AARP Hearing Center
Key takeaways
- Experience Laura Baginski’s vision: uplifting, all-women dance parties designed for fun and connection.
- Relive nostalgic ’80s, ’90s and 2000s hits while prioritizing your well-being and self-care.
- Join over 12,000 women celebrating community and joy — all before 10 p.m., thanks to Earlybirds Club.
Summary
Earlybirds Club is redefining women’s dance parties by offering an inclusive and joyful space for women who want to reconnect, de-stress and relive the magic of dancing to nostalgic hits from the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s. Founded by Laura Baginski and her late friend Susie Lee, the club welcomes women to move their bodies to music they love — all before 10 p.m. — so they can still wake up energized for the demands of family, work and life. More than 12,000 women in 15 cities have embraced this unique experience that blends fun, connection and self-care.
The friends created Earlybirds Club so that women could rediscover the pure joy of dancing and community, no matter what stage of life they’re in. Each party is carefully designed to be accessible, pressure-free and uplifting, making it a much-needed permission slip to let go of stress and celebrate life. Earlybirds Club isn’t just a dance party — it’s a movement for women who want to prioritize their well-being while having a blast with friends.
The key takeaways and summary were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
Full Transcript:
[00:00:05] It’s hard to describe how it feels to just, like, physically move your body to music that you love, and maybe you haven’t heard in, like, 20
[00:00:15] years, with a bunch of other women around you just having a blast. This is an opportunity to leave all of your Fs at the door
[00:00:26] and 10 o’clock you’re out. Susie was the inspiration from the very beginning, and she’s
[00:00:34] the reason why it even exists. Susie and I went to high school together. After we graduated,
[00:00:40] we were really kind of in and out of each other’s lives, but then we had our 30th high school reunion and she asked me if I could take her.
[00:00:51] Susie at that point had been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, and she needed someone who could kind of take care of her.
[00:00:59] Our bond just really grew stronger. After the reunion, we wanted to meet up for coffee, and that’s
[00:01:06] when we started talking about, you know, creative pursuits and what she was doing and what I was doing. But then I had
[00:01:12] an idea to throw a dance party for middle-aged women. Women could go have dinner, we can go, like, a book club or whatever,
[00:01:23] but you don’t really get to go out dancing at this age. And I wanted to do it at a time that was reasonable.
[00:01:30] 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. I can still get my full 8 hours and get up and, you know,
[00:01:35] take the kids to jujitsu and all the stuff that I’ve gotta do. She said, “That’s a great idea, and I think we should do it together.”
[00:01:46] Not many people start a business when they’re dealing with breast cancer, but she was not a typical person.
[00:01:54] The day after, we had a venue, we had a DJ and, um, that’s how Earlybirds got started.
[00:02:05] Earlybirds Club is a dance party for ladies who have s--- to do in the morning. We open doors at 6 p.m. Music starts at 6 p.m.
[00:02:18] We purposely play music from the ’80s to 2000s, because we wanna hit on this, that nostalgic factor.
[00:02:25] You know, remembering before you had kids, a family, a career. You can bring
[00:02:31] her back out for this period of time. By far, my favorite part of being at Earlybirds is seeing the joy on people’s faces.
[00:02:44] Women dancing like crazy, just like, throwing their arms up in the air, screaming, hugging their friends.
[00:02:51] You’re not worried about the male gaze or showing off for anyone. You’re really just being your full self.
[00:02:58] Doors close at 10. People are relieved to go home and not feel any pressure that they have to stay out and need to get up in the morning and get stuff done.
[00:03:08] The first Earlybirds Club was about 130 people. 12,300 people have gone to our parties, and we’ve done events in 15 cities,
[00:03:19] and they sell out every single time. Dancing is really good for your mental health. The endorphins and just the therapy that you feel on a dance floor, it’s good
[00:03:30] for your body, it’s good for your brain. I will never forget one woman in Chicago who said that she has early onset
[00:03:37] Parkinson’s and she showed me her hands and how they were kind of clenched and
[00:03:42] she said, “When I’m dancing at Earlybirds, they unclench, and I feel like I don’t have Parkinson’s anymore.”
[00:03:52] So you hear things like that, you’re like, wow, OK. This is definitely more than a dance party.
[00:03:58] This is a permission slip to just kind of let all of, all the s---
[00:04:03] of your life kind of go, and it’s a very liberating, incredible feeling. Susie died on August 3rd last year.
[00:04:12] I mention Susie at every single party. The things that she suffered through, the chemo, the radiation, it’s unimaginable.
[00:04:22] But every single day, she would work to bring joy to other people, and
[00:04:28] that’s what she did with Earlybirds. On screen voice: We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Susie, so thanks for coming. I want people to understand how precious
[00:04:37] life is, and this moment right here is something to celebrate. And I
[00:04:42] want to keep bringing this to as many people as I can. As long as people want it, I wanna keep delivering it.
