#5: Pleasure Activism, Ecstatic dance and the elections
Welcome dancer!
And especially welcome to all new subscribers. It is so nice that dancers are actually interested in my writings! Or maybe you are just here for the dj set, that is fine too ;)
I come from a newspaper family. My parents are news readers, and I ended up inheriting their morning routine of flipping through the black and white headlines (sometimes on paper, even!). At home, we care about politics and things that go on in society. There were times when I was actively soul searching and did not involve myself with any worldly matters altogether. But since the Covid pandemic I have been back on track to follow the twists and turns of the world again.
With the elections coming up, I want to attempt to weave together my love for dance and my care for politics, journalism and activism. Ecstatic Dance and politics don’t go together…or do they?
In this newsletter:
- Pleasure Activism, Ecstatic Dance and the elections
- Track of the month
- Upcoming Events
- My set from Ecstatic Dance Utrecht
Pleasure activism, Ecstatic Dance and the elections
The dancefloor is not a place for political debate. It should be a space where we set aside differences of opinion and feel our bodies. That said, Ecstatic Dance feels very activist for me. I think suppressed sexual feelings are at the root of so many wordly issues. Therefore every form of embodied movement feels wildly rebellious, as the body is one of the places where liberation is still much needed. We need to practice to feel what we are feeling and express our emotions in healthy ways. We need to learn to open up to the feelings of others and respond to them appropriately. Moreover, enjoying pleasure together can in itself light the fire for activism. Pleasure activism, that is.
Pleasure activism is a term coined by author Adrienne Marie Brown (I recommend her work!) to denote the power of emotional and erotic desires for social justice movements. Changing the world can be -has to be- a pleasurable thing. We need to connect with our bodies, with our inner worlds, to be able to be of any good to the world, otherwise activism becomes a hollow thing that will burn us up in the end.
My desire for Ecstatic Dance is for it to be exactly this: a space to liberate us from the frustrating limits that society imposes on us, a space where we can wildly experiment with and know our deepest pleasures. For this we need organizers, dj's and dancers who are also aware of this. Ecstatic Dance is often treated as just a sober dance experience, clubbing without the booze, funny bucket list stuff. I long for it to be more, because I know it can be more. And I know that many of you will agree with me.
So now it is almost time to vote again. And I wouldn’t be talking about it in this newsletter if I didn’t feel a sense of urgency, so I hope you’ll hear me out. In Ecstatic Dance land there are many who have lost their faith in politics and actively turn their back on it. They don’t vote, and feel very good about it.
The disillusionment with politics is very understandable. And the influence that your vote has is pretty small. But something is at stake this year. In the US, we see how a president is actively trying to take power away from institutions, by blocking access to government operations from journalists, firing judges that don't want to work on the president's agenda, sending the army to cities that don't agree with him, and all kinds of other fascist moves. In Europe and the Netherlands, we are not in this phase yet, but we are quickly moving towards it. The upcoming elections will be crucial - do we want polticians who are scared of women, of immigrants, and want to undermine what is left of our democracy? Or do we want politicians that at least try to make things work for everyone? It is never perfect, but we have an option here.
So if you are one of those disenchanted folks who don't believe in democracy anymore, please consider this: a flawed democracy is much better than a fascist dictatorship. The people have given up enough power already, we can still resist. Vote for parties that care for the weak, the vulnerable, the living. We can dance, feel our bodies, feel your powerlessness and the frustration that the world can be such a dishonest and unfair place. And we could turn this energy into something positive, and this can be as simple as just voting for a party that still has democratic values. Time to show up and bring our community to the stembus!
Track of the month: Dominik Eulberg - Brauner Bar
Markus Funke
Some years ago I was into ecopsychology and deep ecology. After an inspiring retreat at the Ecodharma center in the Pyrenees, I made a vow to myself that I wanted to fall in love with nature. This process has been unfolding itself slowly over the years (it actually takes more time than I hoped, I am a city boy after all). I am very inspired in this process by artists who make an effort to capture the spirit of the earth in magical electronic music. Like Dominik Eulberg.
Eulberg is a German music producer, but he is also a forester. And in his music, he makes an effort to connect his love for the non-human world and translate it to beautiful compositions for humans. He is currently releasing an album called Lepidoptera. Lepidoptera are the order of creatures that moths and butterflies belong to. The first two tracks of this album are out and they are both so so beautiful (talk about pleasure activism...). Brauner Bär is the track I love most. The synths are just magnificent, and every time I listen to it I want to walk into a forest, lie down and let nature run its course on my body so my soul can rest forever in the womb of mother nature ;)
I recommend all of Eulbergs work! Other tracks that I play alot by Dominik Eulberg are Eintagsfliege and Zweibrütiger Schekenfalter, and also Grosser Schillerfalter.
Upcoming Events
I have had to cancel more sets, unfortunately. Can't come to Zutphen and can't come to Freedive festival :(. Things at home are still taking up most of my time. I hope to be back on track at the end of January. Find me the coming months:
6 november: Ecstatic Dance, The Jungle Amsterdam
21 november: Ecstatic Dance Utrecht
11 december: ED Culemborg
13 december: ED Rotterdam
18 december: ED Amsterdam
Download this set: Ecstatic Dance Utrecht
Here's my set from Ecstatic Dance Utrecht. The beginning fell off the recording, there should be a few more minutes of Oliver Koletzki's Starseed Journey on there. Star of the show was Turn & Twist in the first wave, the track to which I just saw the complete room warmly bouncing up and down. Also I play a Drum 'n Bass remix of Beethovens 5th at the end. Someone convinced me to play it, the timing seemed right. It was fun, like eating fried things can be fun when done once in a while. I apologize to the ears of classical music players and drum 'n bass geeks, you know who you are. Sorry (but not all too sorry ;).
Enjoy:
Download the set here
That's it! Thank you for reading and see you soon at a dance <3<3<3
