For all the hype around modern technology’s supposed ability to bring us together, all too often it keeps us cut off from our fellow man, woman and the environment. We’re encapsulated in the little bubbles we create around us with our iPods, mobile phones, ear buds, song lists or podcasts. But on July 7, one group will attempt to use that technology to break down some of those barriers on a global scale.
“Our gadgets do more to isolate than to unite,” says Danny Silk, online media strategist with education NGO PEPY and one of the brains behind the Global Floating Dance Party, which will be celebrated locally. “But technology has come to the point where so much is possible, so we wanted to do something that would bring people together, along with their environment.”
What started as a late-night, trans-continental Skype conversation has since evolved into a worldwide shindig where folk will gather en masse to dance and party to the same tunes in 25 locations across 12 countries, from Buenos Aires to Beijing and beyond. It works like this: people download a playlist that was crowd-sourced and put together by a DJ from Ghana. Then they gather at a predetermined spot (here it’s Siem Reap, where party-goers have been asked to arrive at 6:30pm). Just before 7pm, the countdown begins. At zero everyone hits ‘play’ – and the party begins, with everyone listening to the same tracks at the same time.
The DJ has compiled an eclectic 90 minutes of music from around the world. “This is a chance for people in Jordan and Costa Rica to hear Khmer dance music for the first time,” says Silk, originally from Lowell in Massachusetts, which has the second-largest Cambodian population in the US after Long Beach, California. “It’s meant to be a celebration of space and technology and dance.”
The event might sound like a rave, but it’s not going to disturb the locals with techno blaring from loudspeakers in the middle of town. This is a silent party – except for those plugged in, of course. And that’s the point, Silk says: no one wants to anger the police, or the neighbours. All they want to do is bring people together through music. If you have headphones and an MP3 player, you’re welcome to join in the worldwide fun.
WHO: Groovy types
WHAT: Global Floating Dance Party
WHEN: 7pm July 7
WHERE: Royal Palace Gardens, Siem Reap
WHY: It’s a worldwide flash dance