Electric Zoo Ten in NYC
Vibes vibes vibes ✨ Ask anyone who attended and they'll tell ya the good vibes were rolling strong. All. Weekend. Long.
This year was Electric Zoo New York's tenth anniversary, and people travelled from across the nation to celebrate. The event took place at Randall's Island Park, providing a more intimate feel due to the smaller festival grounds... but that didn't stop the New Empire Shufflers🗽 from hosting massive meet ups at various stages throughout the weekend.
New York City's very own #NewEmpireShufflers organized shuffle meet ups on all three days, allowing dancers from across the globe to showcase their moves in the circle. Beyond the dancers themselves, the diversity and energy inside that circle seemed to pull onlookers from every direction closer; the hype was contagious. 🌀Take a moment, step in the circle, and watch this short #EZOO Shuffle Circle recap featuring dancers like Tee (@sofla_tee) and Jen (@pocket.jen) from Florida:
Shuffling has become more than simply an expressive dance; some are working towards making a career out of their passion. The New Empire Shufflers recently performed at Baltimore's Moonrise Festival in August, which isn’t the first time shufflers have invited to perform at a festival. As a crew NES came in with the strong numbers, giving a new dimension of live entertainment to #MoonriseFest. Opportunities as such are just the start of a fiery future with more festivals performances in the planning - We've already seen instructor Benjamin Dar, and his Shuffle Crew Killer Steeze, take over BUKU Fest in New Orleans. So keep your eyes peeled for festival performances and opportunities near you. 😎
As I mentioned, shufflers gathered from coast to coast to enjoy the music and each other. This was my first time meeting the New Empire Shufflers founding members and OG's. As a NES member myself it was exhilarating to meet so many talented and genuine shufflers, many who I admire and can easily call family. Electric Zoo certainly knows how to bring some intimacy in a world that can feel so distant.
Knowing this as a common sentiment among shufflers, I spoke to Dea Opari (@Dopari) ,who travelled from Florida, this is what she had to share about her EZoo experience: "I remember being there the first day and to be totally honest and transparent, for the first time ever in my life I got stage fright and was too nervous to hop in the main circle. SO many amazingggggg shufflers were at EZoo and seeing all of them kill it in the circle was just insane. I started dancing just outside and around the circle to warm up and a bunch of shufflers were complimenting me on my style/footwork. For a second there, I forgot that in this community of shuffling, there is no need to ever feel “stage fright”. Everyone is so loving and we all hype eachother up. We all have different styles and it is so cool that we get to feed off of eachothers’ energy. By the end of the weekend I was filled with so much love, happiness, confidence, and inspiration from all the other shufflers. I haven't been able to stop dancing since Ezoo and I'm counting down the days till I reunite with everyone on the dancefloor again!"
Similar sentiments were expressed by Max (@hype.ninja) from Side Show Shufflers: "Ezoo weekend was truly electric. One unified wavelength amongst the dancers supporting each other , without a hint of negativity. East coast is BEAST coast with all of the talent and genuine gratitude for one another. Transforming online relationships into offline reality, this weekend couldn't have been more gratifying. It's refreshing to immediately feel welcomed with open arms and has easily become a new home away from home. 😎"
Although the weekend had to come to an end, our memories and experiences (inside the circle and out) will live on forever. It's only a matter of time before we reconvene. Until then, much love NYC. ✨🗽
#ShuffleCircle #ElectricZooNY #ShuffleDance
Written by Brigitte Johannessen (@nes.Briggidy)