6 days ago
Fear of 'being cringe' blamed lack of dancing on nightclub dance floors
On any given Friday night in Perth, thousands of people are crammed into venues across the city.
There are queues to get inside clubs and long lines at the bar, but one area is noticeably empty: the dance floor.
This is the new normal, according to DJs and event organisers.
Instead, masses of people huddle around the decks, nodding and taking pictures and videos.
Emily Branson, who goes by Jamilla on stage, has been playing sets around Perth for a few years now and has noticed the change.
"I see a lot of talking, a lot of standing around, a lot of people on the phone," she told triple j Hack.
"Unless there's … a chorus of a song that comes on that people know and they'll be like dancing, singing along to like the 15 seconds of the song.
"Then they'll go back to their phone … or standing around looking around, not really knowing what to do with themselves."
Branson has two theories about what might be to blame for the demise of the dance floor.
The first, she says, are the drugs that young people are taking.
Ketamine use is at an all-time high in Australia but Branson also has another theory: our device addiction.
"Everything is uncool and trying is uncool," she said.
"You're so scared of making the wrong step or someone … filming what you're doing and thinking that it's cringe that they don't really try or they don't really do anything at all."
Hack went out on a Friday night to test some of these theories.
Here's what people told us:
Amy, 23, who used to work in a nightclub said the situation was dire.
Rhys, 21, who was out with friends said clubs, were not a place to dance anymore.
And Nikki, 27, who was out celebrating her birthday, said she thought people were afraid to let loose.
This change in vibe is also impacting the way events are organised.
Claire Chitty, 22, is a DJ and the president of the Electronic Music Appreciation Society at UWA.
The university club puts on regular club nights for students and even runs some festivals.
Chitty told Hack that the style of events they were looking to run was changing because people did not want to dance anymore.
"There's a lot less interest in big festivals and people are a lot more interested in boiler-room styles," she told Hack.
But not everybody thinks this dance floor exodus is a bad thing.
Wyatt Gordon — or Off Wyatt as he is known behind the decks — thinks people are still having a good time.
He told Hack there were three types of people you saw at the club these days.
"You'll have your music turbos, and they'll be really homed in on the DJ, the decks and seeing what the song is," he said.
"Then you'll have people who are there just for the vibe … a lot of filming.
"And then maybe a third [group] are actually just there to dance and enjoy themselves."
Gordon welcomes everyone, from the "phone people" to the "music turbos".
He said people who were not dancing may still be engaging.
"It's a lot of jumping around [and waving] arms. You know that sort of stuff. But they're still enjoying the music."
