Social DisDancing: The Zine by SocialDisdancing

SOCIAL

DISDANCING

Welcome to Social DisDancing: The Zine! Whenever I try to explain this zine to friends, family, and new people, here is the gist of what I say: since May, my partner Naomi and I have been attending Zoom dance parties. We’ve found a really great community there, as have the rest of the people who regularly attend. Every Wednesday and Saturday we gather to dance for 60 minutes before spending hours in the after-party and the after-after party (and the after-after-after party). People would joke that all of the art and poems and essays and recipes and puns that we shared with each other would end up in our collective dance party zine, but as people created and shared more, we discussed the zine far too often for it to be a joke. We aimed to create a tangible item to commemorate and honor the party--a love letter to the space and the people we found here. Most attendees came to the dance parties knowing one or two other people (if any), but now we all have an entire community of close friends and speak fondly of our eventual union. Each DisDancer can tell you about someone they’ve met through this party who has supported them, touched them deeply, or even saved them during these challenging times. For Naomi and I, we have found queer elders, people to look up to, lean on, and learn from as young college students. The support of this space extends beyond the dance party and its participants, as Social DisDancing is also a fundraising space. Since the beginning of the party, we have collected over $10,000 for mutual aid funds, individuals, and other causes, especially those led by and benefiting BIPOC communities. We regularly give to Southern Solidarity, The New Orleans QTBIPOC Mutual Aid Fund, and Southern Organizer Academy. Finally, this statement, this zine, this joy, and this party would not be possible without our founders, Bear Hebert and Hannah Pepper. While I cannot speak for them and what led to the inception of the Social DisDancing parties, on March 14th, 2020 they hosted the first one and have continued twice a week for the entire year. Hannah Pepper DJed every party until late August, when the responsibility was absorbed by the DisDancing community. Those of us who volunteer to DJ every few weeks are still amazed by Hannah’s ability to have DJed twice a week for almost 5 months. To Bear Hebert, our fierce host and expert on creating a last-minute costume from old packaging, thank you so much for holding this space every week. There are not enough words in the world to express how much this space means to so many people (but hopefully this zine accomplishes that at least a little bit). Thank you endlessly. -Charlie P.S. I also want to thank and emphasize that Naomi put so many hours of work, creativity, passion, and love into this zine. They are truly the reason why this even exists. I am so thankful for you Baybee. You are fucking amazing.

TRACK

LIST

ALL THEMES CUMULATIVE @socialdisdancing as a manifestation of queer love Fuel: A Quarantine Performance Things I Learned From Social DisDancing Exquisite Corpse Zoom Portraits If [Bear] Invited You To A Party Dr. Sonnenberg Our Favorite Memories Stripes How to catch a cootie Art History This party is a spell for thawing a human heart In the pandemic, I started dancing again Marie’s Applesauce Winter Solstice This Essay Got Me Into College Zoom Portraits All Vibes Only Oracle Deck Flat Ally Sacred Choreography notes from the after after after Zoom Portraits Face Painting Manifesto Miso Rye Nut Cookies xoxo, Ruminant Zoom Portraits Power Clash the Grid Frog and Toad are Gay An Anonymous Note Puns Memes 101 Where We Come From

4 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 25 26 27 28 30 31 37 38 40 41 43 44 45 46 46 48 50 50 53 54

ALL

THEMES

*the first two dance parties on 3-14-20 03-21-20: Green

06-13-20: Heart

03-25-20: Floral

06-17-20: Child Self/ Picture Day

03-28-20: Hero Of Your Own Future

06-20-20: Tarot

04-01-20: Animals

06-24-20: The Future

04-04-20: Anthropomorphic Food

06-27-20: Power Clash

04-08-20: Sparkles

07-01-20: Dreams n' Nightmares

04-11-20: Black and White

07-04-20: Acid Wash

04-15-20: Blue and Orange

07-08-20: Astrology

04-18-20: Cosmic

07-11-20: Sleepover

04-22-20: Under The Sea

07-15-20: Unique Niche

04-25-20: Fire

07-18-20: Disco

04-29-20: Earth

07-22-20: Alternate Reality

05-02-20: Air

07-25-20: Birds

05-06-20: Water

07-29-20: Art History

05-09-20: Gods/Deities

08-01-20: Clubbing

05-13-20: Neon

08-05-20: Plants

05-16-20: Ferngully/ Environmental

08-08-20: Met Gala 08-12-20: Tea Party

Grief 05-20-20: Beach

08-15-20: Cruising

05-23-20: Christmas vs. Goth vs. Yom

08-19-20: Children's Stories 08-22-20: Dessert

Kippur 05-27-20: Horse

08-26-20: Punk/Pleasure

05-30-20: Prom

08-29-20: Anything But Clothes

06-03-20: Fruit Salad

09-02-20: Dinosaurs

06-06-20: Witches

09-05-20: Weddings Or Whatever

06-10-20: Business Casual/ 7:Habits

09-09-20: Post Ofﬁce

Of Successful People 4

CUMULATIVE & 3-18-20 were not themed 09-12-20: Rainbow

12-16-20: Container

09-16-20: Farmer's Market

12-19-20: Solstice

09-19-20: Stripes

12-23-20: Outer Space Giraffe Architects

09-23-20: Board games 09-26-20: Pool party

12-26-20: Evergreen

09-30-20: 90s

12-30-20: Circus

10-03-20: Science

01-02-21: Hats

10-07-20: Wings

01-06-21: Maps

10-10-20: Memes

01-09-21: Opposite Day

10-14-20: Cardboard

01-13-21: Swamp

10-17-20: Red

01-16-21: Collage

10-21-20: Jazzercise

01-20-21: Emojis

10-24-20: Puns

01-23-21: Geometry

10-28-20: Golden

01-27-21: Exquisite Corpse

10-31-20: Halloween

01-30-21: Sparkle

11-04-20: Shiny

02-03-21: Imbolc/Midwinter

11-07-20: Cinema

02-06-21: Sea Creatures

11-11-20: Blue

02-10-21: Adventure Trek

11-14-20: Maximalism

02-13-21: Masque/Mardi Gras

11-18-20: Rivers

02-17-21: Dirt/Ash Wednesday

11-21-20: Flannel

02-20-21: Pepper

11-25-20: Grocery Store

02-24-21: Hot Goth Housewife

11-28-20: Gross/Great Things

02-27-21: Wild

12-02-20: Textures

03-03-21: Liminal

12-05-20: Pageant

03-06-21: Sock Hop

12-09-20: Surprise Party

03-10-21: Transportation

12-12-20: Prince

03-13-21: Anniversary!!! 5

..@socialdisdancing as a manifestation of queer love .. By Nicole Garneau AKA DJ Sparkledaddy 3/1/21 I have been a queer party kid for about 30 years. Getting on queer dance floors with strong lqqks is a strategy for surviving and thriving in this big ole violently heteropatriarchal world with its unimaginative gender binaries, stultifying straight sex, and miniscule imagination of bodily beauties. I was definitely underage in 1990 getting into gay bars on Belmont & Halsted in Chicago. When I got fired from my YMCA camp counselor job for being queer, I drove directly from Wisconsin to Paris, a mostly-lesbian haven on Chicago’s north side, where I just danced and cried for hours. In the last 15 years, Chances Dances, Deep Lez, and Northern Lights were raunchy and holy sanctuaries. And since March 2020, the queer party space that has given me my whole ass life twice a week is @socialdisdancing. Let’s be clear: no one is checking IDs at the door of @socialdisdancing. Everyone can identify however they want—but the space itself is unmistakably queer, having been established with loving intention by Bear Hebert and Hannah Pepper over the first few weeks and months of the party. Folks, you don’t even have to figure out the queer party codes yourselves: we’ll tell you explicitly what we mean, how we expect to treat each other and address each other, and how to keep it cute and consensual. The pandemic experience has been different for everyone. The grownup, single, queer author of this piece has spent a lot of time by herself. It’s been a low-hug year, but I’m making it, and one of the reasons I’m making it is because I can show up and be seen among the magical unicorns in this online community space. I love to dance with other people. I love to lose myself in the music and listen to my body and move in ways that are irrational and not part of a fitness program targeting particular muscle groups. I understand that an active body on the dance floor can stir others to get out of their seats, so I’m always one of the first to put down their drink and get out there in some supportive footwear. DJ Lady Speedstick of Chances Dances once called me a Dance Floor Doula. 8

In the first months of the party, Hannah Pepper created all of the mixes. I received each one like a love letter as they gave us music for survival, resilience, hope, anger, and grief. When Hannah stepped back from making playlists, they trained a small group of us in how to do it, and then let us go. The love letters keep coming. We make mixes to help each other and ourselves to transmute, sweat, heal, cry, and HAVE FUN. We receive each other’s musical missives and tuck them under our pillows to revisit later. @socialdisdancing has been a really generative space for me as an artist. I use the party as an excuse to experiment with turning my home into a solo pandemic nightclub. I might be in a drop ceiling tool room with horrific fluorescent lights, but I make it cute and entertaining for myself with holiday decorations. I play with the balance between dark enough to feel fun for dancing and light enough to show off a good lqqk. I play with Zoom as a cinematic tool. I lean into the awkwardness of a solitary dance party. I turn a little house in rural Kentucky into the hottest queer club in Appalachia. I know that truly life-giving queer party spaces are rare, and the next party is never promised. I never take @socialdisdancing for granted. Queer Royalty like Bear Hebert have a lot of important work to do in this world, and it is a miracle that they decided that @socialdisdancing was worthy of a considerable expenditure of their precious life energy, twice a week, for a year. Parties happen because we make them happen, so I show up as hard as I can, as often as I can, and pay attention to other people who are showing up, because that is the best definition I know for queer love.

..FUEL: A QUARANTINE PERFORMANCE.. By Nicole Garneau

Scan the QR code to access! 9

By Kate Farquar

...E X Q U I S I T E

C O R P S E…

FACILITATED BY NIKI HALE JANUARY 27th, 2021 TODAY MY PRESENCE BROUGHT harm to others, tho I’d hoped not to eat all of the Fritos in just those three days, unless I can feed them to you, one at a time, my ear pressed close to your mouth then I reached my hands into the cool earth, and pulled out a silken satchel I pulled and pulled and pulled until the whole cord slipped free, unzipped it, and placed my body inside My body was a slip for cording her unzippered pulls And so: we zip! Button, fasten, frog, and grommet, snap, snap, snap. no it's a toad, toads, too many baby toads on the sidewalk dancing across sidewalks under passing feet, a million tiny suicide missions. And still. They kept on. They kept on because they heard a silent call. Beckoning them forth. You could call it a choice. But mostly they just kept moving towards something….even they couldn’t clearly see. It was ﬂuttering in the arms of the tree - catch it and make a party there A party like one only your brother could have thrown with foraged fruit and reversed repulses Over that endless era, so distant and shadowed Mountains wore down by water and time Returning to the fold, to the belly of the dark, where the light begins.

Zoom Portraits by Naomi Smith

“...here’s the spontaneous revision of a Hafiz poem (as translated/ interpreted by Daniel Ladinsky) that I drew up during the other night’s [Liminal] dance party.” - JJ

...D R.

S O N N E N B E R G… BY CHARLIE BIRDWELL

an d Re ce c leb the eivin ra ma g a tin h il f rom and ge JJ ac Ch pain h arl o ie ted z om the bie rs ho ' josh dan rse cing at t in he phila biking th d e lp ere from brooklyn hia train station afte

the moments of uncontrollable laughter in the after-after. you might call it after-after-laughter. product demonstrations come to mind. like the Vegetti. and like when i was giving a demonstration of my steam mop, dramatically lifted it by its handle, which was missing a screw, and dropped it on my foot. -Brooks

sh de owin su duci g up pe ng lat rk no from e to wl ed the the I ge ch m ab at bo l le ab that c pa ou ev rty t e er tryi n we yon and Cor g to un lac e w pse der tat as com g s ion jus plic ame N tand h ated ow iki H t t o a bec aus le led, play th eIw an e asn d mak Exqui inﬂat 't pa site ing ing a ying it gia taken atte more out o nt sausage ntio f throu n gh all the box, an ﬂoatie tha t I'd n of "po d dan e c o v i l e ng wi Kate party r th it "

r the Naomi's basement tap-dance demo nt fo o-ness" e m e o c repla things "w a s a e " g som -bric . "woo discussin followed e s a r t h n a e p h th he e ric" w ssion ing t hear pt of "rub ire discu anc d t e y n conc nd the e tor vic ,a l e y v a e l n d n. ctio e l tio di er e k e c de ny leb A u . do nt our ai p e ac f 's ar e B

That time when the theme was 'Hats' and Niki had a costume change for every single song, and then piled them all on into a giant hat stack in the after after party was pretty fantastic.

neaky and their s bout Otters as Learning a w d d pockets I It contraban mix r. rne rst he u t eﬁ ot it r o th e ce t ch nd pe e dan ea , a ee om t th nds o d s a w o frie kle) .I ne e t ad ed d th r ing m is s h k a l See (Sp al or m ers sen rne is Zoo f th en de Kate e a ma w g f th . I le th n o ev w in t o did e in ic o art e ho lat tha we n w ble em a p to m us co d he ia d e s d er ne an w el an b an ke p gi th - d r p to e as een ima ity ion an the ion it m s. ne d b ly un rat ne ng tat h nth Ire a te m b ui ri vi uc o n t h iva om ele en du in m m he a r c c g y er w rly w th ll p is nd so el ep ho ea g h n ed io d a h t f - a feel lar de out the a b ov st a it d I l que e h s w elie hat rge eel t a it in a t w rie e r s t e e f es of ou sto ctiv tion y em d m hon rt hi lle ec it pe be pa co nn mun hel to 't a co m it nd asn co ink e, a I w th ac gh sp ou th fa bi mili rt es hd jo ay in s in gu s,

ORSE r w do a H o t r ho othe Bea s d e b a i h ut d ie br te eac abo eet Charl ncing r n e a h a w t W t sw d t s no es ed dis them Naomi ha n't k ve-f s SO t r e o a fte y did ng l It w ally lusiv a l o . re inc e er st a l aft /mo nto ryon . I've nd n a i r e a y as othe ned o ev part ing w t r m re ch tu nt he co he ea just ea to t wel t m w y ar kne d it ace rson nally u n sp pe tio Jan ne , a In eryo this this wer ten ev fore uch a ne w in be w m r as d ho PS ho hea iate is. th c e to pre ace zab ap is sp Eli th -

I...will always cherish...the visual image that Nicole shared with us of crafting a mustache with her pubes in a drag bar in Chicago. A roomful of drag kings with bags of their own pubes --- yes please!

wh tim en s om d e u lci and eon me we e w r -- aske as a tt an d d the them he p y t art H d e a i ring d!! o pla y for peo ya th p l e s ' s on e ﬁr Mar g o st di G n r as s the tori es ir ear in Emil y's kitchen

Seeing Bea r suddenly app

As conditions of my life in the pandemic shifted, I was no longer able to attend the party on a regular basis. During the times when I've been able to attend, it's been a true joy to see both new and familiar faces taking responsibility for holding the space and each other with such deep care. It's really wonderful to be a part of starting something and then to step away and see it ﬂourish without you. e y Th Hannah Pepper s" b eam t full "Dr ith deled a o ed w end yone y omes er arty v eh he p and e pectiv s en t s Wh berrie heir re n Cra me in t volu

w co atc be nf hin i ng ere g jo s nc e e tt e r y's le oo tr d a in m t ns at o itio b h om ein n fr It g o ’ s e on m co har t da h sa nsum d to e nc yi ro in t’s ed pick g a p d ro my e a fa ho in t ba vo n h t b m r i l r i y e e sa e ye te w to ve ar h d my . No en th sur is p li t e f e hou risin ! xagg part se o g be er y h n a t the ar wit ing as ha ir b w i r h thd live b en ay r a I s s ban d a t th eir charlie surp rising nao m i o n th them a song ei r birthday by on the uke playing le le . th them togeth en , weeks later, er in th seeing e sa me zoom sq uare again

That time when y'all made the sweetest lil' birthday party for me, and DJMJ made the best mix JJ

Stripes by Marie Lovejoy

By Danielle Butler

Art History by Marie Lovejoy

This party is a spell for thawing a human heart: Something like a love letter in bits and pieces

BY T DUNCAN

FEBRUARY 2021

excerpts from What you need to know about the virus in Wuhan published on Mic in January 2020 and Facebook posts from March 2020 There’s a virus, I said, in China. Yes, said my editor. It’s in Wuhan, I said, that’s where they make the yoga gongs. What? The gongs the Kundalinis use at the end of class. They’re gold and strike bold but slashed with black. Oh, she said, well, let’s cover it. Okay, then, let’s. That was Tuesday and on Wednesday I saw that gong and thought I’m sorry Wuhan I will not take for granted the beauty you have brought into this room from so very far away. Six people have died from the mysterious new coronavirus that was ﬁrst detected in Wuhan, China in late 2018. Out of the 200 people projected to have been infected with the virus overall, 77 new cases have been reported in China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, according to CNN. World health authorities are watching carefully as news, and the virus, spreads. I had a very bad feeling about things then, but it wasn’t so strange for me to have a bad feeling so I thought oh just crazy as usual. It was Carnival then and my far away crush came and left without falling in love with me and there were many paper lanterns and red ﬂag parades and I only wore three wigs that year and suddenly it was Tuesday again, and not the skinny one. This kind of coronavirus, called NCoV, is most common in non-human animals. Sometimes these viruses are zoonotic — which means that they can be spread from animals to humans — which is what is happening here, according to the CDC. 21

The virus began in a seafood market in Wuhan, where it was first recorded in late 2018. Chinese officials declared Monday that the virus could also be passed from human to human. I was wearing pasties and not much else as usual and the bad feeling had hardened into a real mood and it was so heavy and I carried it everywhere, judging people for touching and smiling. I watched people kissing on the hood of a car and they both wore red and yellow and when one pulled away the other laughing so much said you can’t get away and she licked her face. They kissed more and I thought oh this is a disaster and no one knows please please be careful licking friends I love you. “Health authorities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo are screening passengers flying in from Wuhan at airports, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is doing so at airports in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco,” Business Insider reported. Asian airport authorities are on high alert because this is a busy travel season in China, due to the Lunar New Year on January 25th. Infrared thermometers were installed in train stations, airports, and piers in China on January 14th. Suddenly it was March and I was writing writing writing teaching teaching teaching and my students they have to be kept away from other people in a special house just for people who have taken too many drugs, so says the state, but not each other. I noticed then that they were very close together and sneezing and had no soap. There’s no soap, I told the nurse. What, she said. No soap in the bathroom and what with the flu and all. Okay, she said, okay. Some public health officials are concerned that the outbreak has not been addressed seriously by Chinese officials. “The detection of three cases outside China is worrying. There might have been over 1,700 cases in Wuhan so far," Imperial College London's Neil Ferguson, a disease outbreak scientist, told CNN.

The contagiousness of the disease in combination with the busy travel season is a bad combination because it means that the disease could apparently spread very rapidly. The World Health Organization will meet on Wednesday to determine whether to declare this outbreak an epidemic of international concern. We went on lockdown. Not like in prison, but there’s no other word for what we did yet. Everyone else noticed that there wasn’t enough soap and then there really wasn’t any soap. That Wuhan, the red, white, and the blue people said, they killed us. No, I thought, that’s not how it works. They make gongs there resonant with infinity. We made this virus ourselves with our pursed hungry ghost lips sucking up the world for comfort and never finding it ever. And still, we could not stay still. The symptoms of the virus are similar to flu or cold symptoms. It affects the throat, ears, and sinuses. The real problems are that NCoV has not been seen in humans before and is antibiotic resistant, so scientists don’t know how to treat it. This is all complicated by the fact that Chinese authorities are constantly revising the number of those infected, Business Insider reported. In a perfect world, I heard a scientist say, everyone in America would stop six feet away from each other and stay still for two weeks, a massive game of freeze and at the end we all get to dance together sweaty and triumphant, euphoric in our unity. In two weeks, the doctor explained, the virus will have died off of all the surfaces and we could know who was sick and who was not and those who are not sick would not get sick and there would be enough beds to sleep in for the sick and for the well. What we need, he said, is to have enough calories and water to survive for those two weeks. That is all we need! We could not stay still and I was screaming and screaming and screaming. Do you hear me? All the things we think we need we do not need. 23

I was alone and no one could hear me and the world was so big and so small and I could not hear myself anymore after a while it was all an echo but not like the gong not like that at all. This reverberation, an endless scream of me and mine and we were all doing it at the same time because it was just so so hard to let go. Only those that provide for our most basic needs should not freeze. Let them do the dance of making survival for all of us possible without fear. When we freeze, they can see us and help us and not be asked to do the dangerous work of swerving moving targets. Their work is already so dangerous! How beautiful they are, our great lovers who give food and water and medicine and protection. Let yourself be loved by them and later when we thaw we can all say thank you and bring ﬂowers. I can let go, my sweet someone said, I can and you can too. We can let go together and be safe and we will make a place for dancing that is not a place place but instead a resonance. No, I thought, no, I cannot be seen in this vast expanse of alone. My pores will suck in the blue light and my lips will lose their way to yesses. Okay, they said, but maybe try. The parallels between NCoV and SARS are not reassuring. Not only do the viruses themselves appear to be similar in symptoms and transmission, but the Chinese government’s response to them feels eerily familiar — they’ve “been slow to acknowledge the severity of the outbreak,” according to the New York Times. The 2003 outbreak of SARS led to 8,000 SARS infections worldwide and almost 800 deaths, so let’s hope either that Chinese authorities are more transparent this time around or that international authorities have gotten more skillful at cutting through all that red and yellow bureaucratic tape. It is hard to stay still, I know. It is hard. But we can do hard things! We can all do it together. Together it is a game and alone it is not it really is not a game. Playing freeze, delaying dance what a fun way to say I am your friend and a friend of the world and I love you. 24

Okay, I said, okay. I will peer out and in. And there we were, each with our own discrete peeking, me with my secrets and you with yours and I saw you and you saw me and I tried to tell people, I did. And we have secret freeze world levels too that are better than you know. We can dance now alone together, the frozen dance of friends, and it is so fun and if you feel nervous or scared, someone can help you. And if you cry someone will say I love you. Play this game with me with us all friends so that at the end we can all dance and there will be more of us able to dance. Do you hear me? If you freeze now, there will be more of us to dance. It will be worth it. Now freeze. And now I have kept you in my pocket for thirteen moons and you thawed me into human when this world killed our comrades and our frenemies and all our dreams of kin and country. You have been with me when I saw new rivers and mountains lush with sun. You have heard my broken heartstrings and sewn my severed tongue. Together we have mourned the deaths of time place and together built a resonance. It is real and it will be real still, I know, when the terror melts and we unfreeze and know our dance for bodies. We dance then and right now too. Together we dance and together we know there is nothing else but thank you.

IN THE PANDEMIC, I STARTED DANCING AGAIN By Brooks Emanuel

[Scan the QR code to access!]

...M A R I E ‘ S

A P P L E S A U C E…

MADE OFTEN DURING THE DANCE PARTIES

Winter Solstice by Marie Lovejoy

THIS ESSAY GOT ME INTO COLLEGE . BY CHARLIE BIRDWELL While one of the most widespread criticisms of our nation’s necessary quarantine and social distance regulations is that they have ruined most people’s social lives, I have the unique situation of ﬁnding my ideal social setting within Zoom. The platform that has become most infamous for facilitating remote classes and business meetings has now become the place where I feel the most control, comfort, and joy while spending time with others. Since May, I have spent nearly every Wednesday and Saturday at these “Social Disdancing” parties. Within this space, I spend at least an hour with about 30 other Zoom participants as we groove to a premade playlist based on that night’s theme, which often also inspires costumes, eccentric Zoom names, and stories during our after-party (and our after-after-party for the late-night crowd) that goes on for hours. Pre-pandemic, going to any party, even occasionally, would be a difﬁcult and tiring experience. I could never imagine going to two dance parties every week. The lack of accessibility for my chronic pain, anxiety, and disabilities made most party spaces painful for me to exist within, and prior to the pandemic, social spaces like my Zoom dance parties did not exist in the mainstream. However, within this Zoom space, I have complete control. I am able to choose where I join in from (my bed, my kitchen, outside) and the environmental aspects like sound, lighting, and visuals. I can control how I participate without judgment; I can choose to dance and interact with others or simply to listen and watch. I can choose how I am perceived by having my camera on or off, leaving whenever I want, and being able to dress up or dress down to my own comfort without any judgment. I am able to make this space as accessible as I need. Within disability theory, the social model of disability explains that it is not anyone’s physical, mental, or developmental impairment that disables them, but rather the social and physical barriers within society that prevent disabled people from participating in society in the same ways as able-bodied individuals. Considering this framework, Zoom socialization allows me to remove barriers that would otherwise prevent me from accessing social spaces, therefore removing what actually disables me. 28

Disabled individuals globally are going through many similar experiences, as digital platforms have overwhelmingly become the norm for how many people work, play, and learn. In August, The New York Times featured the stories of several disabled individuals who have found similar comfort in socializing, working, and even exercising within digital spaces. The article features a blind man who no longer has to prove that he is a good worker ‘for a blind person,’ a wheelchair user who was able to attend a friend’s Shabbat service for the first time, and a fat, disabled, person of color with chemical sensitivities who has had more freedom than ever in finding yoga classes through embracing the idea of participating in one’s own way. Participating or not participating 100% in one’s own way is the most intensely adopted mantra within the zoom dance parties I attend. As a group of mostly queer people and people who have been forced to conform or participate or express themselves in society, there is never any pressure to dance, to participate, to dress a certain way, or be the person that society often wants us all to be. Within these parties, participants use customizable zoom names, costumes, characters, and the judgment-free environment to explore their identity, gender, expression, and sexuality in a space that encourages being one’s truest self, even if they don’t know who that is yet. Participants have explored using new pronouns, names, and styles of gender expression. As a young queer person often bombarded with the judgments of social image and similar concerns about societal perceptions, I have never been in a space where people are so aggressively allowed to explore who they are and be validated for it. Even now, when I am forced into a name, gender, or identity at work or at home that I am not comfortable with, I know that I can come to the dance party and be completely respected and validated by a network of friends, role models, and queer elders. Zoom has not only allowed me and other disabled people to find control over how we experience social spaces and remove the barriers that disabled us within work and play, but it has allowed me to find a community that embraces every part of my identities. Surprisingly, the social restrictions of the pandemic have created an environment where I have a thriving group of friends who I can spend safe, controlled, and healing time with twice a week no matter what. 29

Zoom Portraits by Naomi Smith

...ALL VIBES ONLY ORACLE DECK... BY MJ This project was inspired by Over The Moon Academy’s “Instant Oracle,” introduced to me by Nicole “DJ SparkleDaddy” Garneau.

I created a set of four oracle cards based on four distinct themes of Social DisDancing: July 18, 2020 - Disco August 15, 2020 – Cruising September 9, 2020 - Post Ofﬁce October 3, 2020 - Science Creating meaning in ordinary objects removes magic from obscurity and places it into the practical world. By considering the messages that everyday objects might have to offer, we allow ourselves to see sacredness in the mundane. These cards are intended as a tool for spiritual guidance; however, they are not meant to predict the future in any way. These messages are guides to help you feel conﬁdent in making decisions that align with your highest self. If the instructions or messages don’t work for you, write your own. The point is to get in touch with your intuition and realize that you are your own best guide. To use: Think about a question you have or an issue you’d like guidance around. Close your eyes and meditate on your question. When ready, pull a card blindly from the deck. Consider how the message on the card speaks to your question. You can journal about it, or place the card in a visible spot in your home as a reminder throughout your day. If you need further clarity, you can pull a second card. Or, supplement the message by pulling a card from another deck of your choice. 31

To assemble: Print the card pages on printer paper, single-sided. Cut four pieces of cardstock or cardboard to the size of the cards. Using glue or tape, ﬁx a front image to the front of the card, and a back image to the back. Repeat for all four cards.

DISCO – “Reflect” Just before the sun rises, the disco ball spins overhead, reflecting any last bit of light from the night before. She is both steadfast and constantly moving, rotating on her axis like the earth herself. This card is an invitation to take a breath, notice this moment, and observe where the light is coming from. CRUISING – “Ask for help” There are some things that we just can’t do on our own. Our queer ancestors taught us that if we don’t speak up, we don’t get our needs met. Channel their courage and ask a friend to give you a hand. POST OFFICE – “Deliver” Postal workers are perseverance embodied, trudging through snow, rain, heat, and gloom of night to deliver the messages of the people. What message do you need to deliver? Don’t be afraid of the storm; you’ve come through bad weather before. SCIENCE – “Experiment” Trial and error creates new ways of knowing. Anything can be an experiment. This card is an invitation to take a different path or find a new perspective. What would it look like to throw out the old way?

FLAT

ALLY

BY ALLY BLOGIER

...SACRED CHOREOGRAPHY ... ZOOM CHAT EXCERPTS FROM 11/11/20 Bear Hebert (they/them) : Marie ironing on camera is very pleasing to me Bear Hebert (they/them) : Ironing in sequins, it’s like some kind of feminist performance art Little Bowie Blue (emily/ they/she) : yasss DJ MJ : for me, it tracks with the 'shaking out some soul wrinkles' catharsis that you were talking about at the top of the party bluets at the ready : I mean think about all the applesauce she’s made in the afterparty Голубой also means gay : Marie ironing is like visual ASMR bluets at the ready : What that Marie does ISN’T feminist performance art? Marie Lovejoy she/her in Bulbancha : <3 Little Bowie Blue (emily/ they/she) : What’s the famous feminist short story? I Stand Here Ironing In Sequins? Marie Lovejoy she/her in Bulbancha : I got the blues tonight y’all. Keeping company and busy hands. DJ MJ : <3 Bear Hebert (they/them) : “By wearing sequined garments during the act of ironing, the artist asks us to reconsider the ascribed menial nature of traditionally feminized labor…” Little Bowie Blue (emily/ they/she) : <3 <3 <3 to Marie and also to Bear’s artist placard bluets at the ready : “…and breaks down the boundary between public and private realms, demanding us to consider the essential performativity of even solitary labor in the home." JJ (he/him) : I’ve always wanted to make a set of ‘artspeak’ refrigerator poetry magnets… Little Bowie Blue (emily/ they/she) : This is going in the Social DisDancing zine Kate Farquhar : I'M HERE FOR THIS MUSEUM!!! Bear Hebert (they/them) : “The viewer is invited into an experience of housework as sacred choreography rather than as random but necessary movement…” Little Bowie Blue (emily/ they/she) : “Sacred choreography” ahhh DJ MJ : ^^!!! 38

Little Bowie Blue (emily/ they/she) : metabolizing the way to the revolution Marie Lovejoy she/her in Bulbancha : The artist asks us to consider….how the fuck did we get HERE? DJ MJ : this is the second to last song! bluets at the ready : “…while the sequins, calling back to outﬁts usually seen in dance teams in public parades, further trouble the imaginary line we draw between art and spectacle.” Little Bowie Blue (emily/ they/she) : I’m so here for this bluets at the ready : Can we turn this into an interactive game bluets at the ready : For the zine Marie Lovejoy she/her in Bulbancha : Who is the real monster, Dr. Frankenstein? Hmmmmmm? bluets at the ready : INTERPRET THIS bluets at the ready : You could pick your lens—feminist, queer, marxist, etc. bluets at the ready : Or not that could be too complicated bluets at the ready : ALL LENSES CUMULATIVE DJ MJ : Daily Reminder that You Have All You Need! Bear Hebert (they/them) : Here for this game, Bluets all i want : can someone write a statement for my sad sewing plz Marie Lovejoy she/her in Bulbancha : This song is so beautiful and everything I need to hear rn DJ MJ : Beverly Glenn Copeland <3 bluets at the ready : For all I want “the Artist stays turns away from the camera, focused on her task which stays private and just out of view. She wears an ordinary work shirt as if to further indicate the seriousness of this work.” Not there yet but a place to start? Bear Hebert (they/them) : “The artist at their sewing machine asks the viewer to consider both the literal and metaphorical implications of bringing together two disparate elements. The relentless rhythm of the needle humming in the machine reminds us of our own endless, innate reaching for togetherness…” bluets at the ready : Bear wins this round (some time later but still relevant) Bear Hebert (they/them) : Art discourse re EGross’s virtual background: “Because the undersea background is consistent over time, the artist makes space for the viewer’s own projections, and allows for the viewer to make their own meaning of the turquoise expanse.” 39

NOTES FROM THE AFTER AFTER AFTER with Sarah Cormier aka S Bristow aka Sarah Seaweed aka liberated creature and E. Gross aka underwater thing aka DJ GROSS MEANS GREAT

“What if I forget to hate myself?”

“I’m going to mute myself now…”

Zoom Portraits by Naomi Smith

FACE PAINTING MANIFESTO MARIE LOVEJOY ON 11/28/20 Hello! I can talk face paint forever so this might be more than you want, but here it is anyway. I have particular brands I like for particular colors and looks. I love Sparkle White and Sparkle Orange from Snazaroo for a shimmery, transparent look (ghosts, tigers, etc). Diamond FX or Wolfe White and Black are the best for strong opaque (swirls and curls linework, dots for butterflies, etc.). Mehron Liquid for metallics. Most of my kit is Paradise, but I also use FAB, TAG, Global. And I use a ton of split cakes. Use a sponge for the larger ones to apply to a wider area. If you want to level up, use a flat brush for the smaller ones to practice one-stroke (flames, flowers). You can save a lil money and make your own split cakes, but it's a bit of a project and you'll need containers. And have a set of Global UV paints for black lights. Get a little mist sprayer to hydrate you paints to avoid over-saturation. I use sponges for large area coverage. Filbert/chisel brushes for medium area coverage. Round brushes for line work. Tapered brushes or rounds for flower petals and teardrops. Flat brushes for one-stroke. I can talk about this for DAYS. My rec is get a good white and black, and then let what you want to do determine the rest as you slowly build your kit. Specific looks/projects/events can determine the colors and setup. 43

...MISO RYE NUT COOKIES... BY [RUMINANT]

I am nostalgic, already. When the acute fear of the pandemic has subsided, when proximity to strangers is again a kind of accidental blessing, when we are in the streets and bars and town halls and subways - in our return to that life, I know my yearning for our virtual community will remain. When I'm old I'll talk about social distancing with a friend or family member or lover. “That was a hard time,” I’ll say, “And yet I had the most wondrous group of humans to return to, week after week.” You remind me that the universe wants us to find each other - the queerdos, artists, healers, activists, the inquisitive ones, the laughers and the criers. We will find each other even, and perhaps especially, during phases of sorrow and struggle. You remind me of the importance of dress up - as play and as prayer. You remind me to cherish the venn diagram of fun, tender, and flamboyant.. You remind me what kind, honest attention looks like. You remind me of the many ways we can witness and be witnessed, and of the unexpected ways technology can foster that. You remind me of the power and fruits of thoughtful facilitation. You remind me that magic requires practice, community, and vulnerability. You remind me of the myriad ways to have a platonic romance with the world and its creatures. You remind me to dance. xo, Ruminant 45

zoom portraits and collage by Naomi Smith

...P O W E R C L A S H... ...T H E G R I D...

...AN ANONYMOUS NOTE:... At Disdancing, my body, heart, mind, and spirit are simultaneously and thoroughly engaged, stretched, and supported. I can’t think of anything else in my life that offers such multi-dimensional stimulation and nourishment. One adventure we had recently really highlighted for me how much my brain loves and needs absurdist exercise, in spite of yuck-o insecurities that I’m not smart or funny. We played this game, in which you change one letter, drop one letter, or add one letter in order to “ruin” a movie title. Some of us lost sleep over it, it was so intoxicatingly fun. Some of us discovered a NEW PASSION for punning and found this to be exhilarating and healing. Some of us twisted the rules, because what else are rules for? Ultimately, we realized that PUNS ARE A PROCESS best born of loving, shameless, silly collaboration. “YES, AND” y’all. Here’s most of what we came up with. -

Joey <3

Yittle Women / Gabe the Pig / the lion kink / Gabe pig in the city / Baby the pig / Babe the pog / moonrise kinkdom / Hairy Potter / Jurassic Pork / purple pain / Plunger Games / hocus hocus / hanger games / snow shite / Braiders of the Lost Ark / singing in the pain / The brittle mermaid / tsar trek / transfarmers / The sad lieutenant / despicable mm / princess bribe / ghost dusters / Apocalypse Cow / citizen kale / womb raider / pilates of the caribbean / Portrait of a lady on file / Thor: Ragnaroq / Star Jars / Spider Can / Yonder woman / portrait of a baby on fire / the beer hunter / The thirty-nine steppes / Pun Lola Pun / The Green MILF / Strangers on a drain / Silence of the Lamps / Prelude to a Piss / piss in boots / The truth about cats and pogs / we bought a poo / we bought a loo / Zero Dork Thirty / The Dork Crystal / Beauty and the Yeast / secret life of fees / the greatest slowman / A clean and present danger / spiderman: far from hole / The secret life of fleas / mad max: furry road / a thin blue lime / the gobster / No Country for Old Hen / Mad Hen / Bad Pen / A Few Food Hen / Benjamin Mutton / The Grand Budapest Motel / ferris beuller's gay off / Natal Attraction / A league of their owl / Poonstruck / Winter’s Bong / it’s a wonderful wife / Boywood / Raging Dull / Cool Hand Puke / midbummar / schindlers lisp / Repel Without a Pause / Onan the Barbarian / gulp fiction / Scooby Dog / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Hind / Reservoir Frogs / Into the Mild / Last Mango in Paris / Harry Potter and the Chambre of Secrdts / The Devin Wears Prada / Scatface / L for Vendetta / goyhood / Goys Don’t Cry / The Quick and the Deaf / Training Gay / The Longest Gay / groundhog gay / The Boonies / Spirited Sway / Batman and Bobin / Greasy / Night Club / What’s eating Gilbert Drape? / she’s all shat / bean girls / she’s all what / basin instinct / snakes on a plate / Goyz n’ The Hood / Umpire Records / A plague of their own / Lust In Translation / Pocky / cocky / the parent tramp / The parent strap / Paws / blueless / Slumdog billionaire / Moonfight / bookshart / The Boodyguard / The never-ending sorry / The Princess Cried / The Princess Tried / gaywatch / boywatch / ghostlusters / Ghostboosters / The Shiting / interspellar / The Whining / Prude and Prejudice / Dead Pets Society / Dead Poots Society / Dad Poets Society 51

The Land Before Mime / The Dork Knight / Pup Fiction / Oman Holiday / Breakfast at Biffany’s / Sex and the Titty / Barrie / Its / zappiest season / WAPpiest season / Bill Bill / Bill Kill / 50 first mates / 0 First Dates / 50 first dames / You’ve Got Hail / Sleepless in seaturtle / Laws / slutter island / The Princess Dairies / riddler on the roof / Het Out / sappiest season / Crappiest Season / cluckwork orange / Get Gout / Boogie Fights / Blub is the warmest color / Sinning in the rain / The Handmaid's Tall / The Lively Bones / Bog Charity / The Shame of Water / Hats the musical / There will be bloop / 28 Gays / My best friend’s bedding / hat on a hot tin roof / yeasts of the southern wild / beasty and the beast / Beauty and the breast / so the right thing / Saving Primate Ryan / chicken pun / Bring it Ron / Inside but / Good pill hunting / field of creams / Let the right cones in / purple brain / Socky horror show / Bring John Malkovich / Pam’s labyrinth / Poolander / Malice in Wonderland / Meet the Fuckers / The Hurl Licker / No country for cold men / Hedwig and the Angry Finch / How Stella Got Her Groove Sack / All the right doves / Dike Water for Chocolate / 27 Tresses / Sixteen Camels / Eyes wide shit / Must love pogs / Must love logs / Just Love Dogs / The truth about cats and logs / you’ve got bail / The longest gay / Spiceballs / The Bong Goodbye / Butch Cassidy and the pundance kid / Grades of Wrath / Three meh and a baby / Bad news bras / Bad News Sears / Pits a wonderful life / The Two Towels / Top Pun / Bone with the Wind / Germs of Endearment / Sad Max / Bladerubber / tits a wonderful life / Tits: A Wonderful Wife / The Punk Pantser / My Dinner with Audre / Wall-O (it’s about a self-pitying robot) / Wall-I (it’s about a robotic Midwestern fish) / Wall-A (it’s about the first obstacle in Pam’s labyrinth / Forrest Bump / A Bug's Wife / A Mug's Life / A Pug's life / A rug’s life / The Hidden Fartress / The Man Who Fell to Garth / Dr. Strangeglove / D.O. Strangelove / sorry to mother you / Anastasis / Lice is Beautiful / Space Pam / City of Cod / Once upon a time in the vest / Reservoir Bogs / Fly Away Homo / Beet Oven / Marvin’s Loom / Never been pissed / Marriage Store / There’s something about Marv 52

COWBOYS

RODEO CLOWNS

VAMPIRE HUNTERS

CLOWNS

GOTHS

MIMES

Map by Brooks Emanuel