Country Dancing has a history and reality of white people stealing land, culture, creativity, and livelihood from Indigenous and Black communities. Many of the dances were initially choreographed to songs that revel in and revere these stories of abuse. 

This weekend will be happening on the unceded territory of the Coastal Miwok people.

During this time of blatant attacks on trans dignity, queer + trans country dance is resistance. Building community for queer people to connect and have fun is radical and necessary. 

At the same time, we need to do more to recognize the role white supremacy plays in our community. Our community is very white and we are two white people organizing this event

In this vein, we want to actively welcome and support BIPOC dancers in the community. We are setting aside a block of spots for BIPOC dancers and providing a 50% subsidized rate for BIPOC dancers. We would also love for our BIPOC dancers to lead things during the weekend. Email dirtydancingweekend@gmail.com if you want to help out. 

All money we gather after meeting our costs will be redistributed to rent mutual aid in Oakland. 

The politics of this event are free Palestine, abolish ICE, and fuck Morgan Wallen. We will do our best to avoid music by fascists, racists, and abusers. 

Part of the purpose of this weekend is to figure out how we can build a stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient kind of country dancing community when so much is set up to divide us.

There is immeasurable potential for mutual aid, radical resistance, and regenerative joy if we invest in this community. We are looking forward to more conversations about this during the weekend.