It’s been more than two weeks. Most of us should be recovered by now, so let’s take a moment to reflect.
Movement is always a time of music and dancing, but it’s also about friends, family, love, community, history, and above all, home and a sense of belonging. Expat Detroiters return to their roots, visitors come in to celebrate the city that has given the world so much rich culture and industry, and Detroiters themselves, the ones who’ve stayed, whether or not they’re House or Techno Heads, look on with love as the community comes together in celebration.
This sense of community goes back not only to Detroit’s roots but to dance culture roots. Just as Detroit has its own unique community, comprised of people with grit, resolve, and above all hope (“We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes”), the dance community is one of love, sweat, tears, and soul. On the dance floor, we come together as one, just as when faced with adversities, Detroit has come together as one.
Let’s not forget that.
There are a lot of opinions both about the City of Detroit (poverty, ruin porn, lack of opportunity/opportunity for whom, bankruptcy, social uprisings, crime) and also about the dance community (drugs, crime, misogyny). While there may be some truth, they think they “know what is what but they don’t know what is what, they just strut…”
Only those who have seen Detroit rise from the ashes (and we are rising again, despite naysayers); only those who get down on the dance floors with their fellow ‘heads; only those who have lived, breathed, loved, and sweated in the city and next to the speakers, truly understand Detroit and our music. We are a community. We come together in the name of love, in the name of hope. We welcome others with open arms, and we love and appreciate that others love and appreciate our community.
Every year the world gets a glimpse at our communities, and no one ever leaves disappointed.
Let’s remember and take pride in that all year long.
“Like a family reunion every week
We eat
We drink
We laugh
We play
We stink
So for all you hip hoppers
You do woppers
Name droppers
You pill poppers
Come into our house
To get deep”
Boom!
<3 Minx
