What is Ecstatic Dance?
Until you actually experience ecstatic dance, the words and video below will have to do.
You enter the dance space that has been thoughtfully prepared by a trained facilitator. Maybe you came with friends, maybe you came alone. Maybe you arrive as the warm-up is beginning or you come for opening circle, or you arrive when the dance is in full swing. You come carrying the weight of your day-to-day worries and frustrations.
Then the music begins.
The music inspires your body to move. It moves the people around you. You dance because it feels good, not because it looks good. You forget about looking “cool” because your body enjoys moving to the music.
You move alone. You move with others. You move around others. You share a moment with someone. Then someone else. Then someone else.
You spin. You jump. You thrash. You run. You laugh, and the music carries you and everyone else on. Everyone having their own dance while simultaneously co-creating a dance with everyone else.
As the dance comes to an end, you notice that you are lighter. The dance has transformed and released much of the weight you brought with you.
This is ecstatic dance.
But don’t just take my word for it.
Practice dropping judgments
Set and expand your boundaries
Dance barefooted
Allow the music to move your body
Step into the present moment
Movement is the language of the brain.
– Anat Baniel –
The people in the video aren't professional dancers
They are just people who showed up for dance that day and didn’t mind being videoed. Some participants have been dancing longer, and so have more experience and may have attended some classes in contact improv or freestyle partner dancing. But most have not.
What if I'm not comfortable?
There are no requirements at the dance other than stepping into the present moment. You can take a break as you need to or dance off to the side. It is common for people new to the free form nature of the dance to stay on the side or back corner for their first few dances before trying to engage with other people.
What if I'm not a good dancer?
Then you really need to experience ecstatic dance. It’s not about skill level, it’s about how comfortable you feel allowing your body to move to the music.
What if I want to leave before it's over?
The dance is not a class. We encourage personal responsibility. That means, when you don’t like a song, take a break. When you’re thirsty, stop and get a drink. When you need to, go to the bathroom. If you’re not feeling it? You can leave early.
Why Incorporate Ecstatic Dance Into Your Retreat?
The first day of a retreat can prove difficult for participants. They can take awhile to shed their daily life and step into the retreat atmosphere. Or, they could be shy connecting with other people.
Ecstatic dance helps people drop the defensive barriers they have that keep them closed to new ideas, experiences, and people. It provides a threshold that hits the reset button on people’s attitude, leaving them ready to be fully present and go all in.
Having an ecstatic dance as one of the opening activities for your retreat will assist your participants in connecting more deeply to each other and well as be open to your materials. I regularly hear retreat leaders observe that participants connect authentically much more quickly following an ecstatic dance compared to their retreats where they didn’t have one. Connections that usually take two to three days happen in hours or just a day.
Want that kind of impact at your retreat or event? I’d love to talk to you further.
Interested in learning more?
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