From: "William H. Shakely"
Subject: My night at the Barefoot Boogie
Date: Mon, 05 May 97 21:31:09 EST

A few weeks ago I gave you all some info on the Barefoot Boogie dances that
take place in New York, Boston, Toronto, London, and a few other cities.  Well,
I finally found time to go to the dance up in New York.  Here's what
happened...

It would have been cool to leave all footwear at home and arrive at the dance
totally barefoot.  If I had driven into the city and known that I could park
close by, I would have tried this.  No way was I going to subject my new car to
Manhattan's automotive mayhem, however.  So I decided to go by commuter train
and subway, and for these, a pair of flip flops would keep me out of trouble
and keep my feet clean.  (The Barefoot Boogie concept originated from the pure
joy of dancin' barefoot; here, there is the practical requirement of keeping
dirt off of the dance floor, so street shoes are prohibited.  Imagine getting
turned away for having dirty bare feet!)

The site of the Boogie is a dance studio in the penthouse of a brownstone in
Greenwich Village.  There is no sign outside; without knowing the address,
you'd never find the place.  Upstairs, I left my 'flops in the hallway with a
bunch of shoes, took off my jacket to reveal my "Barefoot Hikers" T-shirt, paid
my $6 for admission, and went in.  Yes, it was just a dance studio, the sort of
place where there'd be ballet or jazz lessons during the week.  No bar, no food
being sold.  Everyone was there just to dance and to socialize.

To my slight disappointment, shoes were not strictly prohibited.  Of the 40 to 
50 people there that night, maybe five or six had on those expensive, special 
shoes that professional dancers wear.  A bunch of other people were dancing in 
socks.  But well over half of the dancers were enjoying themselves in glorious 
bare feet.

Within minutes of my arrival, a young woman approached me, introduced herself,
and, looking at my shirt, said, "Barefoot Hikers!  Are you one of those
barefoot people who are all over the Internet?"  I said yes, and she laughed
and walked away.  (She was one the shoddies there that evening.)

At the Boogie, just about everyone was out on the floor at all times.  People 
were not waiting for someone to ask, "Do you want to dance?"  To my relief, I 
was not the only one there whose dance skills were lacking.

Halfway through the evening, the music stopped, the lights came up, and the 
dance coordinator called for everyone to sit in a circle.  The Boogie is an 
all-volunteer, cooperative venture with a "new age" feel; this would be the 
time for community announcements, introduction of first-timers, etc.  I was 
prepared for this.  When I had my chance, I said,  "I came here tonight to 
enjoy myself, but unofficially I am here to represent two related groups, the 
Barefoot Hikers and the Dirty Sole Society."  As I spoke I pointed to the logo 
on my shirt, and the response was audible: some excited gasps, some laughing, 
someone repeating "Barefoot hikers!"  Altogether the reaction was, "Cool!"  In 
the few seconds available, I explained the DSS philosophy, and that we are on 
the 'Net.  When I mentioned that I had helped get the Barefoot Boogie's Web 
site linked to the DSS page, one of the dance organizers yelled, "Yes!  I've 
seen that!  Great!"

My announcement broke the ice.  During the balance of the evening, a half- 
dozen barefoot dancers came up to me to talk about barefoot hiking and the 
DSS.  A couple of people, one a guy from the city, the other a young woman 
visiting from Florida, went to great lengths to tell me about their personal 
barefootin'.  I can't begin to tell you how refreshing it was to have barefoot 
strangers open up like this.  A problem:  Only one of the six people who 
approached me has e-mail.  It's easy to forget how many people still are not 
on-line. 

One of the people at the dance gave me a ride back to my train, saving me a
subway trip.  I was dropped off about a block away from the station.  No doubt
I was the only barefoot person on 8th Avenue at 1:30 a.m.  The street was cool
and wet; must have just been a heavy rain.  The sidewalk was dotted with
millions of blackened chewing gum blobs, which would make walking here a
totally different experience on a hot day.

This will not be my last visit to the Barefoot Boogie.

For info on Barefoot Boogies in various cities, use the link from the Dirty
Sole Society's page at:

        http://www.barefooters.org/

        - Bill