St George Police Raid Dance Party For Unimaginable Reason
Written by Elaine Wilson, Posted on , in Section Therapy News
I remember. I remember watching the movie Footloose —even the remake—just last year and thinking, “No dancing? Seriously? Thank God that would never happen now.”
Cue St. George City Police Department.
To the surprise and disgust of many in our fine city, a Halloween dance entitled “Monster Mash” was set to be a major event on Saturday, the 25th of October—and it was definitely a major event, but for reasons no one anticipated. Sponsored by Dixie State University’s organization called “The Heart of Dixie,” digital invites went out all over, encouraging citizens over 18 to attend “a truly EPIC Halloween party!” What happened, instead, was an epic failure in city practices and views.
“It was absolutely ridiculous,” Arika Middleton, a Dixie State student who attended the party. “The cops showed up and everything was over.”
St. George City Police Department made a startling entrance at the party, declaring that there was to be no dancing.
Wait, what?
Dancing. That simple movement of the body that almost everyone likes to do, most especially at a party with music, lights, and a solid floor for doing just that. But no—not here, the police said. It was against the law to dance here, as the promoters did not receive a permit—to dance.
What Just Happened?
There has been much debate over the actual documents that were signed—those in charge of the dance have brought forth paperwork proving that they were given the okay to continue with the dancing—but that isn’t even the point. How, in the United States of America, in the second decade of the 21st century, is dancing an act that requires a city’s permission and—for the love—a permit? How is an act of moving a body in rhythm so dangerous to our city? Why is something that has been around for thousands of years—often as a means to telling a story—something to be feared by St. George City police officers and stopped so unceremoniously? With the continued drug crime, rapes, and murders that often plague our city—why did half a dozen officers show up to stop young adults from dancing?
A Party Stopped
Arika Middleton described the incredulous scene:
“The cops waited until everybody was in and already paid to announce that we couldn’t dance. They were patrolling and yelling at kids who did try to dance. They were playing music but it was too low to hear because they were afraid if they turned up the music that people would be too tempted to dance. The police stayed until it was just a couple of people in the go-cart line—then they left. Everybody there was so confused and upset.”
The Good Ol’ Boys
Naturally, there has been much speculation as to the reasons for this. People with police scanners have come forward with audio that seems to prove the idea that the police actually waited for this—laid in wait so they could stop a group of people from dancing. Others are furious at what they see as pushback from the predominant religion of the St. George area—the fact that this religion throws multiple dances throughout the year and hasn’t received a single moment of setback is unsettling, to say the least. While some might argue that it’s religion and private, others point out that the business where the dance occurred was private. It was not a city-owned facility. Yes it is a business; however, the church in question is legally a corporation, which makes it also a business. Those in the minority (and even some of those who belong to the majority) are crying foul, refusing to stay silent when even the most basic rights are being halted.
St. George is a beautiful place. There is diversity, there is an amazing culture of the arts, there is a University that boasts some of the most intelligent and successful faculty in the United States. But it’s not enough. Our economy is suffering, people are moving, as they say, to “escape.” The national news that St. George should make is about our talents, our academics, our unique atmosphere and landscape. Now, instead, national headlines will be questioning the validity of a city that insists that its own citizens not dance.
In Footloose, released exactly 30 years ago, the main character, Ren, who fought against the dancing laws, made a powerful statement that applies here:
“This is our time to dance. It is our way of celebrating life. It's the way it was in the beginning. It's the way it's always been. It's the way it should be now.”
