Dating in the Dark

The British came up with a new way of dating - "blind dating" in the sense of dating in the dark, where the potential couples cannot see each other at all.

A new trend in dating comes from London. After speed dating and internet dating, we are now being offered dark dating. The internet agency direct.com has come up with a completely new and quite funny idea. The users of their website have been invited to break the routine of internet chatting and meet people in an old-fashioned way, that is, in person.

However, the restaurant where the people who wish to meet potential partners gather is not in the least bit old-fashioned. The restaurant is called Dans Le Noir. The interior is in pitch darkness and the waiters serving at the tables have some problems doing their job properly, as you can imagine. The waiters lead guests to their dates and, while drinking cocktails, people can have a pleasant conversation without seeing each other.

The responses of the people who decided for this type of dating are mixed, but most of them find dark dating very interesting. “This is something quite different. It’s funny to talk with people without seeing them, because you can’t judge the height, you can’t judge the facial features. You can talk freely with the other person, free of any constraints. The funniest part is discovering how the person looks like, when after the blind date is finished you are taken to a room where you can see,” one of the participants described her dark date.

People who've experienced such dating also say that you have to rely on your other senses, particularly hearing and touch. They all like the fact that they cannot pretend in the dark and they show most of their character.

No judgements are thus made based on one's appearance and during conversation fears connected with how one looks are also done away with. Emphasis is put on the person’s personality and the impression that people get when they talk to each other, without burdening themselves whether they like each other in visual terms. This is left for later on.

It may happen that people don't find much common ground during conversation, but when they can see each other, they are still overcome by an irresistible, animal-like attraction to each other. However, if you can't really talk to each other, there's not much chance of such an encounter being a start of a lasting relationship.