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Saturday, September 4, 2004
A moment with ... Erika Harris, Burning Man Participant
Despite the Nevada desert's unforgiving climate, Burning Man participants show up in large groups for belly-dancing classes at Groovig, a dance camp at the annual arts festival. Groovig creator Erika Harris, 33, a Seattle environmental planner and dance enthusiast, tells us why she's bringing belly dancing and the Lindy Hop to a place that's a scorchin' 100 degrees by noon.
Why did you want to have dance classes here?
When I came here last year, it was my first year, there were some dance opportunities, but I didn't find the ideal dance floor. So I thought it would be nice to have a dance floor on the playa ... and I thought linoleum would work very well. And then I thought, let's not just have swing and salsa, which I like to do. Let's see who else wants to teach some classes.
Are you on a mission to spread dance fever at Burning Man?
Ah, sure, why not. It's a really nice thing for people to have contact with each other and dance with each other.
How many instructors do you have?
There are about 15. There's yoga, belly dancing, waltz, juggling, contact improv, tango, salsa, Lindy Hop, beginning swing, African samba, Haitian, and in the evening, we're having salsa, swing and tango dances, so no instruction there, just a place for people to dance together.
Did you meet the teachers online?
Yeah, on the Burning Man Web site. They're from all over the country.
How has the response been?
Great! We've had lots and lots of people come down and dance and it's been amazing. It's a lot of exertion in the heat of the day and a lot of people are up for it, it seems. Most of the classes are an hour and yoga is an hour and a half. It's a workout!
--D. Parvaz
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