And then the DJ started setting up. Cool! Music is good. He starts playing some standard (I assume) house music (my friend J, a tiny little white girl is ecstatic about the Snoop Dog and west coast rap). At which point two Indian guys get out in the middle of the lounge and start dancing -- and they're good! Really good. It's impressive. I'm used to women being the ones who are into dancing at clubs, and men just sort of gamely shuffling along to the music. But these guys are going all out, and it's great.
The DJ starts mixing in some Hindi dance beats with the music, which is pretty cool -- it's a neat fusion. At some point, it stops being a fusion, though, and he just flat out starts playing Hindi dance tunes. And the dance floor goes wild. Apparently, we had unwittingly crashed an Indian dance party.
Which, of course, is awesome. We all had a blast. I danced a bit (!), but was more than a little bit outclassed. I don't think I've ever been anywhere before where an evening out would unexpectedly develop this way, which is just one reason I love living in such a deliciously multi-cultural city.
I also love Venice. For those unfamiliar (and unwilling to follow that last link), Venice is an eccentric district of LA, about two miles south of where I live. I go there a lot on the weekends, since it's an easy bikeride and a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. It's full of all sorts of wonderful alternaculture, which I've been missing more than a little bit since I left Eugene. It's just nice to find a place where people dress weird and participate in strange hobbies for no damn good reason. Hell, I was ecstatic to come across an impromptu 200-person on the beach last week -- and I hate drum circles!
Also, every Sunday night, there's rollerdancing. Someone sets up a sounds system in the roller park, and several people (some of them very good) dance on rollerblades. For no real reason, so far as I can tell (although some of them are working on routines). I'm enthralled.
Picture!
