Shay O’Day is the principal of Stawell Park Public School, a mother to two teenage daughters and an incredible dancer. Allegedly. I say allegedly because even though I spent one sweaty hour dancing my heart out with her I still have no idea just how good a dancer she is. That’s because our hour together was spent in darkness, the blinds of the Thirroul Railway Institute Hall drawn, black card up against the glass to prevent any light leak.
It’s not as odd as it sounds. Shay is the Dance Ambassador for No Lights No Lycra Thirroul (NLNL). When the lights go down, the music starts pumping and you dance like no one is watching because even if they tried, they wouldn’t be able to see you.
No Lights No Lycra was created in Fitzroy in 2009 by Alice Glenn out of a need to find enjoyment in dance again, away from mirrors and choreography and expectation. It’s a drug- and alcohol-free event and the lights are dimmed so that you can let loose, dance off a bit of stress, have some ‘me time’, all without worrying about how you look. Phones are out of sight, Fitbits and Apple watches are covered up with sweat bands and there’s no talking so that you can truly lose yourself in the music.
Shay explains, “When the music is on it’s an independent pursuit and talking is discouraged but we do encourage whooping, clapping, singing, all of that.”
I admit that when the lights first went out, as Big Ben chimed (that’s your cue to stop talking and start stretching), I started to laugh. What on earth was I doing? How was I, a shy, self-conscious human, going to start dancing in a room full of strangers? By the time Sisters are Doing it for Themselves came on I was singing and clapping with the best of them.
Naomi Poole, who helps out as a Dance Commander and is also allegedly an amazing dancer, said, “Once the sun goes down, it’s really dark and you can’t see anything.”
The Thirroul branch of NLNL has been going for nearly four years. “When my kids were really little, I was going to Wollongong [NLNL]. They start at eight, finish at nine so by the time I was getting home it was too late for me,” Shay said.
“So I thought, ‘I reckon it’s got legs in Thirroul and I’ll start one here.”
She sat on the idea for a while until she was inspired by a dancer in a very unusual place. “At the time there was work on Bulli Pass and there was a stop/go woman who was dancing at the same time and people were commenting on it and I thought, ‘It could be the right time.’”
While the No Lights thing is very much adhered to, the No Lycra is much looser. You can wear whatever you want and I ended up dancing in leggings and no shoes. All up there were about 20 others letting loose in my session.
“We’ve got blokes, we’ve got kids, we’ve got oldies, we’ve got all walks of life,” Shay said. “Teachers, artists, poets, government workers, nurses. We’ve danced with crowds less than five or six and as big as 30. It really does range from week to week.”
“I always say If you’re not sure the first time, come again because it’ll be completely different.”
By the time the last song played, (Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off; Shay loves a theme and Tay Tay was in town) I was red-faced, dripping with sweat and feeling pretty euphoric. I had done it. I had sucked up my fears, tried something new and done it in a room full of strangers and turns out I was actually the best dancer in the room. Allegedly.
Keen to try it for yourself? NLNL is held in Helensburgh each Tuesday and Thirroul each Thursday night.
For more details head to the NLNL Thirroul Facebook page