Glow sticks at dawn! Meet the 6am ravers
Music, dance, euphoria – but no drugs or alcohol. Can going “conscious clubbing” before work make you happier and more productive when you do get to your desk?
The stereotypical image of the rave is probably of a party that lasts all night – or even all weekend – and generally leaves the participants in no fit state to do anything – certainly not turn up for a full day’s work.
So the idea of popping into a rave first thing before you head into the office may sound a little crazy. And the idea that this will actually make you work better – and also a little happier – even more so.
But a British company called Morning Gloryville believes its early morning raves can do that. And there seems a growing number of people who want to give it a try. Not just hardcore party goers back from Ibiza but also doctors, lawyers, and company executives.
More than 800 people turned up on Wednesday at a venue in Hackney for the latest Morning Gloryville experience. The party started at 6.30am with yoga, gentle massage and fruit smoothies. Then the music kicked in, and by 7.30 everyone was dancing.
Today the company celebrated its first birthday. It operates in 11 cities across the world and hopes to spread to dozens of other countries as people pick up the idea and develop it for themselves.
High on life
These early morning raves avoid drink and drugs – the only stimulants on offer are coffee and pure chocolate.
The people behind the movement want to create a natural high – believing the music, the dancing, and the sense of community created by a rave will – quite simply – make people happy. The theory is if you head into the office happy, you will have more energy and enthusiasm for your work and so you will be more productive too.
The company’s vision chimes with the wider “mindful living” movement – one of the key trends for 2014 according to the Huffington Post.
As Morning Gloryville puts it: “we strive to awaken our selves and our community and be present with every fibre of our being; not simply to exist but to truly live in each moment”.
If that sounds a little “hippy dippy”, it is a charge the company would probably not deny. It thinks it can bring about a reconciliation between the counter-culture attitudes of the late sixties and the world of business.
It comes at a time when the buttoned down world of stuffy boardrooms is changing – as technology companies have become the largest and richest businesses in the world.
The nerds who run these businesses are much less interested in the “suit and tie” approach to business and much more willing to experiment with any idea which they think will keep their staff enthusiastic and creative. But with tickets costing £10 each, early-morning raving isn’t likely to become an everyday habit for the majority of workers.
