UPTOWNflavor

The city that never sleeps is also the city that never dances according to the law books. Dancing in bars and restaurants that are not licensed as dance clubs is a no no in the Big Apple. It’s no wonder that you can be in a club and the beat is thumpin’ yet everyone is just bobbin’ their heads.

The law, which has been on the books since 1929, was enforced to prevent interracial dancing during the height of the jazz era. Back then, the Savoy Ballroom, home of the Lindy Hop, was about the the only interracial ballroom in the city.

To this day in New York’s five boroughs, it is illegal to get up and move your body to a rhythm in any locale where three or more people congregate and food or drink is served — unless the business obtains a dance license.

Fewer than 150 of the city’s 5,000 venues with liquor licenses have the dance permits, according to Metropolis in Motion, a grass-roots group that spearheaded the dance parade. [amNY]

Feel the need to shake your groove thing? amNY lists several places that offer Salsa dance classes. Bridge for Dance is described as a “spacious studio that holds beginner sessions and ladies styling classes for ‘girls who want to dance sexy.’”

$15 for a single class