Glowsticking is a form of dancing that can be traced back to the 1980’s underground rave scene. As the name implies, this form of dancing involves using glowsticks or other glowstick-like instruments that have the same bright and consistent light colors. The instruments used in glowsticking should be easily manipulable, safe to toss around and play with, and is made of soft plastic. Even though the practice of glowsticking originated in the rave scene, it is now also being done in various electronic dance music circles.
The are two broad types of glowsticking: freehand and glowstringing. Freehand glowsticking refers to dancing in an uninhibited fashion with glowsticks in hand. It usually involves tracing figures, tapping, throwing, as well as creating fusions of various forms of dance or making up your own glowsticking moves. In glowsticking, tracing involves dragging a glowstick over one’s body in a manner that creates figures that are made visible by the glowsticks’ light. The most common tracing move is the figure eight. As the term implies, freehand glowsticking is usually unstructured – no choreography and steps to strictly follow.
Glowstringing on the other hand is a type of glowsticking that involves hanging the glowsticks from strings and swinging these strings as you dance. Glowstringing is often likened to yo-yoing and poi, which both involve making body movements and swinging the strings in a dancing fashion. There are actually no strict definitions for the movements involved in glowsticking, as it is subculturally defined and may differ in meaning depending on the subculture’s circles and factions.
The general cultural credo of ravers for glowsticking is that the intention for doing glowsticking should be to dance along to the music. According to those who do glowsticking, this is what differentiates them from jugglers and most poists. A lot of clubbers are against glowsticking because of the risks it poses when done on a cramped dancefloor. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) of the US Department of Justice tried to legally ban glowsticks and similar materials back in 2001, claiming that these were used as drug paraphernalia in the rave/club scene. They failed.