Manipon 1

Gelsey Manipon
Mr. Smith
Writing For College
21 November 2016
GLOVING, DRUGS, AND/OR SUPPORT: How Dance Scene and EDM Culture is Beneficial
Introduction
Do you eat dog? Well, I do, at least thats what people assume I do. When I was in middle
school, my friends younger sister would always ask me that stereotypical Filipino question.
Whenever I saw her, that question would always make its way into the conversation. Eventually,
Id come to despise stereotypes yet we, as humans, do it unconsciously whether we like it or not.
Stereotypes are poor representations of a whole culture or race of people but stereotyping still
exists. However, at the start of my freshman year, I was introduced to gloving and from there I
learned to love EDM (Electronic Dance Music). My interest in gloving and love for EDM
branched into getting involved with social issues like prejudice, unjust treatment, etc. affecting
the EDM scene and Dance culture. The community, like so many others, itself faces harsh
stereotyping from society. The dance community and EDM culture is a place where peace, love,
unity, and respect really exist.
How can the Dance scene and EDM culture be beneficial for community members? The
Dance scene and EDM culture are beneficial for the community because they encourage creative
art forms, do not condemn nor commend drug use, and will continue to be a great source of
support for misunderstood souls.
Stereotype: Gloving Is A Crime
Imagine small LED lights in the tips of gloves being used to paint a picture. The night

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sky as a canvas and your hands are the paint brushes. You paint at the tempo of the music and
your imagination feeds the fire your hands are capable of. The painting may fade but the
experience certainly doesnt. To anyone who sees it, gloving is considered cool, innovative, and
imaginative. Gloving is not bad. Gloving is an art form and a way of expression.
First, what is Gloving? Trippz, a glover, explains that,Gloving is an art form where we
create allusions and different pictures with lights, theyre basically gloves with LED micro lights
in themAnd these gloves are just a way we use to express ourselves via dancing. Gloving
attracts the masses, most notable for night performances but even Glovers who practice without
their gloves on are hypnotizing. Hands tread still air and grab attention like no other body part
can. Glovers arent just flinging out random moves as they perform, they choreography a dance
to the beat of a song all while moving their hands. EDM is a popular music genre within the
gloving community [it] stands strong as a community of dedicated artists, explains
EmazingLights, a sales website focused on gloving and other related light paraphernalia, The
gloving community stands strong with approximately 200,000 glovers worldwide.
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) is also played frequently at raves, commonly thought to
be a place where the youth come to let go of all inhibitions and essentially become wild
animals. In actuality, raves are safe places for those who want to be themselves and not be
judged. PLUR [an acronym for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect], PLURing is a huge staple in
the rave culture. And its sort of a way to keep a memory of someone that you meet or share your
rave experience with someone else, An EmazingLights team member explains, Candies
spelled with a K and an I, you make them before a festival and you can write anything you want
or make pretty colors and put them on your arm before you go to a festival. The goal is to trade
them out and meet new people, to have experience and remember them. Kandies are colorful

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bead bracelets (and/or cuffs, masks, headbands, and etc.) that are often exchanged or passed out
during raves.
Gloving has a long history with raves and unfortunately is given a bad rep because of
that. Society has a hard time believing that Gloving is not a crime, says EmazingLights,
Glovers have been violated for giving lightshows and threatened to have their gloves taken away
at venues and events. Theyre treated like criminals for the sole crime of possessing
gloves.The reason being that EDM event promoters and government officials immediately
started to ban gloving from major EDM events these past years because the common stigma on
gloving is that its considered unsafe and dangerous. In 2011, the biggest EDM event promoter,
Insomniac Events, banned gloves from their events although the CEO of Insomniac Events
himself sees no problem in gloving and is an advocate of freedom of expression, he cant lift the
ban on gloving. He has to protect the EDM scene from the negative stigmas that the greater
public sees in gloving, EmazingLights paraphrases what Insomniacs CEO Pasquale Rotella
said. In response to that Brian Lim, the CEO and founder of EmazingLights, has taken a different
path on the matter, focusing more on government officials and local authorities who are at these
events. Glovers have taken to the streets to give lightshows to local authorities on duty along
with the introduction of Flow Gardens which are areas specialized for gloving and flow arts at
festivals and create a legitimate education for gloving and the flow arts. Brian Lim hopes to
change the societal stigma that Gloving is dangerous due to association. People are scared of
things they dont know anything about. Gloving is one of them. Its simply people not being
aware that Gloving is an art form, a way of expression. While the gloving community may be
small and only started becoming popular in the mid-2000s, they have made strides in turning
gloving into an accepted art form.

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Although it is an underground movement that is just starting to come into the
mainstream, its received favorable attention in the media. News outlets have covered the story
of Brian Lim who rose to fame after partnering up with several sharks from the TV show, Shark
Tank. BOSS is a gloving competition in which glovers around the nation compete in and some
locally grown gloving competitions on Hawaii, most notably the Eddie Would Throw,
Hawaiis online gloving competition are gathering attention from social media. The International
Gloving Championship (IGC), which glovers from around the world compete by giving some of
the best lightshows out there, has been running for five years and the community is expecting
more people to get into the competitive aspect of gloving.
With all of that being said, Gloving and its scene has become a lifestyle for those who
take LEDs and turn them into tools to create another well but underappreciated art form.
However due to its association with raves, gloving is labeled as unsafe and harmful.
EmazingLights, the leading producer of gloves and other flow objects, is working show that
gloving is unrelated to drugs and should be appreciated as an artform on its own. All forms of art
are just ways to express ourselves but Gloving does it better than other art forms because the of
the process it takes to create a lightshow.
Stereotype: Rave Culture is All About Drugs
For fans, EDM isnt just about the music, its about the moment. Its a sensory
experience of music, lights, dancing, and often, drugs, explains Stephanie, 26 (Party On
Safety?). Molly makes you so incredibly aware of happinessit heightens my sense of touch to
a level thats almost meditative. The problem with raves is that theyre associated with drugs.
And its true that some people at raves are doing drugs. However, what most people fail to
realize is that people dont need to be high to enjoy the rave culture. Not all EDM fans are

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druggies. Drug use is an evolving part of the culture for some EDM fans.
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) attracts youth with its glittering lights, hard hitting bass
beats, and ability to just make you want to get up and dance. EDM has grown to be a global
phenomenon in the past years. The scariest thing about this suddenly popularity is the presence
of drugs in the EDM scene. Drug use has always been consistently linked with dance music
culture, Davidson & Parrott says, The predominant drug associated with rave culture is
methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)it is commonly pressed into pills. The first thing
that comes to people's mind when they think of raves is ecstasy, known less commonly as
MDMA. These colorful little pills vary in ingredients; you wont know if youre getting pure
MDMA or the stuff found in laundry detergents. Ecstasy, also known as E, helps to stimulate
what raves are known for peace, love, unity, and respect. The drug overall enhances good vibes,
gives you an energy boost, and heightens three out of the five senses such as sight, hearing, and
touch. On the other hand, its bodily effects can range from being more prone to sweating and
increased body temperature to jaw clenching and dilated pupils. From a public health
standpoint, raves have been historically targeted as being toxic venues with massive drug
consumption, Kavanaugh and Anderson explain. From a cultural viewpoint, raves are a safe
space for marginalized youths to gather and find a place to belong. Dance is what makes sense
in the community; it is the constant that so many rely on. E is just there to help ravers keep on
dancing. In electronic music its the same as it is in country, pop yknow hip hop whatever it is,
theres certain elements that circle around those genres of music, Kaskade explains, another big
name artist in the EDM scene. Kaskade continues, And partying is part of the landscape of
electronic music. All genres have certain elements that relate to them in one-way or another.
Partying (associated with drugs and alcohol) just happens to be an element that circles

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around EDM. Since theres a lot of young people there. There needs to be more awareness on
what it means yknow what can happen, Steve Aoki discusses drug use at concerts. Young
people can easily fall to peer pressure. So because everyone else does drugs, young people just
go along with it, unaware or not caring about the consequences. They dont believe that what has
happened to other people will happen to them. Thus, raves have become a safe space for the
youth that society frowns upon. Thats part of the reason why many in the community dont
allow drugs but they exactly discourage drug use. Its a touchy subject in the community and
many are too afraid of the laws set in stone that will fine them if a stance is taken on the issue.
Of course, proponents of drug use at events where EDM is played think that Molly (aka Ecstasy)
is a safer alternative to more relatively dangerous drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and meth (Ill go
more into depth on that later).
Promoters for EDM events try to include self-harm reduction methods and hire authority
to keep drugs out but they cant stop people from doing drugs. However, they also cant do much
on the problem due to the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act known beforehand as the RAVE Act.
Anna Schumacher explains, In 2002, then-Senator Joe Biden introduced a bill known as the
Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Ecstasy (RAVE) Act. It subjects any organization or
individual seen as maintaining a drug-involved premises to fines up to $250,000.
Unfortunately due to the RAVE Act introduced by then Vice President Joe Biden inhibits
festivals from allowing nonprofits such as DanceSafe, a nonprofit group whose mission is to
educate people about the drugs theyre consuming and testing drugs for the components theyre
made, at their events because would mean acknowledging drug use is a problem within their
festival. But the first step in attempting to jump over a hurdle is to know that there is a hurdle.
Brian Tamke, festival director of ID&T (Mysteryland) admits that the RAVE Act influences the

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decisions on what services, such as the ones that DanceSafe offers, will be allowed at the
festival. You dont need to be a drug user to feel the effects of the consequences of not knowing
what to do when taking MDMA. Dede Goldsmiths daughter Shelley Goldsmith died from a heat
stroke, caused by taking MDMA and dancing for hours on end in a sweaty, hot club. Goldsmith
advocates for Congress to adjust the RAVE Act so people can get the knowledge they need to
stay safe at raves.
That being said, people dont need to be drugged, drunk, or make irresponsible choices to
enjoy EDM. At EDM events and festivals, you will find people who are hopped on drugs, drunk,
or doing something stupid. If you think about it, every single major gathering theres some form
of drug use, Steve Aoki, a major player in the EDM scene, said in an interview with Larry
King. Its just unfortunate that EDM or dance music at large gets yknow the big spotlight.
Drug use has existed even before EDM became a thing and there wont ever be such thing as a
drug-free America, thats a fact. Our society is trained to think the only answer is zero
tolerance, says Missi Wooldridge from DanceSafe. However, weve never had a completely
drug-free society, and its unrealistic to think thats attainable. But that doesnt mean we, as
fellow Americans, cant save existing users a visit to the hospital and help them know just what it
is that theyve bought from the shady guy hanging around in the corner. If there is to be a
decrease in drug-related fatalities and hospital visits there need to be prevention methods that
people can have access to. If you cant stop the people from doing drugs and you dont want to
join them then help them. With the right measures taken, people like Shelley Goldsmith wont
become a number in a statistic.
Stereotype: EDM Culture Hurts People and Communities
Zedd, Calvin Harris, Porter Robinson, Chainsmokers among other EDM artists make

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some of the best music to dance to with its drops, buildups, and the release. Its what makes
EDM popular in the first place. Not only is it a popular music genre but it gets people to dance,
which is a form of exercise. The EDM community is not harmful. It can be a great support for
those in the community.
EDM is specially made for dancing. Dancing is an art medium for people to express
themselves with. Media has incorporated gloving, is another form of dance into their choreos
such as Shake it Up and Worlds Best Dance Crew. Dance groups and solo dancers have attracted
attention online from posting videos or tutorials to help others dance. Dance is something all
ages can enjoy likewise music is pleasant to the ears but dance is the necessary visual thats
needed with it. Theres no question, anecdotally at least, that music has a very stimulating effect
on physical activity, says Daniel Tarsy, MD, and HMS professor of neurology and director of
the Parkinsons Disease and Movement Disorders Center. And I think that applies to dance, as
well. So not only is dancing a fun pastime but there are studies [that] show that dance helps
reduce stress, increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, and helps develop new neural
connections, especially in regions involved in executive function, long-term memory, and spatial
recognition. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine explain that, Dancing
involves both a mental effort and social interaction and that this type of stimulation helped
reduce the risk of dementia. Helen Van Winkle more widely known as Baddie Winkle is the
oldest raver (who is also a grandma). She is a prime example of the ravers motto: PLUR (Peace
Love Unity Respect) and the result of the impact that the EDM and Dance community can have
on the elderly. Dance has [also] been found to be therapeutic for patients with Parkinsons
disease, Scott Edwards says. Daniel Tarsy explains the benefits of RAS (rhythmic auditory
stimulation): the effects this technique has on patients with Parkinsons or other movement

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disorders have found significant improvements in gait and upper extremity function among
participants. Parkinsons disease can cause patients inflicted with the disease to not have control
over their limbs or other parts of their body. Dance is a supposed form of rhythmic auditory
stimulation, so dance can heal in the preservation or healing of certain medical conditions.
Dance has obvious health benefits because its considered exercise and on top of that
most people would agree that dancing improves their mood. Many look at dancing as an outlet,
letting loose to a rhythmic beat. Dance/movement psychotherapy is a total approach that
reconnects physical and emotional expression with therapy objectives by working directly with
body states, feeling, cognition and lifestyle to confront human suffering and mobilize human
potential, Anna Krantz said. Introduced in the mid 20th century it was brought to be what it is
by combining creative dance innovation, psychoanalytic theory, and strong social
consciousness. Regular Dance/Movement therapy is in 40 different countries and the American
Dance Therapy Association has been going strong for 50 years. Dance therapists serve as:
licensed psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and counselors. People
who want to pursue dance/movement therapy dont need to have previous experience but simply
a desire to face their problems with the use of words and their body. Dancing can be therapeutic
in alleviating Chronic tension, apathy, anxiety, depression, malaise and disconnection from
natural expressive movement drained individual power and creativity, Krantz says.
Overreliance on thinking and worrying with loss of agency in meaningful action in life became
normal and widespread. Everyone moves, movement is needed to advance in life. Krantz
explains, Movement is an inherent aspect of life and health, but each individuals needs are
unique to their particular circumstances, desires and life situations. Movement can be stiff and
awkward but movement in accordance with music it is something entirely different.

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Theres a beat and instinctively the body will move how it wants to move. Those are the
benefits of being a part of the Dance community. Now, what benefits lie in the EDM
community? Music has the power to save us, make us cry, and make us happy (more often than
not, it isnt in that order). Throughout time, people have learned to enjoy our brains natural
tendency to synchronize with pleasant rhythmic stimulation has the power to shape our
thoughts, moods, and behaviors, a Frequency-Based Light & Sound Neurotherapy research
journal states. Electronic music often has so many sounds playing at once that our mind is so
preoccupied with the music we think of nothing else. The reason why EDM is so popularly
renown is because the sounds make you see lights. Its like that scene in Ratatouille where Remy
is trying a piece of cheese and strawberry together and he closes his eyes to see these bright
blurred colors. But light has also played a huge role in how we perceive music: songs around the
campfire, dance music with a disco ball (and/or strobe lights), and a nice blue spotlight on a jazz
musician. Todays DJs take advantage of lights and show them off during live shows or sessions.
Theres a reason why people love to pull out lighters and/or flashlights during a particularly heart
moving song. Fireworks are a huge display of light stimulation but to experience a lightshow up
close and in real is like seeing fireworks up close just without the sparks. Lights are especially
pretty at night or in the dark (example: Christmas lights). Receiving a lightshow from a glover
can either soothe or make your mind race (it depends on the glover but almost always lightshows
are impressive). I wholeheartedly believe that the reason that the gloving community is so
positive is because the lightshows are so therapeutic and spending time with these glovers makes
that positivity contagious. Light stimulation reduced pain and discomfort for 90% of patients,
the Frequency-Based Light & Sound Neurotherapy research journal states. Light and/or Sound
Neurotherapy (LSN)often results in immediate clinical benefits after only a single session.

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Light and Sound Neurotherapy not only helps with negativity and makes naturally pessimistic
human beings optimistic again but it also helps with other psychiatric disorders such as
depression, anxiety, bipolarity, and etc. The Frequency-Based Light & Sound Neurotherapy
research journal explains, LSNs ability to trigger therapeutic dissociation makes it an ideal tool
for disrupting the ruminative thought processes that are common in the most psychiatric
disorders. So being a part of these communities offers therapeutic and health benefits that
cannot be ignored in todays society.
Stereotype: Conclusions Are Never Interesting
To conclude, the Dance scene and EDM culture is beneficial for the community because
not only do they encourage creative art forms, nor do they condemn or commend drug use, or
because they will continue to be a great source of support for misunderstood souls. But
additionally because dance and gloving are forms of expression that are current and popular,
nonprofits within the communities are tackling serious issues such as drug use with the youth,
and due highly to both communities offering health and therapeutic benefits as to why you
should be apart of them.

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Works Cited
Edwards, Scott. Dancing and the Brain. Department of Neurobiology. Harvard Mahoney
Neuroscience Institute, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
EmazingLights. Gloving Is Not a Crime. EmazingLights. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.
Krantz, Anne. Dance/Movement Therapy. American Fitness. 34.3 (2016): 62
MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
LarryKingNow. Its Unfortunate That Drug Use is Associated with EDM Culture | Steve Aoki |
Larry King Now Ora TV. YouTube. YouTube, 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.
LarryKingNow. Kaskade Responds To EDM Drug Scene (VIDEO) | Larry King Now | Ora.
TV. YouTube. YouTube, 28 Sept. 2015. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.

Pigott, Ed, Gregory Alter, and Dennis Mariki. Frequency-Based Light & Sound
Neurotherapy (LSN) Research: A Review of the Research. Frequency-Based Light &
Sound Neurotherapy (LSN) Research: A Review of the Research (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
Schumacher, Anna. Party On Safety?. Cosmopolitan. 260.4 (2016): 124 MasterFILE
Complete. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
WORLDOFDANCETOUR. The Drop Featuring Dytto at Emazing Lights with Brian Lim &
Trippz | Episode 15 #WODtheDrop. Youtube. Youtube, 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 23 Sept.
2016.
@YourEDM. Drugs and Dance Music Culture, Part 1: The Importance of Ecstasy | Your
EDM. Your EDM. Your EDM, 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.