Last month I wrote about how to survive in Seattle until spring arrives. We're almost there, after a cold, wet winter with sporadic snow in the city and lots in the mountains. Thus far I've only made it cross-country skiing once this winter. But the other night I decided I was ready to venture out and do the hustle.

You may ask what is the hustle? It originated in the early 1970s at Puerto Rican and Black house parties and clubs in the South Bronx prior to the rise of the disco craze. It also subsided with the demise of disco in the last gasps of that wild, wooly decade.

Well, if you read my book RJ, Farrah and Me, you'll know that I have a youthful affection for disco, stemming back to my best friend teaching me how to partner-dance in the basement of his family's house at the age of 13.

Flash-forward four decades. In January I read a Seattle Times cover story in the paper's Pacific NW Magazine about the dance craze that's back in vogue in New York, San Francisco, and yes, even Seattle: the hustle!



So I had to go to "In the Groove" at the Century Ballroom, which the article said was a "hustle-heavy dance night," including a lesson. After sharing the article on my social media, a female friend agreed to join me. We marked our calendars for the second Thursday of the month and waited with great anticipation.

When the night arrived, the first thought that came to me was "What does one wear to hustle?" Well, you're going to sweat, that's for sure. So I pulled a long-forgotten H & M shirt with an earthy, floral pattern out of the closet, which I paired with blue jeans and boots. After rolling up my sleeves, I was ready to boogie.

I met my friend Tessa at Century Ballroom for the 8 p.m. dance lesson. I wondered if the hustle nowadays would in any way resemble the line dance I learned in my adolescence to the airy rhythms of Van McCoy. At family weddings on my mom's side, I was in the front of the pack, leading my cousins in the step-turn-clap formation of McCoy's piccolo-infused dance number with singular lyrics that command do the hustle!

The class teacher, Lucie, patiently led us through the basic steps. The version we learned was a couple's dance. A dozen of us rotated clockwise in two circles, changing partners — sometimes the same sex, sometimes the opposite sex — one group of leads, another of followers. Happily, I led and found that once I got out of my head and into my body, the moves grew smoother. It all came back to me. "I know this, I got this. Keep the rhythm, baby," I thought.

The class also covered dance etiquette and how to ask someone whether they would like to trip the light fantastic. Lucie said it's okay to politely decline a request to dance, which was not to be taken personally. We practiced asking, saying yes, and saying no, thanks. I liked the lighthearted way of approaching affirmation and rejection.

Once we completed the lesson, Tessa and I adapted the structure we learned to our own style. I hadn't known she had competed in ballroom dancing in college — a sweet surprise. Her fluidity on the floor, adapting to my at-first commanding dance style, delighted me. The music varied between a quick-tempo beat and an R & B crescendo. A roster of unknown but somewhat-familiar-to-me artists dominated the playlist, with a little Michael Jackson thrown in for good measure.

All I know is that as Tessa, with her billowy-sleeved top, and I continued to whirl through the night, the joy factor I experienced as a teenager kicked into high gear.

How can one not smile when lost in the reverie of your youth? For dancing really does make one feel young all over again. That 13- or 14-year-old boy reemerged, as my friend and I explored various dips and twirls I recollected from my teen dance days, perfectly in sync with the rhythms of this current era's hustle.

1976 became 2023 became 1976 all over again.

Jack Hilovsky is an author, actor, and blogger who has made his home in Seattle since 1986. His first book, RJ, Farrah and Me: A Young Man's Gay Odyssey from the Inside Out, was published in June 2022. It can be found at Elliott Bay Book Co., Madison Books, Nook & Cranny, and University Bookstore, among other local booksellers.