If you thought your dancin’ days were over, think again. You don’t have to give up the fun just because your booty has assumed so many other duties. There’s something called Dance Dance Party Party (DDPP) that has the potential to make you move, feel, and look like a teenager again. And no, it’s not a video game.
The idea was born in New York City in 2006 when Glennis McMurray and Marcy Girt got fed up with the club scene. So they rented a dance studio for an hour, rounded up a bunch of their girlfriends, charged everyone a few bucks to cover costs, and turned up the bass on a killer playlist. Everybody had fun and got a great workout without coming home at dawn reeking of alcohol and tobacco.
Since then, DDPP chapters have popped up in about two dozen U.S. cities ranging from Austin to Akron. There’s even a couple in New Zealand. The only rules are no booze, no boys, and no judgment. But that doesn’t stop it from being a liberating, fat-burning, and totally intoxicating experience.
At the DDPP website (dancedancepartyparty.com), you’ll find additional background info and links to most of the DDPP chapters. If there’s one in your area, simply find their next event and show up. If not, the site also offers advice on how you can found your own chapter. (It’s free!) But if you’re too busy to commit to that kind of responsibility, you can keep it even lower key. Here’s how to start a private dance club in your neighborhood.
Find a place to get down. Dance studios, fitness clubs, fire halls, rec centers, vacant offices, even someone’s spacious home can all work as venues if they have a good sound system. (Just make sure you won’t be disturbing the neighbors.) Call around to find the lowest per-hour rental rate.
Put the word out. Use your ever-improving social-networking skills to tell your girlfriends (and their girlfriends). Make sure to mention that no dance experience is necessary, and everyone is welcome. Then divide the rental fee by the number of RSVPs to determine the per-person cost. Keep it cheap. Just try to break even.
Set the dress code. Which should be: anything goes. Since this isn’t about a night on the town, wear anything that allows you to comfortably boogie down.
Make a playlist. You need high-energy music that makes muscles twitch almost involuntarily. By all means include your favorite dance tunes, or ask a hip girlfriend to play the role of guest DJ.
Have fun…imagine that! Just crank up the volume and let your body move however it wants to. There’s no choreography, no instructors, no rules. We’re willing to bet you’ll find it a lot more fulfilling than trudging on a treadmill.
Decadent (yet smart!) desserts
