We are in the midst of a cultural revolution.  We have no singular source point for truth, and little reference to weigh each others’ suffering or authority as we lean into consensus.  While reckoning with forms of oppression we can see, we know that there is more yet unseen in the systems of our society.  In the midst of attempting to take responsibility for our collective predicament it’s hard to know where to begin, and what to contribute.

In this transformative time we need new ways of thinking, creating, and communicating.  And, in the face of grief, rage, and despair we have a choice between creativity and destruction.  The destructive impulse, violent, reactive, and often insatiable, is driven by by fear.  Fear narrows vision and nurtures hatred.  Fear multiplies pain and frustration, dividing us in anger.  Fear is also a perfectly normal and natural response to a shifting environment.  Yet, new patterns make old ones obsolete.  Creativity is authorship.  Creative consciousness is the basis for reclaiming authority and thereby a strong beginning point for dismantling systems of oppression.  Patterns of energy may be alchemized through creative action to generate new awarenesses, new relationships, and new structures.  In creative action we can demonstrate the consciousness we wish to see in the world.

As we increasingly go online to witness and communicate with each other we are losing our bodies.  Our words are meaningless without the people for whom they stand.  Emoticons are a poor substitute for presence, and in the absence of our physicality our tolerance for divergent viewpoints and discussion easy devolves into divisive disrespect.  The conversations that connect us in creativity require our bodies.

Genuine embodied connection facilitates generosity and equality, yet requires vulnerability.  To dismantle systems of oppression we do well to begin within ourselves, whatever the color of our skin, our economic privilege, or our cultural backgrounds.  We are all indigenous to our own bodies; we belong here for a lifetime.  Becoming better acquainted with our bodies can help us bridge cultural and economic divides:  Conscious embodiment provides an essential platform for grounding and respect.  Attunement brings humility, directly revealing the value of all life and people.  And, we will die. The compassionate acceptance of our miraculous and mortal bodies facilitates participation in the larger consensus reality.  Every voice contributes in the whole of consciousness:  The systemic power and resilience of diversity arises exactly because we are not seeing or saying the same thing.

BraveSpace GuerrillaDance is a six week curriculum and an ongoing community to support embodied vulnerability, diversity, and real-world presence by dancing in public places.  The central purpose of GuerrillaDance is to face the fear and insecurity we experience as social beings so that we may better co-create through difference.  GuerrillaDance asks us to face our own egos, empowering individual sovereignty while simultaneously sensitizing and contributing to the communal field.  In dancing we recognize both that we are never alone, and that there is no ‘other’.  

Holding space for that we wish to witness and embody is prayer-formance—prayer through form.  BraveSpace GuerrillaDance invites you to the generous act of allowing yourself to be seen in your form, your skin, and the movement of your breath.  As a practice of vulnerability it doesn’t matter how ‘good’ a dancer you are—you will be challenged to dance for purpose beyond skill.  Skill will develop through the creative process.  In dancing we invite each other and each person who witnesses us to embrace their creative authority.

The simple and courageous curriculum of BraveSpace GuerrillaDance will support you to dance on your own and to lead others in dancing.  Lessons will be provided as videos and dance assignments that you complete at your own pace.  The suggested structure is two lessons a week for 6 weeks.   You will be encouraged to engage in online discussions with others completing the program to support each other.  Music playlists will be provided on Spotify, although they are not required.  You can complete the program alone, and you are also encouraged to use it as a platform to inspire your friends to action too.  We dance as sovereign individuals co-creating a new consciousness.  Destruction will happen.  If you feel called to creativity I invite you to ceremony for a new dawn.  

Offered as a gift. Donations are welcome. Click here to sign up.

Painting by Danielle Fink.