Theo Parrish calls out the hypocrisy of dance music “escapism”

© Violette Esmeralda

In the wake of more police brutality against black victims in America, Parrish calls for “solidarity” from the dance community

Theo Parrish has made an impassioned plea for solidarity from the dance music community in the face of more police violence in America via a Facebook status posted last night.

“Overwhelmed. I wish I was shocked. Embarrassed at the lack of overt commentary from this art form. An art form rooted in reaction to racism, birthed in struggle, how do you dance to this?” he begins. “How do you dance when we still swing from trees, when we still are murdered in front of our loved ones, murdered while subdued and harmless?”

In the post, Parrish criticises those who use dance music as “escapism”, saying that this is “an outsider’s view”. Now, he says, “solidarity is what [the genre] really offers.”

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