PrideScape Blog Series: On Dancing Through the Fight
“During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon and we danced all night.” This famous quote by queer activist and writer Dan Savage popped into my head as confetti rained over me, a stark contrast to how I was dodging tear gas from the protest the night before. This year it has felt especially difficult to maintain my Pride. How can we continue to celebrate with our rights constantly under attack? As our friends and neighbors are snatched in the streets and our trans siblings seeking asylum are detained at court hearings?
It is our Pride, however, that they fear. It is our Pride that makes us resilient. Our Pride keeps us moving forward and it keeps us dreaming big. “The dance kept us in the fight,” as Savage said. And the “dance” isn’t just limited to the movement practice — it is a metaphor that encompasses all forms of joy and expression.
Art and dance have long been a form of protest. Throughout history oppressed people have expressed themselves through art and dance and continued to find joy and dream big in the face of oppression. During the Civil Rights movement, we saw the rise of soul music throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s. Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is a well regarded icon of the Chicano and feminist movements, as well as the LGBTQ+ community. Enslaved Africans and their descendants in 17th-century Puerto Rico developed the bomba as a way to express their feelings and communicate with another. Similarly, the Brazilian martial art form capoeira originated among African slaves in Brazil as a manner of preserving heritage. After being outlawed in 1892, it continued in underground communities and later became the national sport of Brazil in 1937. Within our community, drag culture was created out of a need to feel connected, providing us with spaces to express ourselves and feel accepted at a time society wasn’t accepting. Vogue dancing also began as an act of resistance. Developed by Black and Latino queer, working class youth in New York City, it was intentionally intersectional, breaking class, gender and sexuality norms.
While it can be hard to maintain joy, to dance and dream big when times feel uncertain, it is important to remember the power that we have in doing so. This is why art and creative expression have been targeted by fascist regimes throughout history as well — oppressors recognize the importance of our joy and creativity in the fight. Without our joy, without our ability to dance and dream big, it’s easy to let hopelessness set in, which is exactly what those who seek to oppress rely on.
After my confetti-blasted concert experience, I was reminded of this yet again last weekend at Pride Northwest’s Gay Prides pageant. I started the day feeling discouraged, maybe even a bit hopeless. I wasn’t in the mood for a pageant, or really any kind of social gathering or community event, but arrived to a community full of joy. Queer excitement filled the room and I watched as the contestants danced, sang and expressed their Pride. Last year’s Mx. Gay Pride, Cruz Daniels, gave a moving performance that reminded us our love can change the world.
The following weekend I witnessed another community full of love, one that also dreamt big, when my friends sold out their benefit show, competing against a MAGA-supporting corporate festival held the same day. We danced, moshed and built community while raising money for an indigenous non-profit. And while I’m sure the festival still earned plenty of money, the fact that our grassroots event exceeded our goals and expectations while creating a truly accepting space showcases the power of dreaming big, and of continuing to dance through the fight.
As we head into July and our annual Portland Pride celebration nears, remember to dance and remember to dream big. In whatever way that means to you and whatever way you can, keep dancing and keep fighting. Hold on to your dreams, hold on to your pride, hold on to your joy. It is our dance, and our dreaming big, that will keep us in the fight.
-Jax Lamont