A new nightclub sensation is sweeping Sheffield where the strongest drink is Coca-Cola and the only smoke comes from the dry ice on the dance floor.
| I come here for the girls... |
At first sight it appears just like any other nightclub. A huge dark room filled with dry ice, flashing lights and gyrating bodies.
In the middle of the room girls are dancing to a mixture of hip-hop, rave and garage. And round the sides groups of boys are partly watching them and partly looking cool.
But then stop and look a little closer and you begin to see that things aren't as they first appear.
For a start all the beer pumps are covered up. In fact, there isn't an alcoholic drink to be seen. The same goes for smoking. While there are plenty of white smoke clouds, none of them come from tobacco. But this isn't surprising because all the 300-plus punters at The Corporation on a Thursday night are under 18.
They have come to experience what is fast becoming one of the places to be on an evening. Since it opened in September, the themed night has regularly been pulling in hundreds of kids who come for the mixture of proper nightclub music, entertainment and the opposite sex.
It's a winning combination.
"I come here for the girls," said 13-year-old Craig, from Totley. "And to meet up with my mates. If I didn't go to the Corporation I'd be out on the streets just standing around."
Micky, 14, agrees: "If I wasn't here I'd be at home playing on my computer. My mum and dad aren't bothered about me coming here and the music's good. You also get to meet girls."
The club's main attraction is that, while smoking and alcohol are banned, everything else is just like an adult club.
"It's trendy to come here," said 14 year-old Hayley. "The music's good and you can come and have a laugh with your mates. I just wish it could go on a bit later."
Deputy manager Simon Wigfield said their inspiration had been to give kids something interesting to do on an evening. He said: "We felt there was nothing in the city for children to do at night. We get on average 300 kids in a night and they all seem to enjoy themselves."
Simon said they had done a lot of work allaying parents' fears that it was a safe place for their kids to be. He said: "Some parents think nightclubs are synonymous with drugs and alcohol so if they're worried we invite them down here to have a look around. So far we've had very good feedback."
Other entertainment is provided by a skating ramp and a bank of playstation terminals. There are also snacks and soft drinks on sale with plans to introduce hot food.
The few complaints come from teenagers who think the nightclub's prices are too high. It costs 3.50 to get in and the soft drinks and crisps which are on sale are almost double normal shop prices.
But Simon said the prices the club still represented good value for money. He said: "It costs about the same price as the cinema. but it goes on for three hours, so I think it's pretty good value."
About the team
This article was produced by Thomas Stubbs, aged 15, Louis Trotman, 10, and Shelly Milnes, Nicola Bevin, and Fiona Hanson, 12. It was published in the Sheffield Star.
