Do you ever find yourself mentally hunkering down after hearing bad news, hoping that no one you know personally was involved? We hear about disasters all the time, but there’s usually a buffer zone of distance, some degrees of separation between us and the people involved.
After all, if we were to immerse ourselves fully in the grief and trauma of every horrible thing that happened in the world, our lives would be one long march between funeral and fundraiser, with barely a moment to dance, celebrate, love life and nurture our dreams.
So I found myself feeling selfish shortly after hearing the news about the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland this weekend. Reflecting back I’m a bit ashamed of the first thoughts that crossed my mind upon hearing the news. That it was horrible, but that I probably didn’t know any of those folks. That it was a nightmare, but from first glance at the invite it looked more like a heavy metal party than a DJ event. It was a tragedy, but I’m not so involved in the young party scene anymore.
As friends urged me to say something to the dance community I imagined myself pontificating from afar. Holding the tragedy at arms length making abstract commentary from my lofty seat as a well-removed community leader. Expressing grief for ‘those’ people who were unfortunately involved. So I spent most of Saturday mulling over what sort of philosophical statement I would write while hosting a high-energy slumber party for my 9-year-old daughter and her three best friends.
Until I found a link to the ‘Still Missing’ list late Saturday night. Suddenly ‘those people’ became ‘that person’ and all those comforting degrees of separation shattered to zero. In an instant I was thrust to the forefront of grief, anger, and outrage. No longer can I gloss over the details and safely sit by the sidelines, now it’s personal, and there’s no going back. The tears in my eyes as I write this are real, not abstract.
Chelsea Faith has been on the missing list since Saturday morning, and with 36 bodies recovered so far and half of the building left to be searched it’s not looking hopeful. She’s better known by her DJ and record producing name Cherushii. She DJ’d for me back in February at my short-lived Monday night vinyl event in Oakland, (that’s her in the center of the photo above, with fellow DJ’s Paige Bay on the left and Steph Manor on the right). 100% Silk is the label that publishes her records, one of their musicians independently organized the Golden Donna event last Friday at the ill-fated Ghost Ship warehouse. I recognize some of the other faces on the list, but I consider Chelsea a friend.
Oddly enough, she’s been on my mind this past week too. Some friends have asked me to get involved with an old-school retro-raver vinyl night in Oakland, and I was just about to give her a call and invite her to DJ on opening night Dec 21st. Now it looks like it’s going to be a memorial and fundraiser instead.
Recriminations and teeth-gnashing abound. Looking at the images inside the Ghost Ship prior to the fire make it clear that this was no place to safely host a crowd. If a group of artists choose to reside in a fire trap that’s one thing, but to rent it out to a promoter for a public event is the height of folly. The sordid story of the proprietor of the Ghost Ship is a tabloid tragedy, and when or if anyone will be held accountable remains to be seen. Apparently the city authorities will have some explaining to do, as they had been been called out repeatedly and yet the place remained open.
I spent Saturday night sadly sharing social media posts and comments with media contacts and digging deeper into the facts leading up this nightmare. Monday morning quarterbacking aside, it becomes a cautionary tale for everyone, whether you attend underground dance events or not. There’s a reason we have things like permits and fire marshals in civilized countries.
I’m already rehearsing the conversations I’ll be having with my daughter when she’s old enough to go out dancing with her friends, beyond the length of her father’s leash. Young people especially are often relegated to ‘underground’ venues, unofficial, non-permitted spaces where ID’s are not required and public safety is an afterthought (at best). Chelsea is something of an elder in this scene at 33, one of the victims identified so far was 17.
Does the place feel safe? Where are the exits? Are they clearly marked? Are the promoters overcrowding the space? Could you get out quickly if you needed to? If the organizers are playing up the cool factor of it being ‘illegal’ or ‘renegade’ or ‘underground’ should you really be there in the first place? A ‘maze-like’ interior made from dry scrap wood, exposed wiring, and a makeshift spiral staircase built from pallets should be a tip-off, but this wasn’t the first event at the Ghost Ship by any means, and musicians take chances for their art all the time.
Not much more I can say at this point. It’s one heckuva way to wrap up 2016. There’s a relief fund for the victims families set up with an initial goal of $350,000 which in my opinion is far too low, now that the toll is expected to go beyond 40, that’s less than $5k per family. We’ll be donating the proceeds from this Friday’s Dance Jam to the fund, as well as holding a dedicated fundraiser on Dec 21st for Cherushii and 100% Silk.
Please pitch in if you can. I’m sorry to have to connect you to this tragedy in this way, but it’s times like this when the degrees of separation shrink that we realize how we are all indeed connected, and that we are all one in the dance. I appreciate your prayers and blessings.
https://www.youcaring.com/
Love and hugs till next week…
M+
Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine
Dance First Member Spotlight : Winky Wheeler and The Morning Sojourn
I thought about skipping the Dance First member spotlight this week in light of the sad commentary above, but in fact it feels appropriate to highlight Winky Wheeler and her innovative Morning Sojourn project since it offers the safest possible place to dance, that being your home or studio.
Winky is a Portland Oregon based Soul Motion facilitator who offers a unique virtual event for two weeks each January. She asks the question “What happens when you start your day with dance?” Dancers everywhere are invited to find out. You’ll be dancing to the same music, at the same time, with other conscious dancers in every part of the world. It’s a unique bridge between your real-life dance and your virtual-global community.
Plus, you’ll all be journaling about the experience in your very own customized printed SoJournal that Winky provides before you get started. The experience runs from January 9th to 22nd, which is 14 mornings of dance, including weekends. She provides the unique stream of music each day, all you have to do is be awake and ready by 7:00am in your time zone for 15 minutes of meditation, and then dance from 7:15 to 8:15 and then write about your experience.
One of the reasons I’m letting you know about this so far in advance is that it’s an awesome opportunity to be a studio or group host. If you get onboard now, you’ll have plenty of time to sign up some friends to join you at your home and make a group experience out of it.
If you already own a studio, or know of one you can work with, it’s a great way to build your facilitation skills with all the structure, format, and music provided. Winky provides ample support for you to succeed as a host, including online registration with fee percentage, a unique web presence, print-ready graphics, a private Facebook group for interaction, custom SoJournals and support documents for your participants.
Visit her website to learn more and see where all the various dancers around the world are joining in from. Check out a sample of the music and find out everything you need to know to take part in this (safe) and user-friendly virtual dance experience.
