Spreading Ecstatic Dance Far and Wide
If you’re reading this there’s a good chance that you’ve danced at one point or another in the PDX Ecstatic Dance world. Perhaps more than once. Most people I speak to remember their dance (even if it was just once many moons ago). And many of us return to the well as often as possible, can’t get enough. And so our community has grown – 30 people becomes 50 people becomes 100 people. The question that keeps coming to my mind is: how do we spread this even further?” So that 100 becomes 1,000, becomes 1 million, and on and on.
We all know this dance is good for us. Keeps us healthy, challenges us, brings up emotions, can be scary, can be illuminating, can be fun, can be a drag – all of the above and more. I think one thing that’s in the way of dance spreading is our own quietness about it. Shyness? Fear that others’ that we invite, might not get it? Fear that friends we invite might see a side of us that we’re afraid to show? There are probably a few fears in the way of our inviting everyone we know to dance.
Then, there is our hesitancy to recommend something so big to someone else. It might come across as a cult. It might come across as showing support for a certain group of people, and their take on this dance – I can imagine there are a few sets of emotions and blocks in this area that keep people from sharing with others.
All of that said, I think it’s time for us all to jump over our own shadows (a phrase I once learned in Germany) and help to get the word out about this beautiful thing. And here’s why.
It’s good for the people – the potential for personal growth found through dance is humongous. The health benefits are great – stamina, balance, coordination, stretching sore or hurt bones and muscles: therapeutic… I’m sure you’ve experienced some of this, and I suspect you know that it would be true for everyone you know – if they could just move like this once in a while they’d face some of those demons, get off the couch, get out of their stuff and move, both physically and emotionally.
It’s good for the community – I probably don’t have to go into this too much – it’s somewhat obvious to anyone who has danced and then shared a meal with fellow dancers – new friends, old, the mix of people who are dancing are living inspiring lives and after-dance conversation is often scintillating. We also learn new things at dance – how to hold space, how to listen, how to observe, how to make mistakes and clean them up, and new skills, and dance moves.
It’s good for the planet. Groups of people coming together to celebrate life, practice being around each other, touching each other, and moving together to raise the vibration – if you’ve ever felt this you know what I mean, and if you haven’t, keep an eye out for it, it happens quite a lot on ballroom floors in our town frequently.
So, here’s what I recommend. If you agree that ecstatic dance is good in the ways I’ve outlined above, stop being quiet about it. Start being loud about it. Put it on your resume. Invite your 10 best friends to dance with you at your favorite dance spot. Once in a while volunteer to help set up, break down, or lead the intention – get to know the folks that put on the dances and ask how you can support their efforts and share the work.
Then there’s the other 500 ways to support something: word of mouth, passing on some flyers, posting flyers, posting your intention on your FB profile, blog, website…
Being shy about this thing we love serves noone. Let’s be out and proud and see what happens.
My vision is to encourage this fire to grow big everywhere. Right now I’m trying to help the folks at OmCulture in Seattle get their dance on. My sense is that Seattle has the people, it is just waiting for the spark and the infrastructure to show up. And just like any good and worthy movement, if we play our cards right, encourage the growth of the dance in many places, we will help the world to dance ecstatically.
If you’d like to continue this discussion, please feel free to write me with your ideas. And, I’d love to hear back from anyone who takes any of the suggestions above and runs with them.
Remember the last time someone came to dance and said “this is my first time here and I feel like I’ve found my home”? Yeah, let’s spread that – like a big slathering off goodness all over this planet earth.
Till we dance again,
Albert
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