A NEW community dance event is inviting Gunnedah adults to swap the gym for the dance floor, with a relaxed weekly disco designed to get people moving again.
DISCO 2380 has launched at the Anglican Church Hall, offering a one-hour freestyle dance session every Thursday evening from 6pm to 7pm.
The initiative aims to provide a judgement-free environment where people can enjoy music and socialise without the pressure of learning dance routines or meeting fitness goals.
Its playlist includes the Bee Gees to Lady Gaga and everything in between.
Event organiser Julie Palmer said the idea came from wanting to create something she and others in their
30s and 40s would enjoy after moving back to Gunnedah just over a year ago.
“I just wanted to have some sort of activity that I wanted to go to, and people my age wanted to go to,”
she said.
“The disco is an alternative to an exercise class, but there’s no structure,”
“We’re trying to make it a freestyle dance session where you can dance like nobody’s watching.
“It’s kind of targeted towards people around that 40-age bracket, but any adult is welcome.”
Ms Palmer hopes the weekly event will recapture some of the social atmosphere that once existed in country towns, when dancing was a regular part of weekends out.
“When I was a teenager and in my early 20s, we’d all go to the pub because you always wanted to have a dance,” she said.
“Every weekend you could go somewhere and dance, but there’s nothing really like that anymore.
“This is just a weekly dance session where you can go, have a dance, have fun, with no hangover and no late nights.”
The sessions are held in a dimly lit hall complete with disco lights, recreating the feel of a nightclub while keeping the atmosphere welcoming and low-pressure.
Ms Palmer said she had seen similar over-30s clubbing and daylight disco events thrive in larger cities and wanted to bring the concept to Gunnedah.
“You just turn up, the lights are low, there’s some disco lights, the music starts and you have a dance. That’s it,” she said.
Anyone adult interested in attending is welcome with the entry set at $15 (cash only).
To order photos from this page click here
