In recent years parts of the underground dance culture have realized that the talent within it is providing quality fun of an international standard. Visual and musical artists have become more professional and fine tuned during the last decade and have accepted and realised their artform as their profession. We're in the edutainment industry! Therefore our independent/underground dance events have become spectacular and could become self sustaining if people wouldn't keep gatecrashing and refusing to pay at the gates!
EXODUS has been one crass example of mindless gatecrashing and therefore can't sustain itself anymore. I spent a whole week out there and was amazed how progressive the festival was.
From the workshops to interacting and music to performances it was an up to date feast and extremely inspiring and confronting ......you won't get anywhere near such an experience at a corporate (e.g. Coca Cola sponsored events) gig standing at a hot dog stand with a VB in your hand!
Underground dance culture is a platform for self expression uncensored by anyone and a lot of us are partying for the freedom to do so! Most of the independent/underground parties inspire what's next in the mainstream.
Due to big money spent by the corporate companies those ideas are brought to the attention of the so called mainstream through huge advertising on radio, tv, newspapers, billboards, flyers and the likes. Corporate companies that make a huge profit out of new ideas are trimming those ideas at the same time as making them acceptable to their idea of how most people should behave in society.....thus ripping actors and spectators (you and me) off their ability to think and act for themselves! Punters have mindblowing experiences particularly at independent party events because they're in a safe space without cops and aggressive security guards looking over everyones shoulders and because they get to experience the
unknown, the new and personal freedom! Yet plenty of punters including alternative, pseudo political hippies and teenage punks won't spend a cent at the door/gate to support such
Australien cultural events ....obviously not realising the damage
they're actually doing to the scene and ultimately to themselves and having no problems in attending a Coca-Cola sponsored big gig where the entry is $50 or more!
I don't think there is anything wrong with attending corporate events but don't sabotage the alternative just because it's easy to! You're sabotageing your own people whilst you"re being exploited by the corporates! Take a fresh look at who you're supporting with your dollars and scam with attitude!
Our culture where we can openly party, talk, look, behave, interact exactly how we want to, and even better where we 're encouraged to come up with new ways and to be ourselves whatever we are, needs to be financially supported as well otherwise it 'll happen less and less......next time please think before sneeking in and think about who is actually going to pay for you being there! If it's your mum and dad it's okay ...if it's the organiser it's not!
The organisers often work their heads off, they are under great stress to pay everyone involved!
Everyone involved is usually the community around you or near you or associated with you! .......do you get it?
The government is not wanting us to do what we want to do ...they want to control it and make money out of it as well! That's why it is possible that 3 residents complain and a whole 500 residents have to stop partying whilst no complaints are taken seriously when the chicken factory's smell makes everyone in the area nauseous, that's why we have to comply to
unsuitable and very expensive DAs for our events, that's why we still haven't got venues or outdoor spaces designated to us even though the council members have promissed them to us years ago and that's why drugs are illegal and used at the police's/governments convenience to crush parties/clubs/gatherings or any alternative self expressive cultural events! We can claim that little piece of freedom and do it all ourselves, free to have the fun we want! And perhaps once we've realised we've got the power to do that we start doing it in other parts of our lifes too and there won't be anyone deciding for us that it's time to go to war! We've
all got a choice in creating our own reality, we all contribute to our reality!

Jackie Onassid, Byron Bay