Is glowsticking a dance or just something for drug-induced pleasure?

Glowsticking has a stigma of not being "real dancing". I disagree. Glowsticking is dancing with glowsticks. It has much in common with fan dancing in Asian cultures, stringing or juggling, or martial arts (and look at modern day exhibitions of martial arts, which make the art of combat into a dance).

I myself am educated about different funk styles, such as locking, popping, as well as hip-hop styles, such as bboying (or break dancing). I often put in elements of all these forms of dancing into my glowsticking. The sky is the limit, and you only need think of glowsticking as dancing with props-- albeit a highly visual prop.

Some people and organizations will disdainfully argue that in raving, there is no need to dance "properly", and I'm sure certain websites will dismiss glowsticking as crap. People will argue that there is no such thing as proper glowsticking (amongst images of drugged out kids waving glowsticks in each other eyes floating in their heads)-- that it's a drugged out dance anyway. They will argue that there is no proper way to dance anyway-- an indication of the free-wheeling tolerant atmosphere of raves, but by being so disdainful, that in its own way is contrary to the true spirit of raving.

I agree that there is no proper way to dance, but dancing is subjective, and other people will find certain techniques more pleasurable and entertaining to watch than others. In this regard, glowsticking is a dance form. It requires a set of techniques that are refined and convey a message.

I attended a Filipino Cultural Dance festival recently-- and I was promptly amazed at the variety of dance forms. Daily acts and activities, from stick dancing (akin to jump rope, except where the dancer avoids a duo of long heavy sticks which are clashed together), to dancing with water jugs on the heads, were in full force. I was amazed that such simple acts as courtship were turned into dances.

Glowsticking does not have a long history, and in this regard, the dance form is still growing and still evolving, but it requires technique and discipline, and often conveys a message.

That is why glowsticking is a dance.

- Article written by cynicdave