Day 12: Dancing on the Charles

I'm Adam Sell and I have two months left before I leave Boston. My challenge? Do something in the city every day. Have ideas for my adventure? Send me an email.

Let me just get it out of the way: I'm a white boy. I am a "white-boy-dance" practitioner. I like to think I've graduated to the "advanced-white-boy-dance," because I don't attach my arms to my hips. But still, it's the shuffle step left and right.

That said, I like to get out there and hone my shuffling skills when I can. When a friend told me about Dancing on the Charles, I thought it was worth a try. Nightlife promoters Soul Clap and Marz Entertainment host this Saturday night dance party/cookout at the American Legion right next to the Elliot Bridge, which I think is technically in Cambridge.

It got more crowded than that, let me tell you. Two friends and I arrived early enough to beat the increased cover (it was ten bucks before 9 p.m.), but it didn't fill in until almost 10 p.m. The video screens they've got there are downright bizarre. The video guy was playing clips of movies we recognized, but they were heavily distorted and pulsating with the rhythm of the mediocre house music coming from the other side.

While the event looked to have been designed for folks my age, it wasn't populated that way. Felt like a 30-something mixer at times, and featured some "innovative" dance moves from folks too excited to shuffle, but not coordinated enough to dance well. These included the Cowboy Conga Line, Dropping the Kids Off at the Pool, and my personal favorite, the Jamiroquai impersonator.

Oh, and the tiki torches failed to keep the bugs at bay. I'm going to look like I have the chickenpox in the morning.

But it was fun. I do wish they'd do something like this within easier T access. Say, the Fens?