Dancin' in the streets (but not in NYC)

Dance is everywhere. It's in the studio. It's on the stage. It's in the subway and on the streets. Novelist Kurt Vonnegut once said, "Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room."\nBars and clubs have been typical spots where dancers can let loose and find their own rhythm, but not those in New York City.\nSince 1926, the city's cabaret law has stated that all nightlife venues in the city are required to have a license if their establishment features three or more musicians, if any of the instruments are percussion or brass, or if three or more of their patrons are moving in a synchronized fashion.\nIt wasn't until 20 years ago that the first steps were taken to remove this law. The New York State Supreme Court struck down certain portions of the law, but the restrictions on dancing are still on the books. \nIt is not easy to acquire this license. The New York City Zoning Resolution restricts social dancing to major commercial centers, industrial or manufacturing areas. Because these areas are often not the best places for entertainment and because of a lengthy permit process, the number of issued cabaret licenses has decreased. While in 1960 there were 12,000 cabaret licenses in the five boroughs, only about 200 cabaret licensees remained in 2005.\nLast June, four social dancers and a dance organization filed suit against the City of New York and its various departments for the violation of their freedom of expression. And it's about time. Why should the entertainment capital of the country be the only place where dancers have to limit their creativity?\nSocial dancing is an important form of expression, particularly since it is usually done in pairs. Partners convey themselves through motion and contact. In addition to expressing themselves to one another, pairs also express themselves to onlookers as a combined couple, in ways similar to a performed dance. \nEstablishments that ignore the cabaret law and permit social dancing without a license are fined and padlocked by city agents. If patrons are found to be dancing in one of these bars or clubs, they also face fines or jail time. \nThe current restrictions affect the style and content of social dancing in the city. In most cases, only the establishments that promote the most popular forms of dance are approved for licenses. Because of this, older styles of dancing like the waltz and less conventional styles like techno are disappearing.\nPerformance dance, such as ballet and tap, is rooted in social dance and bases its choreography on steps started in social dancing. Social dancing has also been essential to the evolution of music over time. Jazz music, Latin music, and contemporary popular music are all closely linked to forms of social dance. For these reasons, if performance dance and music are permitted without any hindrances, then social dance should be as well.\nWhile critics of social dancing have said that it causes noise and overcrowding in city establishments, this argument falls flat. Even though bars and clubs are noisy, dancing has nothing to do with the level of noise. If overcrowding or noise is the problem, then regulations should be developed to deal with those issues.\nNew York City's cabaret law has not been challenged in 20 years. Now that a passionate group of dancers has come along, they have a chance to make change happen. If they win their case, future generations of dancers will be free to get down wherever they choose.