Nightclub-ready on a crisp November evening, I met one of my more spontaneous friends who jumped at the idea of joining me to sample a debut event hosted by Disco Sisters. A women-only club night tucked inside a venue in King’s Cross. The initial attraction of an early start at 6.30pm and finish at 10 p.m. meant that my Sunday wasn’t going to be in recovery mode.
Dancing Without Apology
Why Women Only Dance Nights are Midlife Gold
On paper, it promised exactly what many women crave but rarely find: a girls’ night out free from judgement or inhibition.
Coats were deposited, invitations produced, and we climbed the stairs towards a discreet doorway. Each time the door opened, glimpses of glitter, laughter and familiar dancefloor nostalgia spilled into the corridor. Inside, the room was already filling with women of a certain, gloriously confident age.
The excitement and chatter was almost overwhelming the music.
We hovered momentarily, taking stock. Some women shimmered head-to-toe in sequins. Others wore jeans or sharply cut jumpsuits. Prosecco flutes glinted beneath the oversized glitterball dominating the ceiling. There was nowhere to sit, nowhere to hide — and quickly, no desire to do either.
Because sometimes, Joy doesn’t need reinvention, just permission
A Little Party Never Killed Noboby
The DJ began spinning one classic dance anthem after another, the kind that bypass hesitation and head straight for muscle memory. Within minutes, my lingering self-consciousness quietly dissolved.
I felt a familiar surge of dance-floor confidence returning. A long-forgotten version of myself stepping forward. We abandoned our complimentary bubbles and joined the swell of movement as tune followed tune.
Scanning the smile-plastered faces across the room, I realised this was offering far more than a nostalgic dance fix. There was an undeniable collective energy ; joyful, permissive and quietly liberating.
The women clearly having their best evening included a lively group who had made a full day of it, beginning with lunch at 1pm before rolling seamlessly into the night. Others, like us, were revelling in the delicious novelty of being out, dancing freely, yet knowing we’d still catch the last train home and wake relatively fresh the next morning.
Disco Sisters gently dismantles that narrative.
What no one really tells you about midlife is that social rituals begin to shift. The relentless weddings and milestone parties of your twenties and thirties begin to thin out. Invitations become sporadic. A 50th birthday here, a festive gathering there. For women who once thrived in clubs, on dancefloors, it can quietly become something you feel you’ve aged out of, or worse, something you feel self-conscious revisiting.
But this is the thing. You never lose that feeling.
Dancing is not age related, you don’t stop wanting to dance just because you turn a certain age. To me, dancing is therapy. It brings joy, endorphins and one the best enjoyable calorific workouts I know.
Lost in Music
The event marks the debut launch of Disco Sisters, created by long-standing friends Sam Baker, and Carolyn Howdego, who conceived the idea in 2025. Their mission is beautifully simple: to create a safe, joyful space where women can dance purely for pleasure, not performance.
And it shows.
Without the subtle but ever-present male gaze, the atmosphere shifts palpably. Arms stretch skyward in spontaneous prayer-like movements. Lyrics are sung at full volume. Eyes close. Bodies move instinctively rather than performatively.
When the unmistakable opening bars of ABBA’s Dancing Queen filled the room, the response bordered on euphoric. The only women not dancing were the bartenders, diligently replenishing the steady stream of prosecco orders.
Disco Sisters Real Magic
By 10pm, my legs felt deliciously heavy from dancing. My heart, however, felt unexpectedly buoyant. The short walk to the station felt safe, easy and quietly triumphant. Home before midnight, yet still carrying the glow of having fully lived the evening.
And perhaps that is Disco Sisters’ real magic. It allows women to reconnect not just with dancing, but with a version of themselves that never truly disappeared.
Because sometimes, joy doesn’t require reinvention, just permission.
Will we be coming back? Absolutely! Hope to see you on the dance floor on the 7th!
Disco Sisters returns 7th March, 6.30pm to 10 p.m.
Star of Kings, 126 York Way, London N1 0AX, UK
