Do you want to know what I did this week? Well…a while ago I had an idea that it would really good, right, if..instead of expensive gyms where there’s shouting and people seem to judge you – that there could be a dark place that played pop music quite loud. In that dark place, you could dance for half an hour and get your cardiovascular something or other sorted out by doing that.
In a local community page on Facebook I outlined the idea and I was deluged with comments and messages of support and hundreds of likes. Out there, on the streets, the mother of one of my kids friends also took me to one side and really encouraged me to set it up. So I did – last week.
A second Facebook post, publicising the forthcoming sessions got a similar frantic and positive reaction from the community.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, I set up a loud speaker in a community hall and blasted pop music directly from Spotify playlists I constructed from 6am to 7am. A gold coin donation to NZ Kids charidee that my wife works for was the only requirement. It’s midwinter so everything is dark at that time.
On the Sunday night, I had a fitful sleep. What if no one likes the music? What if it isn’t loud enough? What if the hall is too small or someone hurts themselves? Thrash. Toss. Turn.
You can probably guess what happened next.
On Monday, 4 people came. On Wednesday, 2 people.
Between Wednesday and Friday the 2 people who came on Wednedsay really went to town online, publicising how great they felt afterwards, what a good cause the charity is and getting commitments from friends and acquaintances to come along. The Monday people also got active, publicising the initiative.
On Friday, the same 2 people as Wednesday came.
Now, this whole thing cost me buttons in terms of money. I got a licence to play music (50 dollars) and rented the hall (20 dollars for all the sessions) and bought some glow sticks (10 dollars). At the very least, I got three hours of dancing to pop music and it’s got me exercising again.
Thing is – I really enjoy the dancing-as-exercise thing. Compiling a playlist and dancing to it while it blares out of speakers in the dark is quite a thrill. I know it sounds insular but I don’t really have a need to make new friends doing this. If the hall only costs 20 dollars a week (ten quid in your money) why wouldn’t I just carry on doing it – simply as my own exercise “regime”? Much cheaper and 10 times more enjoyable than being barked at by an ex-squaddie or being given dead-eyed life/dieting advice by a six-stone slip of a thing who has never even heard of Sparks, let alone Racey.
To allow for the audience, the music was all mainstream pop – much of which I genuinely like myself, so that was good. However, it also appeals to me to listen to less accessible music while, er, dance-ercising – Marc Almond, Siouxsie, My Bloody Valentine. Without the pressure of fundraising, publicising, worrying if people might hurt themselves and all that.
My question to you is – would that be a weird thing to do? What do you think?
I think that’s a really good idea, Black. It would be a bit weird to become known as that bloke who dances by himself in the dark at the community hall, but I’m sure it’ll catch on. Is 6-7am the right time? You know, getting the kids ready for school, packed lunches, or just plain going to work (if NZ is anything like Oz)…maybe 6-7pm might be better?
On a slight tangent, these local community Facebook groups are great, aren’t they? You get the inevitable dickheads, but it’s great for connecting people with recommended tradies, events and lost dogs, warning when the fuzz are lurking with speed cameras and just getting rid of stuff. I’ve become a bit of a fan.
Yes, there is a strange microcosm of society going on in these community Facebook sites. Lots of lost cats – a smattering of “you OK, hun?” when someone posts something enigmatically emotional. But it can get a bit weird – a few years ago there was a local man who was clearly mentally ill wandering around the town most days. Hygiene was not a strong point with him and he was not a great conversationalist. However, in my view, the debate got a bit personal and unnecessary. But what it did do was galvanise local pillars of the community because he was obviously in a bad way. Every now and then there’s an update and he appears to be getting better.
Some people did suggest evening sessions, but with a house full of school age kids, that’s not really a goer for me.
Yes, recently a local woman swept up a homeless man with a looking for work placard off a street corner, bought him a coffee and put him on Facebook. Within hours he had several yard jobs, a place to live and a phone. That’s impressive.
No I don’t think dancing to your own choice of music in order to burn a few calories is strange at all. I think willingly going to a gym and pay some pumped-up gym bunny to ‘motivate’ you on various contraptions is weird but everyone has their own way to do these things.
My personal fitness regime involves always walking if it’s walk-able, or specifically going for a long walk or 1/2 hour on an exercise bike with a Podcast on. Whatever yer thang.
We like a lot of the same bands so I wanna see the Black Celebration workout playlist!
Happy to share the playlists – bear in mind the playlist is to accommodate a middle-aged suburban female civilian demographic.
Bear with me while I work out how to do it. I’ve seen KFD share his spotty lists so I’m off to find out how to do that.
Well – that was easy. All 3 sessions below. Last one was a little shorter because I had to get my daughter to netball training.
You got me with The Ketchup Song! Love it
Masterpiece idea.
I love it.
Thanks Bri.
I don’t think I will do the strange man dancing alone in the community centre thing. Salvador Dali would do it – but I’m no Salvador Dali.
Of course you are! The man Dali would not have it any other way.
I don’t like Spotify. They are like the Monsanto version of the old music industry only with different technology.
‘Thing is – I really enjoy the dancing-as-exercise thing.’ Yeah me too. And the problem with YouTube exercise videos and exercise DVDs is they have rubbish music – understandably, due to copyright etc.
Thanks for the playlists- great stuff; they appeal very much to an urban female non-civilian! I shall bounce around in my living room.
As a semi-regular small-time gig promoter, I say keep at it.
Put it on and, in time, they will come. People might need to adapt their routines a bit. It will take time.
It sounds like you have the support of your community hall, which is the first (and most important) thing. My local village hall is more expensive to hire, a couple of hundred quid to hire for a gig (including setup time) – I spent months negotiating with the parish council a ‘no-profit, no-fee’ arrangement.
First gig: 100 punters, but turns out the acoustics are atrocious. Enough profit to pay hire fees in full.
Second gig: 12 punters (mainly parents of the support act). Lost all the money from the first one. “Payment in full is required”. Oh bugger. Much correspondence with parish council, ended up paying in full to get them off my back.
Third & fourth gigs: in a marquee on the village green, which cost £350 to hire – paid for by the same parish council as above. I didn’t contribute a bean to the hire fees. If I had a quid for everyone who came to say “when’s the next gig in the hall?” I’d be a rich man.
The other local semi-regular gig I do sound for has been running for 7 years, it took 3 or 4 years for the audience to be a reliably decent size.
And, yes, play what you like. Your audience can has a sixth sense for enthusiasm. Don’t pander to the chart-pop lowest-denominator if you don’t want to.
You’re touching on an aspect that I didn’t really anticipate. Small though they were, I felt that at each session, the people wanted me to “lead” in some way. They only started dancing when I did – and positioned themselves facing me. I was thinking that the darkness allowed people to do their own thing, but it seems people want to follow a “lead” person in these situations.
I dance alone purely for the exercise quite often. Aerobics, but fun and with good music. I think your idea is fab and would have gone along. However I really don’t understand the antipathy towards gyms that’s somewhat prevalent here. I love going to the gym. Perhaps my gym isn’t typical, I have no idea, but it’s completely non-judgemental with a very welcoming atmosphere. I go in the mornings when there aren’t that many people. The regulars come in all shapes, sizes and ages, from serious bodybuilders to overweight kids to frail 80 somethings. All of them very friendly, with a shared positivity about trying to be fit.
Edit: Looking at your playlists though, BlackC, I’m not sure I would have been a patron after all – I don’t particularly enjoy dancing to songs I don’t know. I’d want just hits, hits and more hits.
That’s really interesting Gary – somebody else said that the songs were a little obscure – but to me at least they’re mostly mainstream big hit singles and I thought I’d actually gone a little too safe.
Don’t be saying that! You’ve gone and made me feel all old and out-of-touch now. Whereas my self image is young, vibrant and decidedly “with it”.
You probably are the young, vibrant and “with-it” one. I chanced upon the Usher song and really like it. I felt like a pioneer but it’s really really well known, apparently.
Wow, BC, what a wonderful idea. Go you! I’d join your club in a heartbeat.
Keep at it, maybe do an evening session too. People can be slow to get on board with things, no matter how great they are.
Exercising to fab pop is one of the most fun things one can do. I have fond memories of lunchtime popmobility led by the cool science teacher back in middle school. She was a Whitney Houston fan.
@black-celebration
Seriously, that’s an absolutely brilliant idea, congratulations!
I hope you persist and that the people come. I used to love dancing to my favourite choons, bit of air bass or whatever, the time flies and you really do work up a lather. It can be a proper communal thing too, you and your mates and some decent music.
Like others above, I wonder if you could possibly find another time to do it? And consider doing different playlists, hits, “indie,” soul etc?
Good luck!
Thanks @freddy-steady. I have floated the idea of an evening session and have got a flurry of likes and supportive comments. I do think there’s a kernel of a good concept here. I think it’s a question of giving it a go a few times and seeing what goes down well.
I would love it to get to the stage of themed nights. Perhaps that’s the next step if it gets established.
something like this?
http://nolightsnolycra.com/
Yes, I looked at that. You ae essentially buying into their brand – which isn’t at all strong over here, they seem more an Australian thing. I promote the sessions as “rave ups’ because my original thought was around the 80s/90s rave gatherings. Also, Lycra is fine :-).