Footloose and Fancy Free

I realize that the first day of summer was June 20 this year, but the summer doesn't officially start in Hanoi until the first dance party. When that first invitation arrives you get this exciting feeling that screams summer. Now, some of you in the US may be imagining typical American dance parties where there is food, beverages, and lots of party music in the background while people mingle and catch up with friends. Not in Hanoi. No sir. When we say dance party, we mean you dance or you risk being pulled onto the dance floor, at which point everyone will be staring at you so it is better to just bite the bullet and get your groove on, on your own terms.

This year's kickoff party was a legendary. The longest on record (okay, so I only have 2 years to compare to), it lasted 6 hours. By 2:00 am, my calves were aching, my dogs were barking, and my hair was a hot mess. As evident from the first picture below, I did a lot of jumping around, and no, Jump Around was not on the DJs playlist (although I would have been awesome at that dance).

This was indeed a fabulous start to the Hanoi summer. I can't wait for the next one and I'm already working on my playlist for the next go round--a mix of Usher, Prince, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, LMFAO, Michael Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, and catchy new boy band tunes out of the UK. America, be ready for the Hanoi dance party invasion coming your way in August! :-)

That's me on the right, looking like the
crazy dancing queen that I am!

Posing for a quick picture mid-dance.

 

We started to lose people to the seats after about 4 hours.
As usual, I was one of the last to leave after 6 hours of dancing!