Tonight found me at a bar (club?) I haven’t visited in well over a decade. I’m not certain if it was technically even open to the public when I first sipped an allegedly special Eastern European whiskey with the new owner and our mutual friends. The drink hit my mouth like a shocking concentration of rye bread. I hadn’t thought about that moment in years, until I walked in the door for a “Tropical X Electronic Dance Party” (perfect) billed as Sound Up!. The advertisement touted the best in Global Bass, Afro Beat, Cumbia, House, Tropical Bass, Dance Hall and Afro House. As one of the two girlfriends who lovingly joined me said earlier in the day: you had me at Cumbia.
In all of this daily dance exercise I am recognizing that while I don’t think I have expectations going in to any given experience, I frequently leave an event thinking- that wasn’t at all what I expected. This was no exception. While the drumming/dj fusion was impressive, I was most closely concentrated on the movement of the people. Their range, in demographics as well as expression of their parts, frequently left me barely dancing and mostly observing. There were beats spanning multiple traditions, and an equally wide variety of attendees and interpretations of the live drumming.
There was one woman I couldn’t stop watching. She was clearly in attendance with friends, but effortlessly floated from small group to partner to solitary points on the floor with such comfort and ease that it left me mesmerized. The unique qualities of each individual’s movement compared to hers was interesting as well. Everyone told a different story with their Friday night jams. I felt almost anthropological. I was the Jane Goodall of the Electronic Dance Party*.
For the first time in a casual dance setting I attempted to mimic the movements of those around me as well as engaging in my own familiar patterns. After hip hop, it seemed like an appropriate challenge. And it felt amazing. And uncomfortable. And pretend. And ultimately left me sure that varying the movements I’m most comfortable with is something I should chase a little in life. I’m trying not to process it much past that. Why ruin such an unpredicted evening?
*I imagine my 'research’ was much less subtle and way more creepy than I thought.
