Bar's retro dance star hunt; Hotspot stages 70s dance-off on its opening weekend.

Byline: Will Oliphant

THE latest retro bar to hit Birmingham's party hotspot opened its doors last night.

Named Rewind and located upstairs Risa, the venue is celebrating its opening weekend with the search for the city's ultimate retro dancer.

An old-fashioned dance off will be held on a traditional 70s disco floor at the venue and club promoters are looking for the person who can throw the best shapes.

As well as competitive dancing, revellers can enjoy a host of tunes from the 70s, 80s and 90s with music courtesy of a life-sized "disco truck".

There will also be vodka soda streams, an 8ft square bed or a 70s Harlem-style pimp apartment to enjoy.

Scott Hempel, manager at Rewind, says: "We are over the moon with how the venue looks, Birmingham won't have seen anything like this before.

"I especially love the fact that we will be featuring the best tracks from all three decades not just one."

Booths inside the bar can be booked for free by those who just want to sit back and enjoy the show and tunes from across music's three greatest decades.

Those who want to prove their gaming prowess will get the chance on some of the best retro games including Pacman, Space Invaders and Star Wars.

Anyone who wants to guarantee a spot at the club should register at [e-mail].

Saturday will also see Howard Donald taking to the decks for his DJ set at fellow Broad Street venue, Gatecrasher Birmingham.

Fresh from the group's Circus tour the Take That Star will be ditching the microphone for the turntables to play the club.

Night club bosses say they have brought in extra security to deal with the expected influx of predominantly-female fans. For more information visit www.gatecrasher.com.

CAPTION(S):

Take That: Howard Donald will be DJ-ing at Gatecrasher. New venue: Risa will host Broad Street's latest club Rewind.