At RhythmWave we create a community each year of people dedicated and enthralled with Conscious Dance. We gather together in the camp due to our shared passion and with the clear and stated goal of sharing the experience of Conscious Dance with the greater Burning Man community. We see the experience we offer both to our camp mates and those who participate in our camp activities as being directly connected to the 10 principles and supportive in fostering participation in the principles. Below we list and explain the multiple ways we participate in these principles both for campers and the larger community.
Radical Inclusion
We invite all to our dance floor and place it on the corner of our space along the road to ensure that folks feel no barrier to joining us. We have space on the sides for folks to stretch and relax. While on the dance floor we ask those who can to be barefoot and if they need to wear shoes we ask for them to be clean. We make the floor accessible to wheelchairs and encourage everyone to move in the way that works for them. For some the practice of conscious dance is a meditation or spiritual act for others it is a physical release. We hold space for all.
GIfting
Our gift is the gift of dance and workshops. We have daily morning dance at 10:00am. Each day has a different facilitator who holds the space and at least one guide who is present to ensure everyone is safe and is given an environment where they can express themselves. Most days we also hold an early afternoon workshop or another dance. Early mornings our community members will also lead practices like yoga or meditation. We have a board that lists all of our activities.
Decommodification
All of our gifts are given without thought for reciprocation. We do have a camp fee which covers materials to repair or renew the wooden dance floor and the camp infrastructure and storage of our containers. No one receives any kind of salary or stipend for their work done during or outside of Burning Man and our organizers are volunteers. The vast majority of our build crew buy their own tickets. The camp does cover food during the build. Food during the week is either on one’s own or they can join a collective which is organized by one of our camp members. The camp supports this cooking crew by allowing them to utilize the camp kitchen, water and cold storage. If one chooses to join the food collective, 70% of camp members in recent years have taken part, they will be required to complete a number of cooking or cleaning shifts in the kitchen.
Radical Self-reliance
The camp infrastructure includes shaded area for tenting, a solar power array to supply all camp power for music, communal lighting, kitchen and charging areas. Camp members by choosing to join RhythmWave have committed to maintaining our space, supporting the dances and activities and breaking down and packing the camp at the end of the burn. They each work to their abilities and are served to their needs. We see the decision and commitment as an act of self care because they have chosen to do more of what they can do to receive other needs that someone else can supply more easily. All campers bring and manage their own living arrangements and daily needs. We do have a camp water supply but require all campers to also bring their drinking water.
Radical Self-expression
We encourage all our members and all attendees of Burning Man to be themselves and share their unique lens and expression. Conscious dance is an act of self expression and each dance is an invitation for all to explore and express their own identities through movement and interaction with others. We do have guidelines for the dance: No talking on the floor, respect each other’s boundaries, no shoes and our guides and facilitators will engage with anyone who appears to be unable to respect others boundaries or is creating situations which will injure or impede other’s ability to express themselves.
Communal effort
Our camp and the dances and event we host are a communal effort. This was never more clear than in 2023 as we all rallied to clean and prepare the floor for dances after the rain. We also always work to be good neighbors, sharing resources and knowledge with other camps. Most of our campers arrive in time for at least part of the build and through this group work and our group dances we bond to create more than we could as individuals.
Civic responsibility
Before each event we explain expectations and facilitators ground everyone in the space to create a common and inclusive community. As mentioned before we also have guides to help those who may have arrived in the middle of a dance or to those who are in some way inhibiting the freedom of others. We have training each year for the entire camp on how to redirect or seek help redirecting community members and what needs attention for safety reasons. We have a number of long time members who have well developed skills in de-escalation and redirection. Safety is definitely in our top three concerns. When building our camp and resetting our floor safety is king both for those building and for the structures ability to withstand the environment and provide a safe foundation for the dance.
Leaving no trace
It is every camp member’s responsibility to ensure that their engagement with Burning Man leaves no trace on the playa. We have a trash, recycling and compost Czar who leads a daily team to ensure that everything is battened down, in the correct receptacle or on the drying racks. Every camper is also required to take at least one bag of trash off playa in addition to their own detritus. Before leaving the playa, if they leave after Friday, each camp member is given a plot to walk and remove any MOOP. After all is packed and there are only a few remaining campers a final detailed MOOP grid is completed.
Participation
We are a camp of artists and performers. Each year campers will create new pieces for RhythmWave and the wider playa. We encourage each other to experience more and share more throughout the city. Groups go clowning, our facilitators DJ at other camps or on the wandering music beasts that inhabit the playa. This year one of our regular campers has a grant to build an acorn tea house on the playa. Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic.
Immediacy
We promote and experience immediacy on our dance floor and in every interaction with each other. Although we have times for events and dances we support the spontaneous and our floor has seen many unscheduled happenings.