OK Zoomers, it's time to quit the cringe. Let's dance
A Sydney University Study published last year found having a groove is not just physically good for you but also reduces anxiety, distress and depression while improving motivation. It's also spiritual. I am not a person of faith but the times I've felt transcendence have been on the dance floor at Mardi Gras, Sleaze Ball, warehouse parties or Big Day Outs. I still have a chat group 'meet you under the mirror ball' with friends forever connected through nights of musical worship where we danced until dawn. A certain strobe light at Vivid can take me back to that communal bliss. The Faithless song God Is a DJ is a cultural anthem that celebrates a dance floor's connection to a transformative power. As Maxi Jazz rapped, 'This is my church. This is where I heal my hurt'.
Loading
Far from being faithless, this Buddhist from Brixton understood that the dance floor was a place where 'young lives take shape', where they can be 'content in the hum'. He told me he relished the power that dance had to raise consciousness. And when he stood on stage, spread his arms out wide and sang to the heavenly heaving mass, he was a high priest of house.
Dance grounds you; it pulls you into your body, but it also allows your brain to let go and lose your body to the beat. Dance is healing. It's a mutual high and a communal hug. It's a blessing with a dose of devilishly sexy delight. It's where drums match heartbeats and bodies move together, apart. And in that universal devotion to dance there's a synchronicity of hearts and minds. A dance floor can be a place of love, compassion, kindness, respect. And it's a rite-of-passage for a young generation to feel that connection.
While Generation Z avoid the dance floor, people of my age are returning. Ministry of Sound is a nightclub and record label based in London reviving its original anthems in day parties. Last year it hosted DJs and laser lights over three nights at Sydney's coolest heritage venue – the remodelled White Bay Power Station. Thousands danced on the tar-blackened concrete floors where we had danced at illegal raves in the '90s. Back in their church of beats, bellied and balding Generation X-ers regained their communal connection in comfortable shoes.
Loading
Due to a (dance floor) injury, I have not danced for years. But my physio has just cleared me for action. In fact, he has prescribed it. I'm feeling the nerves of the young – contained, constricted and cringed. Perhaps I'll begin with 'No L' – a dance floor in darkness, liberated from the judgment of others.
I'd like to suggest these as a gateway dance drug for the generation who don't dance enough.
So come on kids, you can't afford housing, your future is uncertain and old, rich, angry men are ruining your world. Take to the dance floor and let it all lift for a few hours. I wish you communal joy and the therapy of the throng.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Perth Now
Alison Brie was 'anti-marriage' until she met Dave Franco
Alison Brie's "anti-marriage" stance was a "solid part" of her "identity" until she met Dave Franco. The Mad Men star, 42, fell for fellow actor Dave when they met during Mardi Gras in New Orleans and they went on to tie the knot in 2017 - and Alison now admits meeting her partner changed her mind about marriage because she'd previously vowed never to walk down the aisle. She told The Sunday Times newspaper: "Being anti-marriage was once a solid part of my identity and I vowed it would never get in the way of my creative pursuits. "My parents are wonderful but they divorced and I didn't have many examples of happily married adults. "Dave flipped some kind of switch in me. I suddenly felt this deep pull to make a commitment. I know it's only rings and a bit of paper but you're telling the world that this matters. We're in for the long haul." Alison also insisted she doesn't want to have children because she's kept busy by the couple's two cats, but she's not ruling anything out. She added: "In the past I said I didn't want to have kids and that's still the case. My career is paramount. "Anyway, we have two new cats ... and they are our babies. But, hey, I'm only 42. Never say never." Dave proposed during a trip to Big Sur in California and he put a lot of effort in to make sure the moment was just right - even wearing a Mardi Gras mask from their first meeting in New Orleans. He told Variety: "We were going to Big Sur, one of our favourite places on Earth. I decided I was going to do it there ... "The day before the trip, I figured I should have a placeholder ring so I could at least put something on her finger. "I went to an antiques store down the street from us and got what I thought was a cool, old ring. "We first met at Mardi Gras in New Orleans years ago, and Alison had this silver mask on her head the entire weekend. I had written my phone number on the mask, and at the end of the trip, I took it and hid it. She didn't know I'd kept the mask all these years." Alison continued: "He calls me out onto the patio. I turn around and Dave's on one knee in a Zorro mask, holding a weird box with an old rock in it. I had no idea what was going on."
Perth Now
03-08-2025
- Perth Now
Dave Franco and Alison Brie 'handed out weed pens at party'
Dave Franco and Alison Brie handed out "weed pens" at their wedding party. The 40-year-old actor and Alison, 42, tied the knot in 2017, and Dave has recalled proposing to the brunette beauty during a trip to Big Sur in California. He told Variety: "We were going to Big Sur, one of our favourite places on Earth. I decided I was going to do it there. And I didn't have the ring." Alison then said: "He knew that I wanted our friend Irene Neuwirth to design my ring." Dave put a lot of time and thought into his proposal. The actor shared: "The day before the trip, I figured I should have a placeholder ring so I could at least put something on her finger. I went to an antiques store down the street from us and got what I thought was a cool, old ring. "We first met at Mardi Gras in New Orleans years ago, and Alison had this silver mask on her head the entire weekend. I had written my phone number on the mask, and at the end of the trip, I took it and hid it. She didn't know I'd kept the mask all these years." Alison continued: "He calls me out onto the patio. I turn around and Dave's on one knee in a Zorro mask, holding a weird box with an old rock in it. I had no idea what was going on." The Hollywood duo wanted to have a small, lowkey wedding ceremony, but they still decided to throw a party with their friends. Dave shared: "We wanted people to let loose and go crazy. Much more than they did. We were handing out weed pens, which just led to everyone bringing home multiple to-go pizzas." Dave and Alison always had a clear idea of what they wanted their wedding day to look like. And the actor admits that it was one of the best days of their lives. He said: "Neither of us were ever big into weddings. Like, this was not a super important thing to us. At the end of the day, we did it exactly how we wanted. In a cheesy way, that ended up being one of the best days of our lives."
Sydney Morning Herald
28-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Major festival news for western Sydney – and that's just the start
NSW Labor has promised to redress a funding divide stretching between the harbour and the Blue Mountains that splits the city between the arts' haves and have-nots – spending $5 million to fund a new home-grown festival for western Sydney and other new projects. The government's three-year strategic plan for the region is to be announced at a gathering of the region's arts leaders at Blacktown Arts Centre on Tuesday. Front and centre of the new funding plans is development of a home-grown festival celebrating the region's diversity and creative spirit that could potentially rival Vivid, South by Southwest Sydney, or even the Sydney Festival. Campbelltown's Fisher's Ghost Festival and Parramatta Lanes are among the region's longest-running festivals, while Parramasala, celebrating south Asian arts, was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID and has yet to return. In opposition, Labor asserted Parramasala should be funded ahead of the Logies. 'In short, the vision is to create a thriving and inclusive creative ecosystem in western Sydney that celebrates its diverse communities, drives cultural innovation and delivers social and economic value for everyone,' Arts Minister John Graham will say. 'To get there the key priorities are unlocking investment, putting First Nations' culture at the centre, growing creative careers, strengthening creative ecosystems, better showcasing off western Sydney artists, and unlocking more cultural spaces.' This week's launch of the Western Sydney Plan for Arts, Culture and Creative Industries comes 25 years after former premier Bob Carr launched Labor's first western Sydney cultural strategy in 1999. The new $5 million funding commitment will be met entirely from cost savings made to Create NSW, the state's art agency, which is facing the loss of one-quarter of its workforce under a major restructure.
