GILLIAN Mason says it's not all that different to dancing in a club, except you can wear your slippers, your personal space is respected, and you don't have to worry about how you're getting home.
Ms Mason has been the instigator of a handful of virtual house parties that are bringing people together even while they are apart.
"I live with chronic illness," she said. "Chronically ill and disabled people are quite used to spending a lot of isolated time at home, and we problem-solved our way through this isolation business years ago - we've been using the internet to form supportive communities for years. I'm also an extrovert, and I know a lot of extroverts, and I knew that we extroverts in mandatory 24/7 isolation would need some outlet...
"This seemed like something fun to take the edge off."
Initially, Ms Mason invited a bunch of friends over to her place - virtually - using Zoom, an online video conferencing platform. She played a bunch of songs on Spotify, and they danced off some COVID-19-induced stress.
"But I also opened the doors to anyone, and so we danced with some excellent strangers from the US and Malaysia as well," she said. "It was so much fun.
"It was a relief to see some people who I love safe and happy and having a great time, because all of our conversations otherwise have been very practical and full of angst and worry. To all be happy together and have strangers dance with us too - who we knew were going through similar experiences to us - was just a great buzz. It was novel and lovely and an injection of hope. And once it's all over, the trip home from the club has never been simpler."
Ms Mason is planning to host a public party once a week for the next little while.
"The next one is Friday at 9pm," she said. "With the need for physical distancing we have to be innovative - disruptive, if you will - to make sure we stay connected.
"Also, I work in neuroscience research, so I know how powerful music, movement and social connections are for health. I thought I just really needed to create some way of bringing people together to dance and forget about the stress for a while."
Ms Mason said she had also been organising virtual catch ups for her son and his friends.
"They've loved them. It's helped them to see their friends all healthy and well, so they're less worried, and it's excellent exercise."
Ms Mason said anyone was invited: "The more the merrier, until there is no bandwidth left, I guess."
Register at eventbrite.com.au/e/not-cancelled-online-dance-party-tickets-101768552480. An email link will take you to the virtual dance floor at party time.
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