A dance tea with tea ceremony – a Swinging Sunday – these were the first things I came into direct contact with during my arrival at the Hotel ADLON Kempinski at Pariser Platz in Berlin. It sounded intriguing, and for me, the concept fit directly with the ADLON’s historical story. The Golden Twenties, the “good society of the city” meets for the traditional Afternoon Tea. You watch the people and you can shake a leg yourself. Is it really supposed to be like this? Is it a one-time event or a tradition to be revived. I was about to find out…

Walking to breakfast on Sunday, one could already notice the first changes. Some of the tables in the hotel lobby around the fountain had already been removed. Tables and seats at once placed only at the edge and the floor already shone enticingly – will be danced here later waltz or foxtrot, paso double or a rumba?

Tea ceremony with dancing tea

The question that naturally arose in the course of Sunday on my suite with the fantastic view of the Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz, what do I wear to the tea dance? How will the other guests in the lobby behave – can one be overdressed or underdressed? I then decided on a red dress, with my pumps from Peter Kaiser with “only” 8cm heel. Higher pumps, which are in the standard travel luggage, would have been just too high for me for this afternoon and who knows, maybe I wanted to revive my dance school experience….

The afternoon had arrived, already on arrival on the second floor, from which you have a great view over the lobby, you could see the band, the tables all already occupied and helpful staff everywhere. The guests at the dance tea elegantly dressed, but you could see right away, each guest was allowed to come as they felt comfortable…. a nice atmosphere was created and a Lady in Red then led me to my table – directly at the dance floor. Was it supposed to be the certain hint that I should definitely dance too?

ADLON Swinging Sunday Dance Tea

First, however, I wanted to start with the traditional Afternoon Tanztee. I already knew the beautiful étagères from my visits to London, Sydney and of course Asia. A special sign of good conversation, contact with the conversation partner and a good start for a wonderful afternoon.

At the ADLON Hotel Kempinski on Pariser Platz, there is the “Berlin Afternoon Tea” – influenced by Great Britain, but refined with Berlin specialties. A friendly explanation from the ADLON’s staff and I was treated to a variety of delicacies – such as “Berlin air with raspberry seeds”, chocolate cream puffs or perfumed madeleines – along with savory delicacies such as farmer’s bread with air-dried ham and quail egg, and onion tart with Teltower turnip.

The service at the dance tea, of course, perfect – very attentive and friendly staff, the music at the appropriate volume, not too quiet – but not too loud. “Charlottes Dance Ensemble” played international swing hits and also German songs of the 30s to 50s. You could still have a good chat with other guests – so an afternoon is really fun and you can make great new contacts.

The ADLON in Berlin at the Swinging Sunday Tanztee as a meeting place for contacts? Yes absolutely and the age groups of the guests completely mixed. If I had expected more older guests and couples due to the title “Swinging Sunday – the Golden Twenties”, there were also many younger guests and individuals in the lobby.

What is worth mentioning, it was perfectly organized – if I had rather expected that individual guests would remain seated alone and were never asked, but there were individual “professional dancers” who took care of ladies as well as gentlemen and thus facilitated the entry or also actively addressed the guests. Very polite – very eager – a great impression. (the persons on the photo are two of the above mentioned professional dancers, once at the common dance and no hotel guests).

For me personally it was a very successful and surprising afternoon with many great moments and memories of the Golden Twenties. If you now feel like trying out the Swinging Sunday Tanztee at the ADLON on your next visit to Berlin, you will have six more opportunities this year.

The next ADLON Swinging Sundays will take place on the following dates:  

Sunday February 22, 2015 – 2:30 p.m.
Sunday March 15, 2015 – 2:30 p.m.
Sunday April 12, 2015 – 2:30 p.m.
Sunday September 20, 2015 – 2.30 p.m.
Sunday October 25, 2015 – 2.30 p.m.
Sunday December 13, 2015 – 2.30 p.m.

I can only recommend you to reserve a table directly so that you also get a nice view of the dance floor. You can reach the reservation desk of the ADLON for Swinging Sunday at +49-30-2261-1154 or also by email at swingingsunday.adlon (at) kempinski.com.

I wish you a lot of fun thinking about the next Swinging Sunday, thinking about whether you should go dancing with your partner again… see you soon from the ADLON Hotel Berlin and another special experience… A little hint “table grill” 🙂