of Innovations Fitness, George ‘Topsy’ Turner, said

 

“FitBeat is going to be a huge event for the whole community. It is important to show people how much fun getting and staying fit can be. I am particularly passionate about hammering that message home to the children, and hosting this event on such a prestigious date will help us to do so. The Olympics will be such an enormous boost to the country and put fitness right back to the forefront of people’s minds. We hope that in hosting this event, we can raise a lot of money for Wessex Heartbeat and encourage people to get outside, get fit and have some fun.”

All in the name of charity

All of the proceeds of FitBeat will be donated to Wessex Heartbeat, the region’s number 1 heart charity, dedicated to supporting those living with a heart condition. Wessex Heartbeat has been a registered charity since 1992 and aims to ensure that everyone affected by heart conditions receives the best possible support. Based in Southampton, charity Chief Executive D’Arcy Myers said;

“We are very grateful to FitBeat for organising such a fantastic event in aid of Wessex Heartbeat.  This is a great way to mark a year to go until the Olympics kicks off and promises to be a fun day out for all the family.  Being active really helps prevent future problems with heart health and this event is an ideal way to get moving with lots of different activities to choose from.

It is thanks to the generosity of the community that we can continue to support people living with heart conditions and improve services for them.  Anyone can have a heart condition – a loved one, a friend, a neighbour, a colleague – at any time in their lives. Help us help them, so they receive the best possible care.”

Get involved

If you would like to get involved in FitBeat, there are a number of ways you can do so.

Corporate sponsorship of the games are the key way in which FitBeat will raise money for Wessex Heartbeat.

If you would like to sponsor one of the key activities or provide a service to support the event, please click here

If you would like to enter a team into the It’s a Knock Out competition, click here

And of course, if you would like to come along with your family and friends for the day, we welcome you to join us at Emsworth Park from 11am on the 23rd July. Don’t forget to wear trainers and appropriate clothing!

Planning a public event

If you would like to learn more about how to organise a public event, including marketing, PR, and full event delivery, please contact us directly and we would be delighted to talk through how we can bring your brand to life through public events.

Mamma Mia, it’s marryoke

Marryoke is the affectionately named word to describe a video put together on or before the wedding day, which shows the bride, groom and members of the wedding party lip synching to a favourite song. Need we go on? Apparently it isn’t enough anymore to have a fancy dress, fancy cake, fancy flowers and fancy gifts, now we have to have marryoke to complete the special day. 

Marryoke sense of humour failure

In truth, it is every girl (and drunk guy’s) fantasy to be a pop star, to air guitar to an 80s rock classic or lip synch wind beneath my winds holding a hair brush in front of the mirror in a scene reminiscent of the Pink Ladies sleep over in Grease. Who can forget the military take on the Nickelback classic and of course ‘is this the way to Amarillo’ – and we are not going to deny that these are indeed hilarious. But marryoke, really? Sometimes we wonder if the envelope is pushed so hard that the gimmicks take place of the love and entire raison d’etre of a wedding.

“Marry me” not marryoke

There is already a great deal of pressure on a couple to have a memorable and sometimes ‘keeping up with the Jones’ style wedding day, we can’t help but feel that the introduction of marryoke into the general consciousness, is simply adding fuel to the fire. The day, after all, is about love, commitment and family. You don’t need a lot of money to achieve that…

Hold me closer Tiny Dancer

….ok ok, we understand that the day simply must be fun too. This is the most important day in many people’s life and at Ruth Dancer International we definitely do not want to be party poopers (just perhaps every now and again to remind people that this is a wedding, not the x-factor.) So we got to thinking about the RDI top five marryoke classics.

5. For the snubbed….It should have been me; Gladys Night & The Pips

4. For the keen beans… I do, I do, I do, I do; Abba

3. For those who like dressing up….Kiss the Bride; Elton John

2. For the traditionalists…Love and marriage; Frank Sinatra

1. And for those of you who like a gossip…Shot gun wedding; Rod Stewart

Happy marryoking everyone!

Don’t fancy marryoke at your stylish wedding?

For  ideas on your wedding that don’t involve marryoke, contact us directly at Ruth Dancer International.

The Goodwood Estate at large 

For many, Goodwood is a racecourse which hosts the famous ‘Glorious Festival.’ But the estate as a whole encompasses a 4* hotel, grand historic house, farm shop, two golf courses, two restaurants, private members areas, not to mention the motor racing track, airport and extensive farm land….

Event Managers are spoilt for choice at Goodwood

With all of that real estate, it is hard to know where to start for your event, but put quite simply, each and every space offers something for a range of events. For the uber glamourous wedding there’s Goodwood House (undoubtedly the dream venue for any bride and groom to be). For your important clients, the hotel rooms are a must with each one individually styled to create a home from home feel (a rather swanky home at that!) And of course if they like outdoor pursuits the golf course and lunch at the Kennels tops off a fabulous relaxed corporate experience.

But who would have thought that conferences and exhibitions are an option at Goodwood? The Hotel has the space for 200 in a fantastic stylish room with outside space and access to the spa and restaurants. Alternatively the race course itself has a hidden gem over looking the track on one side and the Downs on another which is perfect for exhibitions.

Large outdoor event? Sure, PLENTY of room! And hey, why not have your guests fly in to the airfield just for that cherry on the top feel. It is a little ridiculous for one location to have so much to offer and yet some how not feel snobbish. But that is the magic of Goodwood. 

Glorious glorious Goodwood!

You see the bit that Goodwood gets so right is to remove the unfriendly, arrogant atmosphere (which quite frankly it would be fully justified to have) and instead through the design and detail, to create a chic but comfortable group of venues that are a joy to be in, but not intimidatingly so. The dog bowls at the Kennels are placed on top of each in a scruffy quirky way, which creates that homely feel in a room which is decorated to the hilt in history and grandeur. It is this balance that creates the huge success story that is Goodwood.

Ruth Dancer International and Goodwood

Undoubtedly we will be enjoying a summer of events at Goodwood (not to mention celebrating our 1 year UK anniversary there….watch this space for more on that) and if we have convinced you of its charm and fabulousness, you can get more information from the Goodwood website. Alternatively, if you would like to speak to us about organising your event at Goodwood, please contact us directly.

Baby Shower horror! 

I had previously been informed that as an event manager, I may be thoroughly appalled by the choice of entertainment at a baby shower (known to include the infamous ‘sniff the nappy’ game, where seemingly intelligent women try to work out the brand of melted chocolate that some well meaning event manager has smeared into an otherwise clean nappy). Happily, Cheyne Walk Brasserie in Chelsea offered a rather more sophisticated atmosphere. Definitely a venue worth checking out for an intimate do. Beautiful spring flowers, delicious cupcakes, personalised goody bags and lashings of champagne made for a far more adult experience and got us thinking about the different elements that combine to create an entirely different sort of event.

Baby Shower…..there’s one more every minute! 

Baby Shower parties are on the up and spreading throughout the UK, particularly popular for those couples who do not intend to have a Christening or naming ceremony. They offer a great option for a party before the initial exhaustion of a new born sets in and of course for many, to get the much needed assistance from friends and family by means of the untold amount of ‘stuff’ that parents need for the baby.

A few tips to hosting a sophisticated baby shower 

So here are our top tips for creating a fabulous afternoon baby shower to celebrate the imminent arrival.

Remember that the theme is the arrival of a baby, but the guests are adults, your friends and family, so keep the content adult and remember they are there to celebrate your happy news, not to act like babies.

1. If you don’t know the gender of your unborn baby, then think about the colour scheme carefully. Yellow is of course the standard middle ground, but if you want something less conventional, go for animal prints, letters and writings styles, or even something that relates to the mother and father more, like a hobby. Alternatively, you can always get around the pink/blue issue by simply following the seasonal colour chart which will automatically look appropriate in the setting.
2. Be creative with the food and drink, but keep it simple. It isn’t customary for guests to want to gorge themselves at a baby shower, so go for finger food, stagger the offerings throughout the event to create a relaxed atmosphere. And of course remember to give both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks, bearing in mind the age range of the guests and the time of day of the event. A hot cuppa may way be a welcome addition to the catering!
3. Personalise and make it memorable. Don’t forget the photographer, you can even go all out and hire a photobooth to capture the memories. Use a Polaroid and get instant messages from the future aunts and uncles.
4. Keep your guests entertained as you would at any other event. Avoid the nappy game, anything involving sucking on dummies or any similar adaptation of a child’s toy. Asking a 50 year old woman to pin the dummy on the baby, or smash a pinata pram full of sweeties is unlikely to inspire. Do the same activities you would do at say, a birthday party, but keep it in line with your theme e.g. if you are into karaoke, add the rule that the song has to have the word ‘baby’ in it. Or if you prefer to keep things sophisticated with no games, try to create points of interest instead 

• A speech from the Grandma to be
• Present giving and unwrapping
• Asking guests to write messages to your unborn on a plate that can then be ‘baked’ to secure the writing
• Create a video using messages from the gathered friends and family for the baby. Bring props and ask for pearls of wisdom
• Ask an outside party to come in to create an activity like chocolate making, pottery painting or even belly dancing (taking care with mum-to-be of course!

Good luck to all of the mums to be out there and if you would like more advise or suggestions on how you can put your baby shower together, contact us here.

So what is event management according to RDI Ltd?

Event Management is exactly what it sounds like, it is the effective, safe management of an event. And an event can be anything from a wedding to a party to a ball to an exhibition to a concert and so on. Management means the all encompassing holistic approach to the event from start to finish. A list of areas an event manager or event management company deals with includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Liaising with the client/event owner from start to finish
2. Providing creative, logistical and operational input in all areas
3. Formulating accurate plans and drawings for all aspects of the event
4. Gaining quotations from suppliers
5. Creating and managing an event budget
6. Incorporating marketing, advertising and PR requirements
7. Checking insurance documents from all suppliers (including theirs)
8. Providing health and safety/risk assessment documents
9. Ongoing liaison with the suppliers
10. Set up and de-rig

And that doesn’t even begin to cover the detail of catering, lighting, design, entertainment, security etc. An event manager must be the master of all trades and manager too. 

The corporate query ‘what is event management?’

Corporates often ask the question ‘what is event management,’ if they have had a bad experience with an event manager who didn’t understand their own role, or if they have always used internal administrative personnel to run their events. The question tends to have the subtext of ‘what is the point of an event manager?’ To which we will always say there is a difference between someone who owns a camera and a professional photographer – yes, we can all take pictures, but the quality varies considerably.

Event management in the corporate world is all about delivering an event with a full appreciation for the core aims, whether they be commercial, part of a marketing plan or other.

The job seeker’s query ‘what is event management?’

To all those out there wishing to pursue a career in events and want to know ‘what is event management’, we would suggest considering this list of strengths and abilities 

1. Ability to work under pressure
2. Ability to plan with precision
3. Attention to detail
4. Creativity
5. Administrative wizardry
6. Strong communication skills
7. People person
8. Committed until the job is done

As a brief snapshot, if you feel you meet at least most of these criteria, then a career in event management may well be for you.

In a nutshell

Ruth Dancer International has 12 years event management experience and within that area, has done everything from cleaning 160 toilets the night before the big day, to individually wrapping 500 goody bags overnight, to managing 17,000 guests, planting flower beds, and so much more. The role of the event manager is to achieve the best, no matter what the job. And so if you asked us ‘what is event management?’ we’d have to say everything and more.

The wit and wisdom of the event manager in finding the perfect venue

Well, in truth, that is where an event manager is worth their weight in gold. As fantastic as the internet is, it is no replacement for knowledge and experience. The perfect venue is like the perfect house, it differs for each and every client, and each and every event. There are no bad venues, well, maybe a few! But what we mean is, there is the perfect venue to suit every list of requirements, and knowing where those venues are is the job of the event manager.

Perfect venues are ten to a penny!

Stansted House and Goodwood House in Sussex may be the perfect venues for a romantic, bespoke and grand wedding, but it is also for those with circa £50,000 upwards to spend on the big day. Warwick Castle may tick many boxes for originality, but it only takes up to 130 guests for dining. There are hundreds if not thousands of superb venues up and down the country, each with their own unique selling points and problem areas and it can take months to wade through them all on the internet, to get to a short list of maybe 10 that closely match your criteria for the perfect venue

Can directories provide you with your perfect venue?

There are a number of directories which can assist you online, but bear in mind that many venues do not feature in directories. Take the Motor Heritage Centre in Coventry as a classic example. This venue offers style, character, modern facilities, car parking, to name just a few. It does not, however, appear in any of the directories that show up on the first page of any Google search for that area. Similarly each directory carries different venues, so you will need to search through multiple directories to get a reasonable list of options. In truth, the perfect venue is usually not found on the internet, it is found through recommendations of people you trust (whether an event manager, a friend etc), by visiting the venue and speaking to the people in charge.

Bring in the pros

So how can we help with this challenge? Well like buying a house, it is hard to tell from a photograph if a house will become your home. It is equally difficult to find that ideal cottage if you do not have an estate agent keeping their eyes and ears open for the right place. Finally, it is hard to negotiate what you want if you don’t know what to ask for. So in the same way, it is an event manager’s responsibility to find that perfect venue for your event, check availability and negotiate price at the very start of the process. Your event manager should present you with a shortlist of options which fulfil the lion’s share of your specific criteria (price, location, accessibility, look and feel, capacity, facilities etc). This process alone cuts out the first few months of the event process and frees you, the client up to focus elsewhere.

An event manager should, we believe, be objective in the process and if you want to hear how Ruth Dancer International can source the perfect venue for you, contact us directly.

The European Dairy Farmers Congress event details

Planned for June 2011, the European Dairy Farmers Congress will be hosted in Warwickshire in the heart of the Royal Agricultural Centre at Stoneleigh. Delegates can expect three full days of educational talks, workshops, farm visits, networking and of course socials. The annual event is a key fixture in the European Dairy Farmers year, as it enables farming professionals to exchange ideas and discuss the challenges they face in the industry on a European level.

Ruth Dancer International to add a little extra something to the European Dairy Farmers Congress

Vice President of the European Dairy Farmers, Neil Dyson, said “we are delighted to have Ruth Dancer International working with us on this prestigious event. Each year the host nation has a great deal to prove in the sharing of techniques, information and of course showing off the country’s assets. We wanted to ensure that this year is no different and that our guests go away with a wonderful impression of this country’s agricultural heritage and abilities.”

“Ruth Dancer and her team have a wealth of experience and are renowned for their professionalism and attention to detail. We are looking forward to a smooth and enjoyable event with them,” said Mr Dyson.

The European Dairy Farmers Congress comes home

Last year’s European Dairy Farmers Congress was hosted successfully in Italy, but for 2011, the organisation returns to its home for the first time. The European Dairy Farmers  is a network of leading dairy farmers, devised to exchange experience and knowledge from farmer to farmer. It was founded in September 1990 in Stoneleigh, the venue for this year’s event.

Delegates will be contacted directly by the European Dairy Farmers Congress, but for more information regarding the event, please click on this link.

In a time of tight budgets, businesses need to justify every marketing move they make and exhibitions, though extremely useful, can sometimes feel prohibitively expensive.

Oxygen’s exhibition stand hire option that doesn’t break the bank

So in order to help keep your business on the map, and put you in front of your clients at the right time, Oxygen have come up with an exhibition stand hire option that won’t break the bank and takes all of the head ache out of organising furniture, graphics and the like.

In a special offer with RDI Ltd, you can hire all of the following for one week anywhere in the London, Southampton and Brighton area

• 4m x 3m modular frame wall
• lockable reception desk
• illuminated company logo
• stools
• lighting and re-usable printed graphic
• all delivered, installed and dismantled for £2,500 + VAT

Exhibition stand hire overseas is easy as one – two – three

And if you are looking to exhibit elsewhere in the UK or even abroad, Oxygen will offer the same exhibition stand hire arrangement with the lowest possible delivery charges. And just to add a little extra something for RDI’s clients in the Middle East, Oxygen can provide special arrangements for delivery directly from Dubai to Bahrain and other UAE countries.

Oxygen breathe life into a brand at exhibitions

Oxygen have a wealth of experience in the exhibitions world and their personal, creative approach to the design itself and the project as a whole, have made them a favourite with Ruth Dancer International. This exceptional offer is intended to take the worry out of exhibiting, and give small to medium sized businesses an opportunity to compete and look professional to their future clients.

Oxygen’s abilities stretch way beyond the entry level exhibition stand hire options. Their skilled craftsmen and technical experts create enormous stands in the yachting and real estate industries, really enabling clients to realise ambitious marketing strategies and brand identities.

Director Jeremy Doe said “we are delighted to be working with Ruth Dancer International. Ruth’s experience with clients like Wembley Stadium, Formula 1, Diyar Al Murraq, the Bahrain Boat Show, and the Motorsport Business Forum, means that she understands high quality, professionalism and very competitive markets. We want to give our clients the peace of mind to know that from start to finish, their project will be delivered on budget and to a high standard.”

Getting your hands on the exhibition stand hire deal

If you want to find out more about this fantastic deal and how Oxygen can help you, you can contact them directly by clicking here and quoting Ruth Dancer International. Alternatively, you can contact us directly and we will do all the leg work for you to take the pain out of organising your exhibition stand.