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A chance to throw away inhibitions and truly dance like no one is watching is being offered at new regular disco sessions being run in Warkworth. Dancing in the Dark is just what it says – the music is turned up high, but all the lights are switched off, enabling dancers to strut their stuff without worrying what anyone else thinks of them.
The events have been set up by Helen Puckey, a Warkworth mother of two preschool sons who was looking for a way to meet new people and have the maximum amount of fun while
doing so.
“This is me just getting back to what I used to love doing. I want to go out and dance my backside off, but I can’t just go down to town at my age,” she says. “I’d seen a few Dancing in the Darks in New Zealand and I saw it on The Letdown on Netflix, so thought I’d just put it out there to see how we could go about organising one for Warkworth.”
Helen says although she was initially unsure about how exactly to go about it or how well it would be received, she went with her instincts and professional skills.
“I used to organise superyacht launch parties in my old job, so I reckoned I could do a Dancing in the Dark disco,” she says.
In just two weeks, she set up a Facebook group, made a website and logo, booked the Old Masonic Hall and bought a sound system. An initial Facebook post attracted 70 positive replies and the first session last month attracted 20 enthusiastic dancers aged from 30 to 60-plus.
“It was so cool. Some people at the front were going completely berserk, it was so good,” she says.
“There was lots of whooping, clapping and singing along. Everyone was doing their own style. They all left just buzzing, with endorphins rushing through them.”
She says the whole point of Dancing in the Dark is not about being a ‘good’ dancer – it’s about letting go of inhibitions, completely being yourself and shaking out the stresses of the week.
“Dancing in the Dark is a place for people to come and dance freely in a friendly, non-threatening, drug and alcohol-free atmosphere, and is open to all ages, genders, backgrounds and demographics.”
The next session will be held on Thursday, November 7 at the Old Masonic Hall in Baxter Street from 8pm to 9pm. Entry costs $5 cash and all are welcome.
Info: Dancing in the Dark – Warkworth on Facebook, or contact Helen Puckey on 021 522 422 or dancinginthedarkWW@gmail.com
