Before cell phones and speed dating village people would gather at a common place in their town and mingle with other towns people. Well a place in Moscow is keeping this old tradition alive by offering the common area where people can come out to dance and have a good time.

In the days before flirting over cocktails and face control, village peasants gathered for their own brand of clubbing: “vecherki,” or evenings spent dancing and playing games with friends. For a tidy fee, the owner of the biggest house in the village would clear out for the night as his dwelling turned into the town watering hole.

In Moscow, this Russian tradition lives on in the fancy footwork of Tuda-Syuda, a folk dance group that meets monthly at the Dom performing arts space. Founded in 2009, the group holds public evenings open to anyone looking for dancing and a good time.

“Performing folk dances is not very difficult,” head organizer Ilya Akhrameyev told The Moscow News. “We explain everything in detail and demonstrate dance steps. Usually participants grasp the movements on the spot.”

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