Lines of Joy and Resistance
Ella Effendy & Sophia Wekesa
What can dancing in unison mean in times of crisis?
Lines of Joy and Resistance is a participatory dance action that invites everyone to come together and groove side by side. Through iconic line dance rooted and embraced in Afro-diasporic, African American, and LGBTQ+ disco and club cultures we embody joy as resistance, and repetition as connection.
The 30-minute session begins with a short intro to the cultural history of the dance, followed by a joyful and easy-to-follow teaching of the dance loop. Then we move together, dancing through one full song, not as performers or audience, but as a collective body in rhythm.
Research shows that dancing in synchrony builds solidarity, trust, and even raises our pain threshold. This shared dance is grounded in the theory of participatory sense-making where meaning arises not solely from individual minds, but from embodied interaction. In a world marked by fragmentation, fear, and digital disconnection, dancing together becomes a radical act of making sense with others. We co-create a shared rhythm, a felt connection, and a fleeting moment of solidarity -a gesture of resistance and belonging made not through speech, but through motion.
All bodies and mobilities are welcome. You can join standing, seated, using only the upper or lower body. The spirit is joy and inclusion.
Photos by Aman Askarizad
