ManyPeopleDancingOneGuyNot re-Verse on flickr
Dancing, like manners and sexual morality, is something best learned about in the home, by unspoken example.
But, is what’s beautiful and sacred at a Polish wedding or Mexican baptism icky and creepy when you do it in public? I’m talking about, of course, over-30 club dancing.
Mayka has been clubbing, dancing, and blogging for years, like, even before Facebook was discovered by grandparents. One of her more provocative archival posts was about Creepy Stalker Guys in Clubs
2010-04-24 rbatina on flickr
….Bongo and I noticed this guy who was basically the ethnic and age replica of my dad standing even closer to me than my dad and I do. He was actually looking at me, too.
….Our Chinese Stalker (How wrong would it be if I dubbed him “China Man?” Doode…) was actually lifting his arms in apprehensive reference to the music’s rhythm. What? You’re totally like my dad and you’re trying to dance with me? With us? Again, what?
Don’t you love her writing? Hawt.
But, Doooooode, word. (My own particular bete noir is the Dreadlocked, Lavender’d Diversity-Worshipper, a middle-aged single woman just discovering salsa or bhangra, who flings herself between myself and my startled partner as if our common age turns a ballroom dance floor into the Fillmore during the ’70′s.)
I admit that the Bay Area, with its Burners, hoopers, ravers and tango club nights, is much more age-friendly than my hometown of L.A when I was growing up, where every self-respecting club was terrified of the horrible possibility of getting a reputation as a “Wrinkle Room”.
We could always blame television.
In my day, we had Mom’s spontaneous public be-bopping to Gene Vincent over the Muzak, not the passive viewing reality dance shows. It may have traumatized our pubescence, but we all internalized the idea of dance as a life-long birthright.
I’m going to let Mayka herself have the last word (from an email exchange)
I’m pretty sure I’ll be going out until I’m at my last days, and I’m looking forward to it! ;) Good on you!
Old People Dancing pic by Mike Whiskey
Over-30′s in dance clubs – inherently creepy? Or, just creepy if they’re acting like creeps?
Discuss.
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13 non-facebook comments
Public dancing ended for me at age 12. Since then I’ve always only danced at weddings (alcohol, nuptials and I are a terrible recipe, sorry general public) or in the privacy of my own home where I can’t torture anyone with my spasmatics.
Even at a party? Or if someone asked you to dance at a club?
I love wedding dances. It’s the only time you usually see a whole family together getting jiggy.
I didn’t dance even in private when I was 12. And they think old people are conservative.
I was once in a troupe with a 70-year-old dancer. And she was good. Her motto was, ‘How old do you think YOU’LL be when you don’t feel like dancing? Oh, I know….you’re never going to get old”.
Yeah, ballet, tap, jazz, drill team, blah blah blah until my ballet teacher told me my dream of being a ballerina couldn’t happen. I shan’t pity party, I made my choice.
Hey – any of you 11 people so far who ‘liked’ this, which position do you take – Dance Till you Drop, or, Dancing-While-Over-30-Is-A-Bookable-Offense?
i think it’s not what you do at what age, but how you do it. and if you really feel it.
i was at a house party several months ago with a bunch of youngish friends. mid to late 20s for the most part. everyone was acting all cool and bobbing their heads to the music, holding up the walls and acting over it all. then out of the blue my friend’s housemate – who is well over 60 – started getting her groove on to some current club anthem.
i remember thinking “man i hope i’m that cool when i’m 60.” because it was clear she didn’t give a fuck what we thought.
freedom and comfort are gorgeous at any age.
Angelina has just said a cotton-picking mouthful.
My beautiful sister-in-law, who btw goes to industrial dance clubs in her gardening pants, was recognized by one of her sophisticated daughter’s classmates out on the floor.
“You’re so cool, Ms L” he said.
“Cool? What the hell do I care about being cool? I don’t give a shit”.
Exactly. Not giving a rodent’s ass is the definitive trait of coolness.
Angelina, I imagine you as the three beautiful women dancing on the balcony in the rain in the end of “Blindness” (book,not movie) because that’s who we all are, maiden, madrone and crone, all in there somewhere ready to come out and dance.
Creepy is bad, dancing or not, but theres nothing wrong with people of whatever age *including post-30* having a good time -even when that good time offends some sense of youth entitlement of monopolized rhythmic tomfoolery.
I’m not a dancer. Never was. Too much of a shy introvert. Whatever that dancing people get out of it does the opposite thing to me. Reversed polarity.
Psst- I still think you could find yourself within a hoop. Hoops are portable, unimpregnable protected airspace. Also, they get the crowd on your side, like it’s you against angular momentum, if you’re the type who doesn’t like to be watched. You and I will hoop together, I hope and dream.
I like the unimpregnable protected airspace part the most. I have a larger than average personal autonomous zone. (Arm length + 3 feet.)
“even when that good time offends some sense of youth entitlement of monopolized rhythmic tomfoolery.”
And you don’t dance.
You write better than Roger Ebert talking about how little he knows about film before blowing my mind from the tropism-out.
I dance in my head, and when no one is looking.
It depends, older single people hanging out with youngsters can be pretty creepy. Older couples less so. Then there are subcultures where dancing and clubbing are so much part of the whole community that older people are totally part of the scene, eg the gay scene, the goth scene.