Image from Pixabay

At a silent disco, groups of people listen to music via wireless headphones rather than through speaker systems. There are a number of advantages – an individual can choose a channel to listen to rather than just the noise in the room. Silent discos last longer into an evening as they’re much quieter and don’t tend to break noise regulations. Best of all, you can dance like no-one’s watching with a set of headphones clamped to your head and it doesn’t matter what you look like; everyone is starting from the same benchmark.

It’s the duality of the silent disco which appeals to me; it is in equal terms an intensely personal experience and a cooperative group encounter at the same time. Just by watching you dance, people can tune themselves into the same soundtrack as you.

Outside of a silent disco, when did you last choose a rhythm which was different to the group. Who joined you?