Dancing in someone’s house? That sounds so dated, so 50’s - where the teen gang rolled up the living room rug at Sherry’s house, after school, had a little sock hop, sipping pop and eating chips. Those crazy kids!..No, I can’t say I’ve ever seen people dancing at a party in someone’s house. Most houses are too small, and unless a couple were maybe demonstrating how to do the hokey-pokey for their friends’ edification, or were little kiddies under the age of 10 - no. Maybe where I come from, they are more reserved and feel they would look stupid thrashing and hopping around in front of friends…Even in old movies, couples in formal dress, dancing at a soignee event in what is obviously someone’s house, don’t look right.
I went to college in Athens, Georgia in the eighties. There was always a band or three, with one memorable exception. Dancing, yes.
The exception was when three of my friends/co-workers, who were in a band together, moved to a new place with a big back yard and gazebo. The decided to have a housewarming prom. Everybody dragged out their formal clothes, or put together some outfit from thrift stores, and the music was mostly big band/classic crooners. One of the few moments in my life that ever seemed truly romantic was dancing to Nat King Cole, under the moonlight, with a friend of a friend. Like, dapper young Englishman in a tuxedo, me in a long gown and evening gloves and pearls, perfect mild evening.
But none of those parties was much like a John Hughes movie, nor Animal House.
All the time in high school, and a bit at varsity.
Rereading the OP, I think the 2nd paragraph is what I was paying more attention to which reads as ‘everyone in one room’ while the 3rd lends itself to the ‘no dancing at all’ interpretation.
It’s interesting how perception plays into this - I was going to use the “Jesse breakdown party” scene from Breaking Bad as an example because I remember it as a good example of ‘everyone dancing in one room’. But when I pulled it up on youtube and paid close attention, I noticed that there are a lot of people sitting and standing around the edges of the room, it’s just that the focus is on the dancers moving around in the center. ‘Some people dancing, other people sitting/standing hanging outside of that’ seems to fit the majority of the experiences here.
Here’s the link to the scene I’m talking about (It’s from Breaking Bad so there’s drug use in the scene) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iolsny61IdE
My experience is that the type of activities and entertainment, including dancing and type of music, is directly related to the population and preference of the young women attending.
In high school? Even medium size “gatherings” had dancing. A party wouldn’t be a real party if there was dancing going on. Usually with a DJ.
We had one of those at our house.
Unfortunately my wife and I were out of town at the time.
You went to the wrong “parties” Mesquite.