Some days you toodle by Music Center Plaza and spy the center fountain going to town, doing its full-on, glittery, huge-vertical-columns-of-H2O thing.
And some days you pass on by the same spot only to behold hundreds of Angelenos doing "The Hustle," or boot-scootin', or a tango scene worthy of a vintage Hollywood film.
Those days? They fall in the summertime, over several Friday nights, and they're as free as it feels to throw your hands in the air like you just don't care.
But you do actually care about shaking your stuff next to members of your SoCal community who are also shaking their stuff. You care because it is lovely to learn together, learn the steps from charismatic instructors standing right in front of you.
Did we mention it is free? Dance DTLA has been around for a dozen years and it has never gotten so big for its britches that it started charging, which is deeply considerate. Instead, the weekly event is all about getting happy and doing it fast (something we're already inclined towards on a Friday evening).
Night number one is Friday, June 3. The last night of the 2016 run is Friday, Sept. 2. Bollywood is up first, disco rounds it out in September, and other performance styles visit along the way.
Some Friday nights, do note, will be DJ centered -- they'll be every other Friday, basically -- so if you want to learn a dance, or you just want to dance, there are choices.
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Did we mention this is free? We did? (Parking beneath the plaza is not free, but you guessed that, correctly. Please plan accordingly.)
Best show with some clams, though, for bites and beverages, which are for sale near the dance floor. And feel free to gussy up, as some do, or show in your work necktie/khakis, as some people do, too. Or wear shorts and a tee. Or a prom dress. From 1987.
All are welcome. No judgment. No cocked eyebrows over clothing choices. Only smiles. Only hands waving in the air, with flow. Only grooves and good vibes.
If you ever seen this happening, up at Music Center Plaza, you know it is a sight that's flush with friendliness and funk-a-tude. Haven't you been a bit jealous that you haven't joined?
And that you paid nothing to do so? It's free. We hope we mentioned that before. We did, right?
