We met on 66th Street right in front of Lincoln Center. Aissata stood beautifully in a bright coral dressed that complimented her deep brown complexion, and I walked up with a stream of sweat trickling down my back although my dress was backless. My ‘fro picked out, lips painted a hot pink, I was ready for a night of dancing under the moon light.

I read about Midsummer Night Swing in a Timeout magazine, and I knew I would love everything about it. I knew I was in for a good time with Aissata although neither one of us has ever tried swing dancing before. There is a dance lesson before the live music starts, but we didn’t participate. We thought it would be more clever to have a drink at Empire Hotel inside the cool lobby before we started our boogie night.

Photo taken by missapril on Flikr.

We were surrounded by amazing swing dancers who moved through the music with their partners in unison while shaking, twisting, and jumping. We joined right in although we definitely weren’t close to moving with the same ease as the other dancers, and we couldn’t do most of the twisting and jumping. We were shaking though, we were shaking. The night we went, Meschiya Lake & Dem Little Big Horns performed. They were all so fantastic. We ignored the sweat and 92-degree weather, and got lifted by the songs.

After about three hours of swing dancing, we ran across the street to a Mexican restaurant to replenish our bodies with water and all the calories we lost shaking out bodies from side to side. Once we felt revived, we took a stroll by Lincoln center again, while admiring the fountain and other people’s silhouettes around it. It was one of the best girl-night dates I’ve ever been to. I can also imagine being a super romantic thing to do if you want to take a girl out. I highly recommend a night like this to anyone in New York City in the summertime!

Midsummer Night Swing goes on until July 14th. For more info go here: MIDSUMMER