The late, un-quantifiably great Whitney Houston once joy-blasted to the world, “oh, I wanna dance with somebody,” and from that moment on no one was able to resist her call and get the party started on the dance floor. Now Sydney Dance Company (SDC) are hoping for a similar sensation as they hold a virtual ‘hands in the air like you just don’t care’ dance party dubbed I Want To Dance With Somebody in collaboration with Sydney Festival and the NSW Government’s inaugural public space celebration the Festival of Place.
The idea is refreshingly simple. All you have to do to take part is join one of a host of free online classes run by SDC in which you’ll be walked through a simple but super-fun dance routine. Then, once you’ve got your smooth moves down pat, everyone will come together on January 23 for a soul-glow up in the shape of a digital dance party set to live music from dance-pop trio Haiku Hands. And if you forget the steps, don’t worry because (a) the focus is on having fun, not acing the homework, and (b) you can refresh by watching a video here, where you can also sign up to take part in the shake-a-leg event.
While on the SDC site, you can also check out the sparkling series of five short films made especially for the year-long Festival of Place, Dance Locale, as shot by director Pedro Greig and featuring the choreography of SDC artistic director Rafael Bonachela. The latter says I Want to Dance With Somebody will be a glorious celebration. “It’s time to shake off a tough year and get moving together with friends and family, wherever they are,” Bonachela says. “We are delighted that this super-accessible event is part of the Festival of place and Sydney Festival, and I encourage everyone to get into the garden or the local park and get moving. As Haiku Hands sing, ‘I dare you not to dance’.”
