Great review..so many great moments..I missed the dude with the tape measure...haha, he coulda just asked ; )
As a photographer I might be doing myself out of a job here but I kinda agree with you on the photo/phone front..the irony is that they tucked away the booth cos they didnt want everyone facing the same direction so they would dance with each other and now everyone faces the mirrorball waiting for it to do something.
My only thing I'm not sure about is even if they didnt have their phones out would they still be facing the ball? I watched the crowd in portola and at Miami and it looked like a congregation in worship..in the very beginning of humanity they worshipped the sun way before organised religion came along..and everyone mesmerised by the giant glowing orb hanging from the middle of the floor looked a lot like that so maybe its just something we need to do?
But IMO i so much prefer it when everyone is dancing together and not facing one direction. Thats the best bit about Despacio. I spent most of the time under the glitterball because it was the only place where people weren't staring at it!
I am in favor of having professional photographers and a limited number of media passes available, with appropriate training for those who get the passes (e.g., don't film people looking wasted, be respectful of intimate moments, don't make anyone look stupid or ugly).
The ball's photogenic nature does command attention. It's now the chicken sandwich on the Bloody Mary. I think one solution is to make sure there are fewer big ball moments and that there's enough 360 lighting that pulls attention all around the room. The ball doesn't always need to be the focus of attention, and I think the lighting sequences can do a lot to de-emphasize the floor's orientation to the center.
I also love dancing under the ball -- people facing every which way make for a much more fun chaos. =)
Would love to see some intention put towards the phone issue, and continued thought and discussion around how we protect and promote an actually engaged, participatory dance floor. I think community development is a good first step, as more of us die-hards can come together and be vibe guardians of sorts.
The more Despacio heads are in the room, the more dancing, engagement, and excitement there is going to be naturally and just maybe that will have some influence on visitors and newbies.
But a little priming of people before they enter+stickers would be the most immediately effective I think.
Phones discourage both the user and those in their vicinity from dancing and being present which feels antithetical to what Despacio is.
It was amazing dancing with you, and glad you enjoyed this piece!
I feel like such a curmudgeon sometimes advocating for phone-free dancefloors, but I also know in my deepest of hearts from experiences like Berghain that good dancefloors ban cameras. We need to be able to dance wildly and without fear that our flailing will be put online for the world to judge.
The designers of Despacio did a very important thing when they hid the DJ booth.
I think they may need to take the next step, now, of giving everyone else a place to hide.
I think it would go so well with everything else they’re already doing too. Playing a lot of older, slower, longer, weirder music that really feels like a return to love of music and dance in its essence. It’s almost punk in our era of social media and superstar live-streamed DJs. I think enforcing some sort of a phone ban could, in a way, be a positive marketing move as it could add to a narrative (in my mind) that Despacio is about authenticity. Despacio is what we need ;)
The guy who was disappointed to find that ‘there’s nothing there, just people dancing’ is a bit of a Wizard of Oz moment, isn’t it? It reminds me of the way I was chastised by some friends for mindlessly repeating a phrase that was common amongst 90s ravers. ‘Where’s the party?” was an accepted bit of terminology and communication, but as my (admittedly quite purist) friends drew attention to, it has a curiously passive undertone. Their scolding, which was done in love and for my education, was meant to jolt me out of the “bring it to me and I’ll consume it” mindset, which of course did take over dance music (and our whole lives such that conspicuous consumption has become a declaration of freedom) and which was starting to creep into the DIY ‘all welcome, money not a barrier, status not the point’ ethos that was where rave came from in the first place. The point was: the party is wherever you are. Make it happen. If you’re waiting for someone to deliver it to you, you could be right in the middle of the best party that’s ever happened, and you would not be able to recognise that fact, so start now.
Thank you for this thorough and heartfelt recap of such a great weekend in Despacio. I share your fondness of the needle skip on Another One Bites the Dust, which, while painfully frustrating momentarily as it occurred, quickly rebounded to one of my favorite memories of the whole weekend, and reminded me that, as much as they like to hide it, you are at a live performance the whole time, which makes all the good moments so special. Also, that song sounded, skipping aside, simply unbelievable.
As for the phones, I support your suggestion, but I also do think it’s very reasonable for people to want a token of their night in photo/video form. And also the sharing of the photos —which Despacio itself reposts constantly on their instagram— is undeniably effective in building the following that we all agree it needs to continue living. So while I tentatively support a phone ban I’m less inclined to categorically oppose them.
It's reasonable that people WANT a souvenir, especially because they've been taught to want it by the marketing effort -- as you rightly point out -- of the official Instagram account. The problem is, the folks drawn in by image-based marketing are going to be more likely to want to generate their own images, so you end up with a situation where the people being pulled into the room are people who are there for souvenirs, and over time, the dancefloor is eroded further and further.
We've seen the instagram zombification ruin multiple scenes, and if it ruins Despacio, it will be a real tragedy. We already see signs that the trend is moving in the wrong direction, and we're already seeing more people enter the room for the purpose of collecting souvenirs. This is a huge problem.
Also, I didn't get into it here due to lack of space, but cameras are heavily problematic in another way: they undermine psychological safety. It's hard to "dance like nobody is watching" when in fact the whole world could be watching due to the lenses pointing every which way. Would love to get your response on this article I wrote on the problem: https://www.magicaldancefloors.com/p/wheres-the-party-at-not-on-phone
Thank you for this thoughtful piece. I’ve been searching high and low for something that captures the essence of Despacio since experiencing it at iiipoints 2023
Thank you for reading it and commenting. I'm working on a review of Despacio @ iiipoints 2025 next, and I think you'll like it, because there are some Miami-specific flavors that definitely appear only in Miami versions of Despacio.
Comprehensive account of the dance party that is Despacio. In this current climate of division and toxicity, it was a well needed respite from the chaos and reminder that people can find joy and community under a disco ball. It was the first despacio I’ve attended that felt full from start to close. Word is definitely getting out.
Great review..so many great moments..I missed the dude with the tape measure...haha, he coulda just asked ; )
As a photographer I might be doing myself out of a job here but I kinda agree with you on the photo/phone front..the irony is that they tucked away the booth cos they didnt want everyone facing the same direction so they would dance with each other and now everyone faces the mirrorball waiting for it to do something.
My only thing I'm not sure about is even if they didnt have their phones out would they still be facing the ball? I watched the crowd in portola and at Miami and it looked like a congregation in worship..in the very beginning of humanity they worshipped the sun way before organised religion came along..and everyone mesmerised by the giant glowing orb hanging from the middle of the floor looked a lot like that so maybe its just something we need to do?
But IMO i so much prefer it when everyone is dancing together and not facing one direction. Thats the best bit about Despacio. I spent most of the time under the glitterball because it was the only place where people weren't staring at it!
I am in favor of having professional photographers and a limited number of media passes available, with appropriate training for those who get the passes (e.g., don't film people looking wasted, be respectful of intimate moments, don't make anyone look stupid or ugly).
The ball's photogenic nature does command attention. It's now the chicken sandwich on the Bloody Mary. I think one solution is to make sure there are fewer big ball moments and that there's enough 360 lighting that pulls attention all around the room. The ball doesn't always need to be the focus of attention, and I think the lighting sequences can do a lot to de-emphasize the floor's orientation to the center.
I also love dancing under the ball -- people facing every which way make for a much more fun chaos. =)
Great write up my friend!
I had the best time of my life at Despacio Miami.
Would love to see some intention put towards the phone issue, and continued thought and discussion around how we protect and promote an actually engaged, participatory dance floor. I think community development is a good first step, as more of us die-hards can come together and be vibe guardians of sorts.
The more Despacio heads are in the room, the more dancing, engagement, and excitement there is going to be naturally and just maybe that will have some influence on visitors and newbies.
But a little priming of people before they enter+stickers would be the most immediately effective I think.
Phones discourage both the user and those in their vicinity from dancing and being present which feels antithetical to what Despacio is.
It was amazing dancing with you, and glad you enjoyed this piece!
I feel like such a curmudgeon sometimes advocating for phone-free dancefloors, but I also know in my deepest of hearts from experiences like Berghain that good dancefloors ban cameras. We need to be able to dance wildly and without fear that our flailing will be put online for the world to judge.
The designers of Despacio did a very important thing when they hid the DJ booth.
I think they may need to take the next step, now, of giving everyone else a place to hide.
I think it would go so well with everything else they’re already doing too. Playing a lot of older, slower, longer, weirder music that really feels like a return to love of music and dance in its essence. It’s almost punk in our era of social media and superstar live-streamed DJs. I think enforcing some sort of a phone ban could, in a way, be a positive marketing move as it could add to a narrative (in my mind) that Despacio is about authenticity. Despacio is what we need ;)
The guy who was disappointed to find that ‘there’s nothing there, just people dancing’ is a bit of a Wizard of Oz moment, isn’t it? It reminds me of the way I was chastised by some friends for mindlessly repeating a phrase that was common amongst 90s ravers. ‘Where’s the party?” was an accepted bit of terminology and communication, but as my (admittedly quite purist) friends drew attention to, it has a curiously passive undertone. Their scolding, which was done in love and for my education, was meant to jolt me out of the “bring it to me and I’ll consume it” mindset, which of course did take over dance music (and our whole lives such that conspicuous consumption has become a declaration of freedom) and which was starting to creep into the DIY ‘all welcome, money not a barrier, status not the point’ ethos that was where rave came from in the first place. The point was: the party is wherever you are. Make it happen. If you’re waiting for someone to deliver it to you, you could be right in the middle of the best party that’s ever happened, and you would not be able to recognise that fact, so start now.
Yes! "Be the party you want to see in the world."
Thank you for this thorough and heartfelt recap of such a great weekend in Despacio. I share your fondness of the needle skip on Another One Bites the Dust, which, while painfully frustrating momentarily as it occurred, quickly rebounded to one of my favorite memories of the whole weekend, and reminded me that, as much as they like to hide it, you are at a live performance the whole time, which makes all the good moments so special. Also, that song sounded, skipping aside, simply unbelievable.
As for the phones, I support your suggestion, but I also do think it’s very reasonable for people to want a token of their night in photo/video form. And also the sharing of the photos —which Despacio itself reposts constantly on their instagram— is undeniably effective in building the following that we all agree it needs to continue living. So while I tentatively support a phone ban I’m less inclined to categorically oppose them.
It's reasonable that people WANT a souvenir, especially because they've been taught to want it by the marketing effort -- as you rightly point out -- of the official Instagram account. The problem is, the folks drawn in by image-based marketing are going to be more likely to want to generate their own images, so you end up with a situation where the people being pulled into the room are people who are there for souvenirs, and over time, the dancefloor is eroded further and further.
We've seen the instagram zombification ruin multiple scenes, and if it ruins Despacio, it will be a real tragedy. We already see signs that the trend is moving in the wrong direction, and we're already seeing more people enter the room for the purpose of collecting souvenirs. This is a huge problem.
Also, I didn't get into it here due to lack of space, but cameras are heavily problematic in another way: they undermine psychological safety. It's hard to "dance like nobody is watching" when in fact the whole world could be watching due to the lenses pointing every which way. Would love to get your response on this article I wrote on the problem: https://www.magicaldancefloors.com/p/wheres-the-party-at-not-on-phone
Thank you for this thoughtful piece. I’ve been searching high and low for something that captures the essence of Despacio since experiencing it at iiipoints 2023
Thank you for reading it and commenting. I'm working on a review of Despacio @ iiipoints 2025 next, and I think you'll like it, because there are some Miami-specific flavors that definitely appear only in Miami versions of Despacio.
Comprehensive account of the dance party that is Despacio. In this current climate of division and toxicity, it was a well needed respite from the chaos and reminder that people can find joy and community under a disco ball. It was the first despacio I’ve attended that felt full from start to close. Word is definitely getting out.