Over the last 10-15 years, a new trend of parties has been evolving. These gatherings are known in the media as raves, and are often simply called parties by those attending them. A rave is an all night event where usually young people gather in a social atmosphere while listening to hypnotic dance music. These parties have slowly evolved into spectacles of total sensory overload. The first is the social aspects, unhindered freedom of expression of ones self through dance, dress or any other mean without fear of ridicule from others. The second is the dancing and its often quasi-spiritual effects on those partaking.

The key to the success of raves is the positive atmosphere, or "vibe". Raves are renowned for people's acceptability and tolerance for others. They are safe havens for people who wish to be free from social pressures. Because of this, many ravers (person who attends these parties) are dressed differently then pe

Another part of the rave experience is the lighting and surroundings. In the summertime many parties are held outside in desolate, and sometimes quite beautiful surroundings. Out on the West Coast of B.C. , many of the parties during the summer are held up in the surrounding mountains of the lower mainland and around lakes. These serene settings all add to the utopian experiences created by a rave. During the winter months when it is to cold to hold a party outside, raves are held inside banquet halls, vacant buildings, or wherever a big enough size room can be found. Often these venues can be quite plain and boring in contrast to the vibrancy of a party. Stage type sets are brought in to conquer this dullness, usually with a theme associated with the party. The most important part of the backdrop for a party though is the lighting system. In order to fulfill total sensory overload, expensive laser light systems are brought in to aid the whole experience. These lighting systems can cost in the thousands of dollars and are often run by computers. As a DJ is building up the crowd so that they can "go off", the lighting and lasers follow suit accordingly. When the DJ has the music peaking and the crowd is going off, the lasers and lights are usually shining as brightly as possible and are flaring off in every direction.

Dancing has and always will be a part of many human societies and culture. Archeological digs have found primitive musical instruments dating back to the beginning of human society. Our ancestors would stay up late at night dancing around fires to the sounds of beats made by whatever means were available. Many societies throughout the ages incorporated dancing into all parts of there culture, and most importantly, into there spiritual life. Over the last few hundred years, dancing has been seen less and less as a spiritual tool and more as a form of entertainment. Today young people are re-discovering dancing and music in an experience much like people of the past through these all night parties. The music played at raves is very reminiscent of the pounding beats of hand drums, which are ancestors

Some common words found in the essay are:
RAVE CULTURE, DJ Dustin, Coast BC, North America, Scene American, Bars Clubs, Vancouver Canadian, rave culture, sensory overload, total sensory overload, played dj, create sounds, free themselves, people frenzies, rave experience, total sensory, crowd dj, music played,
Approximate Word count = 1434
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)