31 May 2024
Rhythms of Resistance
Celebrating Identity through Community, Dance, and Psychedelics
by Dr. Matthew Brinkley and Dr. Mia Sarno
MAPS Bulletin: Volume XXXIV Number 1 • 2024
As many psychedelic enthusiasts know, dance music culture is a significant presence within the psychedelic ecosystem. People often have their first experiences with non-ordinary states of consciousness within the dance community. Dance events provide spaces for somatic release, collective celebration, and close community that promote well-being and even trauma healing for many. Additionally, both psychedelics and dance communities give space to release limiting beliefs about expression and identity, and instead promote positive exploration and expression of the Self.
There is a long history of rave and underground dance music spaces as refuges for marginalized groups, who founded many of the dance styles, sounds, and spaces we still groove to today. In the tapestry of underground culture, a vibrant thread was woven by the house music community–a movement birthed by queer people of color that emerged as a beacon of resistance and resilience. In the pulse of warehouse parties and underground clubs, euphoric beats and infectious melodies reverberated through bodies like a shared heartbeat. A new kind of family formed–one bound not by blood but by experiences of oppression and liberation. Here, amidst the flickering lights and pounding basslines, individuals found sanctuary and solidarity, forging connections that celebrated intersecting identities.
Underground dance spaces of all kinds served as places to cope with the discriminatory, outside world, allowing the shed of societal constraints to be oneself in full color. The creation of disco music was a form of resistance–a bold expression of Black and queer joy in the face of oppression, racism, and homophobia (ICON Collective Music Production School, 2023). House music was pioneered by legendary DJs such as DJ Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan, Stacey “Hotwaxx” and DJ Sharon White; they understood the assignment of creating community spaces that were safe, where bigotry was not tolerated and where identity was celebrated (Riley et al., 2023). Similarly, the ballroom scene arose as a safe haven for Black and Brown queer folks, offering glimpses of a world where authenticity reigns supreme.
The fusion of dance and psychedelics becomes a conduit for personal transformation and communal unity, echoing the sacred practices of Indigenous cultures where rhythm and ritual were pathways to the divine. Further, psychedelics and dance work to dissolve the boundaries of the ego, opening pathways to self-discovery and authentic self-expression.
In some of these spaces, dance and psychedelics have also intersected to promote further identity affirmation and healing. Within this intersection, a longer history of resistance and resilience is honored–a lineage that traces back through generations of Indigenous wisdom. Drawing from these ancestral roots, modern gatherings have intertwined movement, sound, and mind-altering substances to induce altered states of consciousness. The fusion of dance and psychedelics becomes a conduit for personal transformation and communal unity, echoing the sacred practices of Indigenous cultures where rhythm and ritual were pathways to the divine. Further, psychedelics and dance work to dissolve the boundaries of the ego, opening pathways to self-discovery and authentic self-expression. This process of inner exploration continues to be conducive to identity development today.
This past April, The Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines hosted a conference called Psychedelic Culture which brought diverse voices together to explore important and cutting-edge dialogue that gets sidelined in the mainstream conversation of psychedelics. Combining intellectual rigor with heart and community, topics explored included Indigenous reciprocity, policy reform, racial equity and access, and honoring the various histories of psychedelic culture.
In order to honor this history, we curated an interactive experience at Psychedelic Culture to celebrate the intersection of psychedelics, music, dance, identity-based healing, and self-expression. Resembling the vibrance of the disco era, we lit up the room wearing gender-bending garments dripping in rhinestones. Various disco and underground house music tracks decorated the soundscape, including “I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits” by Moodymann and “Work” by Honey Dijon. Attendees were invited to move, groove, and mingle to the beat, as if on the dance floor of an intimate underground club.
Somatic awareness and movement were utilized to help embody inner processes of self-exploration (Pass Erickson, 2020). With faint thumping basslines in the background, the crowd was invited to visualize parts of their identity they would like to celebrate, and through their senses, imagine celebrating those parts.
“Now, tune into your body. How does it feel to inhabit this space, intentionally celebrating your identity? Notice the sensations coursing through you–the warmth of acceptance enveloping you like a comforting embrace. As you explore these sensations, consider how you might express them through movement. Is it pumping your hands in the air, a joyful leap into the unknown, headbanging, shaking your ass, or a gentle sway that mirrors the rhythm of your heartbeat? Whatever it is, allow your body to express that movement right now.”
To represent the unique impact of psychedelics, the crowd was then given the prompt:
“Lastly, envision the barriers that psychedelics can dissolve, the masks they can lift. Imagine what it would feel like for that veil to be lifted, celebrating the raw, unfiltered truth of your being. Now pretend to remove that mask or veil with a movement, right now.”
Participants expressed the significant impact of this curated movement experience. One person explored and challenged their insecurities about dancing itself; historically, they tended to play small and withhold from participating on various dance floors. By framing dance as a liberatory form of expression, they were inspired to move their body without embarrassment. They voiced progress in this regard both at the conference and at a community gathering the next night. A couple, who hadn’t danced together for two years, verbalized gratitude for an unexpected moment of connection. With visible excitement, smiling ear to ear, one partner shared that dancing carefree helped their relationship and inspired them to make time for joy moving forward. David Bronner, Cosmic Engagement Officer of Dr Bronners, was also grooving to the disco beats during the experience. They reflected, “Matthew and Mia’s experiential workshop was a fun way to get loose, feel into our bodies, and interact with each other in a sweet relaxed flow.”
At this moment in time, we are collectively moving forward into uncharted territories of human consciousness. As psychedelics become popularized–unfortunately decontextualized–and the ecosystem expands, it is crucial to be thoughtful and intentional about how we desire the “psychedelic renaissance” to unfold. Currently, many psychedelic spaces are rooted in whiteness and capitalist extraction, while Indigenous communities who originally stewarded these medicines are wrongfully decentered or ignored completely. If we’re not careful, the psychedelic field could easily reinforce oppressive colonial dynamics, leading to further inequity and cultural erasure.
Additionally, as electronic dance music (EDM) becomes more mainstream, it strays further from its original roots. Music artists with more privilege and resources have easier and quicker access to expensive equipment, other privileged people in power, and the resource of time to work on their pursuits. This means that artists with marginalized identities experience more barriers to the spaces that were created to celebrate and liberate them in the first place. Even through the commercialization and cis-hetero whitewashing of EDM (Riley et al., 2023), underground spaces that center queer folks of color continue to thrive. This intentional act of liberation is the rhythm of resistance.
References
Pass Erickson, L. M. (2020). Sensing the self: A dance/movement therapy model of embodied identity development. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy 16 3 202–217 . https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2020.1850524
The history of house music and its cultural influence. (2023, May 26). ICON Collective Music Production School https://www.iconcollective.edu/the-history-of-house-music
Riley, D., Brown, D., moore, madison, & Weheliye, A. G. (2023). Black Vibrations: Techno as Queer Insurrectionist Sonics. Journal of Visual Culture, 22(1), 25-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/14704129231173797
Dr. Matthew Brinkley
Dr. Matthew Brinkley (he/they) is a passionate and dedicated genderqueer LMFT, weaving threads of compassion through the fabric of mental health. Dr.Brinkley currently holds the title of Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Southern California (USC) and is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice.
Dr. Brinkley received his Psy.D from the California School of Professional Psychology in Marital and Family Therapy, with an advanced certificate in LGBT Human Services and Mental Health. His dissertation, “Black Love Matters: Relationship satisfaction among Black gay men and Black men who have sex with men,” is a testament to his unwavering commitment to nurturing Black Queer love.
Dr. Brinkley has completed the MAPS MDMA Therapy Training program and is undergoing training at the SoundMind Institute to ethically integrate psychedelic medicine into mental health treatment. His vision is to bring healing and support to Black, Brown, and Queer communities.
Dr. Mia Sarno
Dr. Mia Sarno (she/they) is a gender fluid Licensed Clinical Psychologist. She also goes by Dr. Mimi. She completed her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology, where she returned to teach as an Adjunct Professor.
Dr. Mimi completed the MAPS MDMA Therapy Training and has experience as a study therapist for FDA research with LSD, psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT. In addition to working in private practice, she works with Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute serving clients with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. She also provides training and consultation in the psychedelic ecosystem.
Being a survivor herself, Mia is passionate about integrative trauma work. Her greatest healings and transformations have occurred through intentional work with psychedelics and through the dance community.
