Monthly Archives: January 2010

This is pre-written since I’m away at Further Confusion 2010.

So last year, I danced with wolves.

And an okapi, a Klingon, Solid Snake, two cheetahs and a red panda.

I should note that when I did this, I was at a furry convention, Further Confusion.

I’m not really going to talk about the convention itself, or the art I did or didn’t do there. Let’s talk about the dancing!

I love dancing. I love going to clubs and dancing by myself, with other people, and watching people dance. It’s fun, it’s good for you, and it’s liberating. I am convinced EVERYONE looks good dancing. Even if you look stupid, it still looks good. I’m one with the universe when I’m in a groove, though I’m sure not everyone feels that way.

I particularly enjoy dances at furry, science fiction and fantasy conventions because of a certain demographic of people that is rarely seen dancing outside of a convention. There are people there dancing that probably didn’t even dance at their own high school prom (I barely did – if you can call hugging two friends and swaying a dance). They haven’t danced before or since. They’re terrified to dance or go to real clubs out in the real world, because they would be laughed at or made fun of. It’s just “not their crowd” or they “have no coordination.

But get them in a storm trooper uniform or put ears and a tail on them, and put them in a dark room with 50 people wearing similar attire and looking more or less as silly or cool, and all the inhibitions go out the window. And we’re not even drinking yet.

And they look better dancing than any one that dances at a night club and “knows what they’re doing.” Because they’re just plain having fun moving around to the beat. It shows. There’s pure, unadulterated entertainment in wholesome jumping around.

You can just feel the energy in the air when everyone gets together, leaves all fear of self image at the door, and gets lost in the music.

A lot of us spend a lot of time in chairs at home, the office, in front of computers and TVs. It’s easy to think “I can’t dance” or “I look stupid,” putting down our physical self image when we’ve been building these incorporeal identities online for a very long time.

As of writing this, I’m really looking forward to this year. Whether or not I make much money on the art business end of things, I’m looking forward to the catharsis of dancing and being with my very good friends that I only see at the con.

Have a good weekend everyone, I’m sure I will. Give me a holler if you’ll be at FC too.