The sangeet night when you're shy to dance

You don't have to be the best dancer in the room. You just don't have to sit out.

The sangeet has started and the circle is already made. Three cousins are doing the steps they practised for a month, someone's phone is filming, and the songs keep coming one after another. You are standing near the speaker with your plate still in your hand. The circle is one step away from where you are.

The look

Pick something you can lift both arms in. A sleeveless anarkali in one solid colour, plain or with a thin gold border, is the easy choice, and pin the dupatta over one shoulder so your hands stay free. If you want something with more shape, a sharara with a short straight kurta in a single colour, or a lehenga skirt with a plain blouse and a belt, moves just as well and reads sharper. Stay in a deep colour: berry, bottle green or ink blue hold up under hall lights that change from white to yellow to blue.

For hair, a low bun with two small flowers near the parting, or one braid brought forward over your shoulder, keeps it back once you start moving. Short hair does the same with a side part and the front pinned with two clips. The one small detail: jhumkas that sit close to the ear. The long swinging ones knock against your neck every time you turn.

The one move

Join at the edge of the circle, not the middle. Stand with your weight on both feet, keep your arms loose by your side, and copy only the feet for the first song. When you lose the step, keep the clap going and pick the feet up again on the next beat you can hear. Between songs, stay where you are instead of drifting back to your chair.

What to say first

Turn to the cousin standing next to you and say:

"Teach me just the chorus step."

One line, and then you are learning it badly beside someone who is also still learning it.

If it goes sideways

The song changes, the steps change with it, and you freeze with your hand on your dupatta. Don't walk back to your seat. Clap on the beat, watch the feet of the person in front of you, and pick the step up when the chorus comes round again. One missed cycle costs you nothing.

One thing to try today

Tonight, choose one song you actually like and learn eight counts of it in your room. Eight beats, counted out loud, feet only. Tomorrow, do the same eight counts once more without looking down at your feet.

Each Sunday: one moment coming up this week, the look for it and the one line to say first. The cards are at /moments.