Monthly neighbourhood dance party
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Last friday there was the monthly neighbourhood dance party. Dirk Koorn deejayed, as usual, and i think this was one of the best dance parties ever. Dirk managed to come up with an eclectic mix of surprising floorfillers that kept people on the dancefloor non stop for over three hours. I love to dance on uptempo songs that have loud percussion, unusual instruments, and some breaks. And i like it best when i don’t know the songs.
Dirk played several songs that i wish i had on a cd, but i don’t know the titles or artists. I mailed Dirk, but he didn’t respond yet. But as soon as he answers, i will put up one or two of these songs.
These monthly dance parties are usually visited by the same group of people, who occasionally bring along a friend or a family member. The average crowd is about 25 people, but it would be nice if there came a few more. This time there were some ads placed in local newspapers and to everybody’s surprise there showed up quite a few new faces. The best newcomers were a group of five women that just wanted to dance. They told me that they were a bit bored with the 40- and 50up parties, because there are always way too many people and they always play the same old hits from the 70’s and 80’s. Well, they had a great evening with Dirk.
I love to dance. But i also love to watch other people dance. Many people find it difficult to let themselves go; they keep on having thoughts about how the others might think of them. I remember this very well from my teens. But somehow i loved dancing so much that i learned to stop bothering about what others think when they see me dancing. Basically i think they don’t even really care, because people who think are usually preoccupied with themselves.
Dancing is no fun if i can’t go beyond my regular dance moves. The fun begins when a song lifts me out of my ordinary and when i can stay in that state of mind for a few hours. Dancing is very much like taking drugs or doing meditation, but the physical aspect of dancing gives it an extra dimension that drugs and meditation lack. Someone once compared dancing with having sex, and i think that is a brilliant observation.
Among the five women that i mentioned earlier was one that danced really loose, in a way that i rarely see grown ups do. She didn’t try to show off, she was not trying to draw attention, she just went where the music took her. I wish i could show you a video. But maybe you can come and see for yourself on the next month’s dance party?