Jonny Hawkins, said during Dancefloor Conversion Therapy that they feel that “Dance Floors are overlooked as a place of healing and community building.” In my experience, my most transformative moments as a bisexual woman have come from many nights in the dark crevices of dance floors. Admittedly, it’s been a few months since I’ve attended a rave, having a family and work becoming a bigger priority in my personal life, but walking into the Assembly Underground to the pulsating music awakened a part of me I had tucked away. Jonny has brought us a rave, and it’s just as glorious as it sounds.
Jonny Hawkins was, in their early twenties, a youth group leader in their church. Attending Bible college, preaching the Gospel to their large congregation and projecting the image of a well-behaved Christian believer. One of the stories Jonny recounts to the audience is approaching a well-respected elder in the church about their sexuality and is told to find ways to bury that part of themselves. How can you bury yourself?
They go on to tell more stories, of speaking to their best friend’s father who, in turn, comes to terms with their own sexuality and is now out and proud, just like Jonny. The gorgeous tapestries around the stage, donning phrases like “Boof Butler”, are credited to this man, and wow, they are gorgeous. Other stories include a charming tale of a “Dance Floor Yaya”, an eighty-year old woman who has her first taste of MDMA and parties through the night with Jonny and their friends. The spoken portion of the show is a joyful sharing of the magic that is found on Dance Floors, only made more delightful by Jonny’s warm, and magnetic energy.
The rave part of Dancefloor Conversion Therapy is made all the more wonderful by strangers blowing up balloons and tossing them up in the air, bouncing them between each other. It was one of the most magical moments of the Fringe for me. Full of good music, kind strangers and wonderful stories, Jonny gave me much more than a built-in afterparty. They gave me a piece of themselves, while revealing a piece of myself in return, and I will hold them gently in my memory forever.
Dancefloor Conversion Therapy is on at Assembly Underground, Assembly Studios from Aug 1 to Aug 26 at 23:15.
Buy tickets here.
Image provided via Assembly.