pagliaccio

Is a form of dancing with glowsticks or other glowstick-like instruments that share the same qualities: durability, consistency in light, safety to toss around, and the material of which they are made, often a soft and pliant plastic.

Although glowsticking has roots in the 1980s underground rave scene, it has since become a separate cultural phenomenon that can be found throughout the general electronic dance music world, and is becoming popular in the twirling and dexterity play communities.

Because of its history, it is argued that glowsticking culture has PLUR like aspects to it, preferring sharing and performing in accordance with your observer without any kind of negative statement implied, thus most disciples of glowsticking frown upon crews and competitions. ^[1]

The process has come to embody a sort of outsider's casual disdain for the rave scene, as demonstrated by the pejorative and vaguely dismissive term 'Glowstick homos' as a reference for the people at the kinds of events at which glowsticking potentially takes place.

Glowstringing

Glowstringing is defined by a few factors: the use of glowsticks on a string, the swinging motion, and an equally large growing category of moves and concepts that are common to glowstringing, including but not limited to: wrapping, elaborate string manipulations common with yo-yoing, and martial arts (as well as other disciplines). Glowstringing, much similar to freehand glowsticking, typically borrows from other disciplines, with some moves originating from poi. This genre has even on occasion borrowed freehand concepts, such as the aspect of mimicking traces (and vice-versa).

Freehand

Freehand is defined by the steadily growing body of concepts and moves. Some of these concepts include liquid dancing, tracing, taps, throwing, as well as interdisciplinary dance skills borrowed from common funk style categories. Freehand glowsticking typically borrows from many other dance styles as well as having its own unique set of moves.

Traces are the act of dragging the glowsticks over one's body. An example of a common trace is the stomach trace, which includes dragging the glow sticks over one's stomach to create a circular pattern.

Another example of a basic movement frequently used in freehand glowsticking is the figure eight-- quite possibly the most well known, albeit not the most common move in the intermediate and more advanced levels.