N.C. Raves: Dance circles
The people who rave : Dance circles (6 of 7)

 

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Breakdancing has become increasingly popular at parties. Because breakdancers need room, dance circles sometimes form, with spectators taking turns dancing in the middle. MORE
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Copyright ©1998 Jim Webb. All rights reserved.


Some ravegoers dislike dance circles, saying they're too competitive and take away from the sense of unity created by everyone dancing together.

"There are some people that just don't seem to get it, that we have this opportunity to create a communal, loving space," says Todd Morman, a long-time Raleigh ravegoer. "Some people are all about competition on the dance floor." Morman says it shouldn't be that way. "You invite people onto the dance floor, and you throw energy back and forth, and it's awesome -- much better than this sort of high school gym-class competitiveness we see on the dance floor sometimes."

Jodie Webb (no relation to the author), a Chapel Hill deejay, says dance circles are like "energy vampires." "Right in the middle of the floor where people should be dancing, there are a whole bunch of people just standing there focused on one person, when everybody's supposed to be there having a good time," says Webb. "I think breakdancing is compensation for a complete lack of rhythm. I don't think they even pay attention to the music."

Avi Rose, a ravegoer from Raleigh, breakdances in dance circles. He acknowledges that it focuses on one person at a time, but says it shouldn't keep other people from dancing too. "Some people won't want to go out because they're not as good," he says, "but I respect people who just go out and dance, no matter what."

Ed LeBrun, a Greensboro party promoter, says North Carolina probably has more enthusiastic dancers than elsewhere. "When the out-of-town deejays come in, they mention their amazement at how many people are actually dancing," he says. "They're so pleased that people don't put a blanket in the middle of the dance floor and sit on it, or lean against the wall and practically fall asleep." LeBrun says he works to get rid of dance circles at his parties. "They take up too much space, the dancers who aren't involved are annoyed, and the deejays absolutely despise it." TOP