Member-only story
Summer of Rave
Let the people dance
For as long as I can remember I have loved to dance. Not in any formal way but that feeling you get from dancing your heart out at the front of a rave is part of me. A feeling of freedom, living from moment to moment, held by the music, connected to it. When it moves you move. Dance replenishes a sense of self that not many other activities do. Dance, in the company of others, connects us to our communities, forms bonds around shared joy, cultural expression, known gestures and postures, pushing boundaries, trying out new yous, from beat to break.
As a young teen, my summers were filled with festivals, camps and long stays in fields with friends. In Wales, in the 90s these were not licenced events delivered with corporate precision, but perennial, evolving gatherings that would welcome generations of families with a sense of community, freedom, creativity — incense making, cinnamon doughnuts, a healing field — diablos and fire sticks twirling through the air, and all kinds of dance.
As we pass midsummer’s eve the UK media has warned of a “summer of rave”, with Helen Pidd of the Guardian suggesting this rave renaissance will be: “of proportions not seen for 30 years because the government has failed to give young people clarity over when they can party legally once again”.
