Barefoot Boogie DJ Clari, aka Mango, opened the slower stretch portion of the evening with an ethereal enchanting group of mystical songs that brought out the last unwind in our bodies from the long and weekend. The floor was packed with a bit of a Boogie reunion plus some new faces from the other studios Ecstatic Dance East Bay in Oakland and also from Friday Night Dance Jam in Berkeley.
With the Summer Solstice approaching the light shown in through the skylights until 8:30 PM, which, as the skies darkened, was the signal for the music to change to some world beats and the beginning of freestyle dancing with the whole room and a few people partnering up for some warm up twisting and writhing. This was turning into an amazing night on an amazing brand new smooth and slippery wooden dance floor. For those new to barefoot dancing, some of us do wear ballet slippers, some wear socks, and some wear toe protective tape. The criteria really being no heels or very soft heels as you must protect the other dancers toes should a misstep happen. And with thirty dancers twirling spinning and interacting with their own partners and the others on the floor at the same time, it is much more fun to dance without worry of toe injury.
Sunday night dancing is the best. I used to do daytime dancing at Ecstatic Dance East Bay in Oakland on Sundays but I now find night time dancing on Sunday night to be more to my liking. This is also a pretty special and social group. All easy going and welcoming, and all just as happy to dance alone and with the room as dance with a partner. And at the end of the night, I sleep like a baby – of course Monday morning follows, but the aches in my dancing body say over and over again “Sunday night dance - there is no better way to start the week”.
There are several differences with dancing here at this non-alcohol dance evening. Barefoot Boogie is not a club, it is much more of a free-style dance space to move freely through the air, stretch to rhythm, and swirl around the floor with pother skilled dancers. Everyone seems comfortable with everyone else. The space is perfect to hold thirty to forty people and its subdued lighting makes it easy to dance like nobody’s watching, which is actually Barefoot Boogie’s tag line.