The energy of the crowd dancing within the misty light show grabs you by the soul and leads you into a frenzy of universal groove. Bodies, swaying to a common rhythm, emit siren calls that are answered all across the floor.
Scanning the sea of heads you wouldn't realize that the excitement is completely sober, clean and safe. An even closer look reveals teen-agers with juice or soda in hand milling around in search for someone of the oppossite sex to dance with.
The Edge, in Palo Alto, is one of the few dance clubs where Bay Area teens can gather for the sake of just having fun. Every Friday at 9 p.m., those between the ages of 14 and 18 are trickling into this hot box of music with bass.
In an age where violence is ubiquitous and everyone swims in a sea of confusion, teenagers find this nightclub to be a "positive atmosphere." Of the 400 or so people on a normal night, many of them find this place to be enjoyable. This particular club has a cover charge of $3 and according to The List, a publication of Bay Area clubs and concerts, the only other club for teens is The Gilman, in Berkeley.
The Edge is in a pocket of Palo Alto where the World Cup is taking place. The guts of the club include a bar, one main dance floor with a second one raised beside it, a lounge, pool room and The Backroom annex. House music spins on the main floor while modern rock dominates the Backroom.
The music tends to be more diverse to suit the crowd; R and B, techno and reggae are in the program as well.
Teen-agers from San Francisco to San Jose come to meet people, relax after a day of work and dance.
As Mandy Hall of Half Moon Bay said, "I enjoy spending time here because teens got to go somewhere and it's better here than on the streets."
Ice-cold virgin daquiris and pina coladas are served as refreshments at the bar. A well-lit room for pool and conversation is nestled in a corner of the club.
Taking a trip to the bathroom reveals no mischievous activity as otherwise expected. A security guard who requested anonymity said: "Violence is never a problem. And as far as drug use inside the building, I don't know of any."
The climax of the night was reached when the techno hit the floor and not a body was motionless.
"The teens are always much more energetic than the adults," the disc jockey said.
As the night wound down after what seemed like endless hours of dancing, the multitudes started to dwindle. The music took a turn to reggae, then R and B. By 1 a.m. most had left except for a few dedicated dancers.
"This is a place for teen-agers to be treated with the same adult privileges, because they act like adults," said Jacek Rosiki, coordinator of "Youth Night" at The Edge. He also expressed his concern for the lack of teen-age clubs. "There used to be teen clubs everywhere."
Due to the obviously positive experience that these teen-agers had on Sunday night, they later agreed teen clubs are a necessity which are greatly underprovided. These clubs, which are truly a "lucrative business," as said by another security guard, should be considered by other adult clubs as a possible reincarnated market that appeals to the crowds of this vivacious young generation.