Written by Lucy Paige
Photos by Matt Smink
ColorDance 2017 marked the festival’s fourth year. It was held at Wisteria in Pomery, Ohio and the venue was breathtaking! It is a reclaimed strip mine with an enchanted forest you can feel as soon as you enter. The Wisterian’s have created an enchanting venue that draws you in and leaves you wondering what’s down the next trail. With the help of Osirian Flora Designs, The festival organizers constructed sacred spaces made of natural elements like wooden logs, moss, lilies, roses, ferns, crystals, and moving water features. These intentional spaces made for the perfect place to gather with friends, explore winding trails, dance, laugh, and learn something new.
The Wisterian’s take pride in their land and made sure the grounds and restrooms were kept clean throughout the entire festival. The campground consisted of wood lined fields which offered plenty of shade for the hot and humid afternoons, and water stations that included outdoor showers! I have to admit I was pretty excited when I saw the shower stations; my least favorite part of festival season is the sticky and dirty body that accompanies it.
As we entered the music grounds we were greeted by reptiles- YES REPTILES! Silver Serpent Exotic Gifts brought many snakes, lizards and tarantulas for participants to hold. The reptiles were beautiful; my favorite was the vibrant green boa with teal and white sports speckled on her body. I never worked up courage to hold her (even though the vendors assured the snakes would not bite), but I did admire her from a ‘safe’ distance.
The venue featured a Weird Music Stage, Unity Stage, Sound Lab, and Acoustic Campfire. The use of multiple stages eliminated any downtime between acts, which kept the music going all night and well into daylight hours. Adjacent to the stages were sections roped off for live performers and artists. I found myself, and many others, captured by the sultry dance of the fire performers. It amazes me how gracefully they spiral the hoops and dance with the fans without going up in flames, or lighting their hair on fire!
The underlying theme of ColorDance is “Unity in Diversity” and the creators captured just that. Each stage participated in Color Play. Organizers handed out bags of dyed cornstarch early Friday and Saturday evening, and participants (especially the children) quickly became covered in vibrant colors and smiles. The Color Play tradition comes from the Hindu festival Holi (Festival of Colors) where participants gather to meet new and old friends, laugh, and celebrate new beginnings.
The lineup of ColorDance had the perfect blend of dance music to groove with, and electronic blends to get lost in. Much of the EDM scene consists of an abundance of computerized laser beams, swishes and heavy dubs. While this is great, I personally find it can be repetitive to dance to. The talent and consistency of the musicians at ColorDance were impressive and refreshing.
I knew Dirtwire, Manic Focus, and EarthCry would put on an exciting show, but the rest were new to my radar. Sometimes smaller festivals can be hit or miss with the non-headliners, but… this was not the case. As night fell on Friday, Dirtwire brought out all of our tribal electronic roots with their worldly sounds and complex beats, followed by the electronic mixes of EarthCry with Mike Healy. We made our way over to the Sound Lab early Saturday morning for Overwaves. It was at Overwaves’ set that I understood the closeness of the ColorDance family. It just so happens that it was (Kyle) Overwaves birthday. Many people gathered to groove to his dance mixes, and wish him a happy birthday!
After celebrating Overwaves birthday it was time for some rest! We headed back to the camp and enjoyed the peaceful sound of morning. After a quick nap we decided it was time for coffee and a workshop. The festival offered many workshops to rejuvenate and immerse into something new. We decided to take advantage of the yoga with Jen, which helped work out the stiffness from dancing all night, and prepared us for dancing into Sunday morning. Fortunately, the workshops were held in the dome and the floor was covered in soft carpets. The dome kept us out of the summer sun and kept our feet dry from the showers of Friday night.
Saturday was the perfect blend of electronic, funk and dance musicians. SassafraZ took the Unity Stage early Saturday evening and people began to gather. Following Sassafraz set was the infamous color throw and participants gathered to throws packets of color! The color throw was truly something to experience; vibrant greens, blues, yellows, and purples filled the air making it look like you were standing in the middle of a tie–dye snow-globe.
The sun fell over the ridgeline as Dizgo took the stage. Their jamtronica blends of soul and funk prepared us for the James Brown tribute to follow. After Funk and SassafraZ, aka Sassa-Funk, joined for the James Brown tribute on the Weird Music Stage. Of course they played Get Up Offa That Thing, and the entire band turned around to shake their butts. Needless to say, the energy of Sassa-Funk kept the young and old crowd enthralled!
Gibbz followed the James Brown tribute. This happened to be my first Gibbz experience, and his voice made for a smooth transition into the electronic pop vibe. By the time Gibbz took the stage is was night, and the sultry fire dancers began. We gravitated to the right of the stage to get a better view. It seemed as if the entire festival gathered in front of the Unity Stage for Manic Focus. By this point my legs were exhausted, but his electro hip hop funk had the entire place bouncing!
Many people came together to celebrate the “unity in Diversity” through “color play”, workshops and diverse music. The grounds at Wisteria are beautiful and the time spent decorating, cleaning and preparing for the festival paid off. The festival was a welcoming environment for old and new friends. We even met a couple that it was their FIRST festival ever, and by their smiles I think they will be returning for many more to come!
