It has been ten years since the Qlubtempo and Qlimax raves started what would soon become a big hit in the Netherlands. The Q refers to Q-dance, the Dutch organization behind the phenomenon and a true factory for parties. The phenomenon is known as hardstyle. Today, July 10th Q-dance celebrated its ten year's existence with a one-time special happening in the largest stadium in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam ArenA.

Originating from hardhouse but mixed together with hardcore (gabber), a new style was founded around the start of the new millennium, hardstyle. Not as fast, not as dark as hardcore but with the heavily distorted kickdrums. The catchy melodies and slower pace make hardstyle more accessible and more appealing to a wider audience than hardcore. Some DJ's from the first hour are Lady Dana, Pavo, Technoboy (Italy), Gary D (Germany), Kai Tracid (Germany) and Warmduscher (Germany). The newly found genre quickly grew in its popularity. Qlimax and Qlubtempo got bigger, much bigger. New events were founded including X-Qlusive, Defqon 1, In Qontrol, Q-BASE, QrimeTime, HouseQlassics, Qountdown. The Q went beyond borders too, as far as Australia. As for today's 10 year anniversary the football stadium of the Amsterdam ArenA got transformed to a party factory (the translation for 'Feestfabriek'). About a week ago ID&T's Sensation enforced a strict white dress code in the same stadium. White pants and white shirt, or no entrance. As for today Q-dance had encouraged visitors to dress in orange. Many complied, including ourselves... but really, any color was okay tonight.

Arriving into the stadium through the main entrance as Q-dance guest our first glimpse of the impressive production was from the VIP deck. In the middle of the stadium was some construction that looked like a pyramid, or at least inspired by. Multiple climbable levels with party people dancing on them and, all the way on top, the artists (DJ's/MC's) on a rotating platform. On the north side there was a big ferris wheel that we would ride on later. On the south side there was a big LED/laser decoration item and on the west side one big angry face, most probably coming from a Qlimax edition.

The musical programming for tonight was not your traditional DJ after DJ. No, as for tonight Q-dance had come up with something different. DJ's and MC's would come up in teams, teams put together around a specific theme. There was the Oldstyle Outburst (Buzz Fuzz, Franky Jones, Gizmo), Qlubtempo Parade (Dana, Daniele Mondello, DHHD, Isaac, Luna, Pavo), All Time Top 25 (The Prophet), Party Crew (Alpha2, Brennan Heart, Deepack, Donkey Rollers, Technoboy, Zany), Party Lab (B-Front, Beat Providers, D-Block & S-te-Fan, Digital Punk, Frontliner, Headhunterz, Noisecontrollers, Slim Shore, Wildstylez) and End Show (Endymion, Evil Activities, Noize Suppressor, Outblast). Vocal support came from MC's DV8, Ruffian and Villain; visual support from VJ team Vision Impossible. If that wasn't enough, there were also three additional VIP rooms. However, to get there one did really need a VIP wristband as security kept on checking wristbands all the way through the night (and upon leaving the stadium these were cut and taken away again).

Earlier we mentioned the big ferris wheel that was to be found on the north side of the stadium. We have seen the Amsterdam ArenA from just about every angle so we just had to ride the ferris wheel for a new refreshing perspective. This ride, free of charge, however did involve some patience as many others too were eager for a ride. We waited and we waited. Then, after a wait and some smiling to the security we were allowed aboard. All aboard! The ferriswheel took us upwards and brought us in place for some pretty neat pictures. A cool bonus to an already cool event.

From VIP deck to the top of the pyramid; from the north side of the stadium to the south; from the field to the stands and back... we had great fun wandering through the stadium. We had a great time with tonight's international audience and enjoyed the music, the vibe and the production. Tonight was another great happening made possible by the party factory of Q-dance. No wonder Q-dance has such a dedicated, fanatic fan base.