Around Sydney

No Lights, No Lycra is an afterwork activity unlike any other. Beloved by its loyal followers for decades, this pitch black anonymous dance class is all about two things: total and unfettered freedom and the chance to seriously, seriously dance.  With locations all over the world, No Lights No Lycra has been bringing sweet tunes, sweat and a total lack of inhibition to people who are keen to boogie like nobody’s watching them for years. And for interested Sydneysiders, opportunities to let loose in the pitch dark are plentiful.  How does it work? You arrive (solo, or with whoever you want to bring as your anonymous dancing companion), enter a community hall, and dance for a good hour and a half to absolute bangers. The catch? It’s so dark you can’t see your feet.  The joy of this dance class is that it cuts out all the surface bullshit of judgement and fear and leaves space just for you, your joy and time for you to move your body in a way that thrills you, and you alone. In Sydney, there are weekly classes going down in Bondi, Newtown, Parramatta and Sutherland – plus a whole lot more. You can find out all the details of your closest local event by just typing in your location into their online interactive map.  Tickets generally seem to cost around the $10 to $15 mark for an hour or so, which feels pretty worth it to us, and you can book online through your location (which can be found using the aforementioned map). Forget Saturday nights and 79 tequila shots. No Lights No

Founder of Sydney-based Local Sauce Tours Justin Steele reckons Aussies are the best in the world at going on tours when we travel – just not when we're in our own country. And he’s on a mission to change that. In 2018, Steele founded his small-group experiences to bring together locals as well as tourists to discover Sydney from different perspectives. As he says: “It’s not about being a better tourist in your city, but about being a better local.” Steele adds that you don’t have to travel overseas to go on a tour, and instead wants Sydneysiders to get out in our local communities, support small businesses and have fun along the way. Enter, Local Sauce Tours. Sounds good to us. Local Sauce Tours run tours of Chinatown, Pyrmont, Glebe, Newtown and more. They'll take groups of up to 12 guests on a foodie’s tour of the suburb, and mix in stories about the area’s history, culture, nightlife and street art. We checked out their Chinatown – Street Food and Stories tour, and can attest that it’s a wonderful (and delicious) way to learn more about an important and significant Sydney area. On this tour we visited newcomers to Chinatown, as well as hole-in-the-wall eateries that have been there for decades. We saw dumplings being made, delved into the story behind the street art, and learnt about the rich and layered history of Chinatown. And of course, we ate. While we don’t want to give too much away and spoil the fun, we can say we tried things from curried fish balls to plump and

If you’re among the sub-sector of Sydney society who aren’t into our beautiful beaches because still water is more your thing, then Sydney’s pools are your summer saviour. Unfortunately for you, there’s generally a charge to enter – but, to celebrate the start of summer, the City of Sydney is offering free access to six world-class aquatic centres across the city, so you can have a splash without the cash. The open days will be running on Saturday, December 9 from 8am until 3pm, at City of Sydney sports centres in Zetland, Surry Hills, Ultimo, Camperdown and the city. Visitors will be granted free access to the swimming pools throughout the day, as well as free fitness classes and advice from on-site wellbeing experts. The open days are designed to give Sydneysiders a peek at all the cool stuff we might not be aware is available at City of Sydney aquatic centres, which are home to extensive fitness facilities and class schedules and some pretty spectacular swimming pools (we're looking at you, ABC). Classes range from yoga to spin to gruelling-but-good-for-you bootcamps, and each of the centres are running giveaways and competitions to celebrate summer. If you’re looking to share up your fitness regime, or if you’re just keen to swing by for a free frolic, learn more here. Participating pools are: Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool, The Domain Prince Alfred Park Pool, Surry Hills Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, Ultimo Victoria Park Pool, Camperdown Cook and Phillip Park Pool, city centre

For kids, the school holidays mean endless hours of fun, snacks and a later bedtime. For parents, it’s worrying about how you’re going to look after your little humans while you’re also meant to be attending to your full-time job. Let Code Camp inspire your children to get creative with technology these holidays, learn some valuable new skills, have fun and make new friends. With an exciting range of in-person camps and online programs available, there really is something for everyone. Your young ones can choose from beginner to advanced coding camps, robotics, stop-motion animation, DJing, video production and so much more. This summer, Code Camp is launching brand-new camps with the characters from DreamWorks Trolls including Little Coders: Trolls Edition for ages five to seven, and Spark and Ignite for ages seven to 12. There’s also a fresh AI Camp where kids will embark on an exciting journey into the tech-savvy world of artificial intelligence (AI) and use it to create their own comic book. Your favourite camps are also back this season including Minecraft Engineers (for kids seven to 12), Minecraft Minis (for kids five to seven) and Roblox Legends (for kids seven to ten). Robotics Camp and Drone Camp are also running this summer, offering the coolest few days of STEM learning and fun. Explore Code Camp’s in-person camps and online programs here.