**This is actually a Facebook note that I posted in April 2013, and resulted in the group Blackness, Whiteness, and Blues, which I moderate.**
Often when heading home from dance weekends I’ve had the sensation of returning to “the real world”. Lately, though, that sensation has weakened. Over the course of a couple of conversations this past weekend at bluesSHOUT! 2013, I realized that I have come to a point where I have accepted that this dance, and all of you, are my community and will be for the foreseeable future. And though it may not be mainstream, it is just as real as any other community. We make it real, through going to events, taking lessons from instructors who rely on dance as part of their livelihood (or all of it), and supporting the myriad musicians that make the music that is the foundation of these dances, be it lindy hop or blues.
For me, with that acceptance comes commitment and loyalty, and an increased desire to not only bring new people into the fold, but also to educate those who are already here. These dances did not just spring out of people’s heads twenty years ago, they have an historical basis. That history is sometimes uncomfortable, but it informs our idea of what Blues and Jazz are, and influences the way we interpret the music. There was a lot of terrible stuff that went down in American history and just learning about it makes us more conscious of where the majority of the people who wrote and performed this music were coming from, black or white.
I was absolutely ecstatic about the lecture classes available at bluesSHOUT! (one on how to be a local social dance historian, one on the legacy of minstrelsy in blues and blues dance) this year. I’ve thought a lot about the racial implications of our (largely white) dance scene(s), and I’m so glad such a prominent event is addressing those issues directly. Kelly Porter was an excellent lecturer, and I very much hope they bring her back next year.
My friend Anna and I were talking for a while about starting a blog or some other online discussion space specifically for conversations about the topic of race and dance, but never got anywhere with it. I’m now thinking of starting a Facebook group for it, moderated by a few choice people. Thoughts on that course of action and whether it’s needed/appropriate? Would all you intelligent people be interested in participating in something like that?
P.S. I tagged the first people who came to mind, please feel free to share with relevant parties.
Laney Barhaugh 