NO TECHNO IN THE NYC DANCE PARADE?

The 9th Annual Dance Parade is just a week away and I am having a hard time deciding where I want to be this year. Participating organizations are listed alphabetically along with their dance “styles.” Many of these dance “styles” also double as musical genres. This year there isn’t a single group listed as TECHNO. Perhaps this is because TECHNO isn’t really a “style” of dance as much as a musical form. There are certainly a number of dance forms that have developed in response to TECHNO music, but the sound has never really been about one dance “style.” Over the years I have met many who love this music as I do, their movement a direct response to the sound, a direct line to their heart and soul. I feel there is a correlation between the freedom the form provides and what I find most precious about the Dance Parade itself. For me the Parade has always been about reclaiming our bodies through movement: you don’t need to be qualified to dance, know the steps, have the moves, or be a “good dancer” to express yourself and explore your world...



The first few years I participated in the parade, I was fortunate to find my TECHNO sisters and brothers among the Blackkat / Septik Nexus crew. For two years I helped facilitate an Occupy Dance presence in the Parade rekindling some its underlying political roots. The last couple of years I have danced down Broadway with Grand Marshals Louie Vega and Hex Hector respectively. I enjoyed the music and it is always fun to be in the Parade, but I would rather be dancing to TECHNO. I am not sure where I will be this year. There is a STORM RAVE (featuring Frankie Bones, Adam X, Heather Heart, Lenny Dee, and Rob Gee) following the Dance Parade, that very night in fact. I wish I could import some of that into the Parade. Many of you reading this may be familiar with Berlin’s MAYDAY and LOVE PARADE festivals, and I know many who will be trekking to Detroit two weeks from now for the MOVEMENT (DEMF) festival. Political movement echoes through the streets of New York. Movement itself will take to the streets on May 16th. Will TECHNO be in attendance? Does TECHNO still dance in NYC?