Why settle for a single dance partner when you can dance with a whole group of people. This is what draws me to clubs and raves. I was also never much good at performative dance, especially as a pair. But there is something magical about the energy on a dancefloor st the club, rave, or festival when you have hundreds, even thousands of people moving in unison to the same beat.

Sure, there sre the sleazy types like you mention, who just use the dancing to get close to others because they don't have the words or skills to date in other settings. Their energy can be felt on the dance floor and I try to shift away from them if possible. But for me, I just like sharing the energy and the feeling of moving together.

But youare right about my lived experience growing up. I sure wish we could go back to the dark club nights of the late 1990s when there weren't video phones in every pocket. When people were more present and engaged with the present and the people around them. 25 years later, it is all about recording that drop, taking a video with friends, capturing the memories instead of making them in real-time in real-life.

Don't even get me started on how unsafe a modern day dance floor feels to someone getting hit on by someone else. Most of the time, I keep my mouth shut and keep enough space not too make anyone feel uncomfortable but hopefully in a way that lets people know I'm there for the shared experience of dancing, not dating. It is getting more difficult than ever these days.