VALENTINE’S: KEEP YOUR PHONE FROM THE DANCE FLOOR
Photo taken by FilmAbdi
I’ll play out a scenario we might all know too well: you’re amidst the strobing lights in the rave, half-swerving, half-dancing through the swarm of people. You lock eyes with someone and catch them just in time for the slow jams segment of the night, sharing a dance, a cheeky flirt or both - before you go your separate ways.
The dance floor is no stranger to love - the nightlife scene represents the possibilities of intimacy through music. Whilst the dancery has always been a sanctuary to escape the stresses of life, it can feel like the same stressors have followed us here. Phones have become a distraction from fully immersing in the moment and this new norm of recording every last minute can prevent us from finding love. This Valentine's, WNDRLST heard from six people (Bacar, Doyin, Madz, Ngadi, Tito and Zareen) on their opinions about this current phone-provoked ‘dance floor crisis’ and what love on the dance floor means to them. The dance floor has always been a place of romance; whether love or lust, and following assertions that this is the ‘year for the lovers’, it is only right for us to remember that all love is not lost.
Periodically pulling out the phone to capture yourself at your happiest can immortalise memories, while sometimes eliciting an immediate natural reaction. Doyin states that it is important to “document and capture our most lit moments” but there is a thin line between this and becoming “obsessed with making content”. Madz and Tito share the same feeling, expressing that phones are useful for capturing memories but are preventing us from living in the moment. Social media surveillance has led us to feel detached from the present. The constant monitoring of clubgoers through a camera lens has gone too far according to Zareen, who states that we should “stop the surveillance in clubs”. In a digitalised world this is more complex as we observe the incessant need for virality and capturing insane moments.
Photo taken by FilmAbdi
However, once we overcome this hurdle of recording every minute, finding love on the dance floor might be easier. Ngadi mentions that it is only when we “let our inhibitions go that we can attract love into our lives”. This nonchalant aura, backs to the wall, scanning the floor, glued to our phones is hindering our potential love story. Maybe it is time, Doyin declares “Put the phone down. Boogie. Shake that leg, shake the other leg, shake whatever you wanna shake. And you never know, you might be boogieing next to your lover.”
Many emotions are happening simultaneously when you lock eyes with a lover, Tito states that “it’s timeless, beautiful, enriching and scary” but ultimately, “it’s human”. Despite this interaction feeling human and intimate, a million calculations can go through your head. Zareen points to the questions you ask yourself in the moment, “I suppose it’s like weighing up a number of different determinants like: ‘Who’s feeling braver?’, ‘What is their body language like?’, ‘Where are the cameras?’, ‘Are their cameras?’, ‘Have they kept their gaze?’”. The time we spend assessing the situation mustn’t take away from the spontaneity of it, because, at the end of the day, we must “let instinct win, otherwise the moment is gone- and that’s the beauty of it”. Often the moment is idealised, slotting into the perfect scene for a romantic movie. For Ngadi, locking eyes with a lover is our protagonist moment, she jokingly admits it is akin to “being a main character in a sitcom and breaking the fourth wall”.
Sometimes we risk leaving our crush on the dance floor with feelings unsaid and intentions unclear because taking that chance can be daunting. WNDRLST asks if anyone has gone home without saying their piece to their dance floor lover and if they have any last words for them. Tito laments any dance floor pursuits, “I must have; so many faces come to mind. To them I say: ‘Don’t worry, imma see you again’”. Ngadi shares that some love stories don’t need to be extended past the dance floor, “we were in love for that one song, and that song has now concluded.” Truthfully, some dance floor flings are best kept in our memory.
Photo taken by FilmAbdi
Maybe- a lover is never pursued because the vibe just isn’t right. A nightlife scene which prioritises social media has left some of us focusing on the wrong things. Slow dance sections of the dance have been scrapped for high energy soundbites. Madz points out that “we need more sections dedicated for the certified lovers”. Often, someone is waiting for the perfect song to make a move but it seems that the opportunities to do so have never been more scarce. However, events such as Nairaa and Chill or SlowJamswithA are the perfect fix for people who are craving soft R&B love ballads. Bacar notes that in the worlds of Kompa, Zouk and Kizomba, “If I see someone I’m into, I’ll ask them to dance.” Despite this tendency to shy away from intimacy on the dance floor, we can safely say that the art of slow dance is not dead.
Underneath all the worries about the changing state of nightlife is a desire to take back control. Whilst the people we spoke to demonstrated some concern about phones dominating the dance floor, we have observed a pushback against experiencing the night through a screen. These sentiments tell us that not only is romance here to stay but there is an appetite for it on the dance floor. So our advice - from WNDRLST to you is to put the phone down, relax, let loose and you never know what might happen.
