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

Not sure how to stay entertained this September? We've got news. The state’s largest independent arts festival, Sydney Fringe Festival, is back for 2024 – with 400 events hitting our stages for the next four weeks. Presented across the city throughout September 2024, the dynamic program spans theatre, music, comedy, visual art, film, musical theatre, dance, circus, street festivals, literature and poetry – and it's looking fun. This year, Sydney Fringe Festival is presenting a city-wide playground of entertainment, with 12 venues across town offering very different, very entertaining experiences. After a successful launch back in 2023, Spiegeltent Festival Garden is back, bringing all the splendour and razzle-dazzle of the Big Top to the EQ Showring in Moore Park. The iconic Sydney Spiegeltent will pop up as home to two headline shows by triple Grammy award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir (History of House and Hope) plus the 27 Club: a celebration of some of the music world's most tragic losses (with live renditions of songs by Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix).  Also landing at EQ for Sydney Fringe is the glorious 300-seater circus dome, the Vault. Comedy-acrobats Headfirst Acrobatics will bring back their multi-five-star-reviewed show Godz, which was met with a lot of love back at Sydney Fringe 2023. Further towards the CBD, you’ll find Darling Quarter’s newly-expanded Village Green Festival Garden, which will be hosting a stacked four-wee