It's time to start dancing in the dark at the Griffith neighbourhood hall.
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The popular No Lights No Lycra movement is coming to Canberra's southside.
No Lights No Lycra is all about dancing for the fun of it, getting into a community hall, putting on a playlist of energetic dance music, and dancing without worrying how you look. The idea behind the events is there are no disco balls, no party dresses, no high heels – and no judgment.
It's been running regularly at a hall in Ainslie every Tuesday night for the past two years and is set to become a regular event at Griffith every Friday, night starting on August 1.
Fiona Harris, who's organising the Griffith No Lights No Lycra events, is a very recent devotee of the movement.
She only started going to the dance parties at Ainslie just four months ago but enjoyed them so much she decided to get involved.
"I had such a good time that I went up to [Canberra founders Lisa Sampson and Lucy Nelson] afterwards and started talking, I said, 'We have to have one closer to me.' So they said, come out for a beer and then talked me through everything," she said.
"It reminds of the feeling you get when you're at a sporting event or at church ... this collective energy of people having a good time. You're not just listening to really fun songs, they play the sort of songs you'll hear at a wedding, people hear the song and they know the lyrics. They're feel good songs."
Ms Harris said that as she entered her 30s she realised that she didn't particularly fit into the nightclub scene but she still wanted to go out and just enjoy dancing on a Friday night. She tried going out with a friend who was 10 years younger but "it was awful".
But she said No Lights No Lycra was a perfect fit. "I don't care if nobody comes I just want to have a place to dance and if anyone else wants to join in that's even better," she said.
No Lights No Lycra Griffith begins at 6.30pm on Friday, August 1, at the Griffith neighbourhood hall on Stuart Street. Entry is $5. See facebook.com/nolightsnolycragriffithcanberra