I‘m in a dark room, with music blaring. Around me people are jumping up and down, going wild. I’m sweaty, they’re sweaty. The experience is joyful – an escape into the thought-dissolving world of moving the body. And best of all I’m doing myself some good.
Because this is no ordinary Saturday-night club – it’s 7.30pm on a Tuesday in a dance studio, the other clubbers are in workout gear, not high heels, and I’m taking part in the latest exercise sensation to hit New York, Chicago, Toronto, Austin, Vancouver and, as of a few months ago, London. It’s called Dance Dance Party Party, and it’s all-girl clubbing.
Dance-based fitness classes have been growing in popularity for a while – many of my friends love the Zumba craze, but I don’t tend to enjoy group fitness classes, where bossy instructors give me PE flashbacks. And I have to admit to being dubious when I first heard about DDPP. Could I really lose myself in music at 7.30pm with a bunch of strangers all wearing workout gear? And would it really be good for me?
It’s been a while since I went clubbing for fun, but I remember the best part was throwing aside your inhibitions in a crowd of trusted mates. But DDPP’s UK organiser, Helen Preddy, claims that this is a club you can go to totally alone and yet not be embarrassed. To test out this theory, I turned up by myself to the class she runs in Shadwell, east London. I arrived when the music was already playing, the room was already dark and the rules – no boys, no booze, no judgment, no talking – were already in force, which might have helped a bit. After a moment of feeling that I wanted to dash for the door, I was hooked.
After all, there’s no talking, what else was I going to do?
The 90 minutes of dancing were genuinely ecstatic. The tracks are a well-chosen mix, ranging from Paul Simon to the Chemical Brothers and Florence and the Machine. It’s almost impossible not to move to the music and the endorphin rush is intoxicating. If you like to dance around in your bedroom with the music blasting, you’ll love this.
With so much jumping around, and smiling, it feels like dancing must be keeping me fit. So, I asked Dr Anas el-Turabi, academic clinical fellow at the University of Cambridge whether an hour of dancing is really as good as an hour on the aerobic machines at the gym. He said: “Dancing can be an excellent form of aerobic exercise, particularly as many people who might not be motivated to work out on a treadmill or go for a run might feel much happier dancing.” And, of course, regular aerobic exercise is fantastic for body and mind.
And dancing is also good for your mental health, said El-Turabi: “We know that regular aerobic exercise not only improves stamina and lowers the risk of developing many serious health conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes in later life, but it can also help boost your mood, reduce tension and aid relaxation, which are all important factors in maintaining good mental health.”
After the “cool-down” I chatted to the crowd and found them equally enthusiastic. Mostly women in their mid-20s to early 30s, they loved the relaxed environment. “It’s not my kind of thing at all,” one dancer, Sarah Hall, told me. “I can’t remember the last time I danced in public and wasn’t drunk, but I loved it. Darkness is the key, so there’s no embarrassment.”
Emma Adams, 30, enjoys the feeling that she’s had a full workout without the dictatorial interjections of an aerobics instructor: “You get fit without noticing it,” she says.
No one at DDPP is going to tell you to work harder or feel the burn – you get to choose how much effort you put in and when it is time to take a water break. And the entire event costs £3.
But it is right to consider whether any single-sex event has a good reason for the exclusion. In this case though, I think it is justified. Dancing has been associated with pulling since time began – it is sexy and that’s fine. But sometimes you want to experience the high without the sexual tension. Preddy’s DDPP event is still small – about 25 people on the night I went – though it is expanding and she plans to move to larger premises. Judging by my experience, that won’t take long once word gets around. I’m certainly planning to go again some Tuesday night soon.
Who’s with me?
• This article was amended on 2 August 2011. In the original, Anas el-Turabi was wrongly quoted as saying “a strong body of evidence demonstrates” that people who take regular aerobic exercise report improved satisfaction with their lives and live longer. This has been corrected.
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