At a particular durational threshold, a repeating string of symbols begin to gain meaning. Writing is the movement of the hands taught in schools, but it is not the only method for movement as meaning. Repetition of form is a requirement for the building and application of a skill, the skill then is a vernacular to construct and communicate meaning. While the form itself is uniquely defined by the user, the particular tools and the particular movement of those tools require overlapping socially constructed meaning. Language is a choreography of the user and their spatial use of tools. A snow shovel, a paintbrush or an axe can be of good quality or not and be used efficiently or not. The development and application of technique is what separates runners, musicians, cooks or window washers from the others, planned and executed form is what makes the output dynamic shift in excess of expectation, and therefore effectiveness in their movement. The choreography, a series of muscle memories built through repetition, is a dance no matter the context.

Shortly after forming our band, we also formed a sibling band with consistent rhythms, major chord progressions and amusing lyrical content. The name of that band is DJ Happy Fun, and its membership was never restricted other than an adherence to one vow; if it is safe to do so, you must try to deflect a situation from escalating and not standby when physical violence may occur. When we played our songs to celebrate the joy of pop song reverie we hoped for an audience that would dance. Whether getting people to move to our music, or preventing a fight, both required unique choreography for the moment, movement with intention. In the case of the agitated, it was intended for the interference of violence. In the case of the audience, it was for the invocation of joy. Toxicity can only be tolerated for so long. Fighting is just dancing in which someone gets hurt, but for dance and music to flourish, it must be intertwined as bees and flowers in rhythmic synchronization.

Shadows are choreographed by light and obstructions. Our public spaces are designed increasingly by private interests. The citizenry’s movement through these spaces is an acted out network of desire, and any improvisations are tethered to the rules of the game. Shadows are formed by the conditions of the space. When we dance when nobody’s watching, and when we dance like nobody’s watching, we begin to defy the imposed restrictions; our choreography becomes independent of spectators. The form is now user defined, the individual begins to escape being used. When we performed as a band, our intentional movement was in response to our own established sources of light and objects of obstructions in that exact present, and therefore we became our own choreographers.