I haven’t been dancing very much summer and that worries me.
The start of the summer felt promising. I went to see Gilles Peterson at Lofi for Rainbow Disco Club and I thought I was being both smart and strategic by buying a few tickets to some events in advance to take advantage of the early bird prices and to give me a few milestones to look forward to throughout the summer months.
Silly me for planning ahead. Though my sun/heat rash took less time to heal than I imagined, my cold/flu coincided with most of the events I had planned on attending. If I was smarter I would have put my tickets on ticket swap but I was just too tired and weak to bother. Money down the drain. Not too much but it adds up in the end. So much for trying to organize my club life.
While dancing has always been a passion of mine, as of late I have started to question how smart it is to monetize one’s passions. I was so young when ballet and musical theatre was my full-time job. I had youth on my side to give me enough extra energy to still go out on the weekends, even after a long run of shows. Although being a dance fitness instructor satisfies my dance cravings (and gives me a paycheque), I’m less inclined to go out dancing as a form of release, relaxation and self expression. And I don’t necessarily think that that’s a good thing.
As an OG Raver I still think that showing up to a club or party to dance is a vital part of club life. Clubs used to be a bastion for the queer community, a place for us to feel safe to explore and develop our physicality, to connect through moment. This wordless form of communication between friendly strangers has since petered out. The club is now a concert venue where groups of individuals sway self-consciously in close knit circles amongst their core group of friends. Those who don’t dance use the dance floor as a thorough fare, aimlessly walking in time to the rhythm in lieu of full bodied expression.
Of course I’m aware that this is a generalization.
