What is Glowsticking?
Glowsticking is the act of dancing with glowsticks. Glowsticking can be done with glowsticks or glowstick-like instruments sharing the same kind of qualities: durable, consistency in light, and safe to toss around, and often made up of a soft and pliant plastic that doesn't hurt (as much) if you smack yourself with it.
Glowsticking is an "umbrella term" describing two broad categories of glowsticking, with the most agreed upon separation being whether it is stringed or not stringed. More importantly, glowsticking has roots in theelectronica and rave scenes, and has a cultural paradigm more in common with those scenes than those of other scenes. Some aspects include the culture of non-competitiveness, preferring sharing and performing in accordance with your observer, without any kind of negative statement implied. Because of this glowstickng competitions are frowned upon by most practitioners of glowsticking. Although glowsticking as a field can largely be practiced anywhere, the roots it has with raving has led to the adoption of most of the ideals (whether they actually exist in practice, is of course, up to debate) of the rave scene.
Both of these terms, freehand and glowstringing describe the technical skills that relates to both. It is only when the practitioner intends to dance that it becomes glowsticking. Otherwise, they may be a juggler who is simply choosing to juggle glowsticks (in the case of freehand), or a poist who is doing poi (performance art) with glowsticks. That is not to say that a juggler or a poist cannot dance if they so choose with glowsticks—just that glowsticking implies dancing.
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 share many of the same aspects as many other stringing related fields, such as poi (performance art), yo-yoing, and martial arts forms common with swords, flails, and rope darts, is typically done with glowstick or glowstick-like instruments tied with a durable string at the end of it. In some case, handles may be used, because of moves which favor the fact that the glowstick handle can be grabbed and switched with the swinging part. In some cases, because of the existence of handles which glow both ways, moves which "throw" can be accomplished as it can be grabbed on either side.
Freehand
Freehand glowsticking is glowsticking typically practiced without strings attached to the glowsticks. Freehand is defined by the steadily growing body of concepts and moves. Some of these concepts include tracing, taps, tossing, stalls and threading, as well as interdisciplinary dance skills borrowed from common funk style categories. Freehand glowsticking typically borrows from many other dance styles such as liquid dancing as well as having its own unique set of moves.
Tracing is the act of dragging the glowsticks over the contours of 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.
Lightshows
In the context of this article, a lightshow is a performance given with glowsticks to a small audience of one or several people which are physically close to the performer. Lightshow is a term that can be used loosely to refer to performances given with LED lights (light-emitting diodes), assorted lighttoys, lasers, and a variety of other "light up" items.
While the term "lightshow" is not listed in the dictionary, it is generally accepted that it is one word and not the two separate words "light" and "show".
