20 years ago at American Dance Festival I participated in amazing dance improvisation jams that went late into the night.  At the end of a day full of classes and rehearsals, 100 or more professional and pre-professional dancers would come together just to move.  We made a shift from prioritizing form to prioritizing connection.  Connection to self, to other, and to spirit.  These jams were magical for me.

Ecstatic Dance is something like a night club without the alcohol; with a sense of wonder and even prayer in its place.  It’s about connection.  At the end of the ecstatic dance I facilitated last night at JUMP Boise nobody wanted to leave.  We’d let go of judgement and melted into togetherness.

A how-to guide for ecstatic dance could look like this:

Let go of trying to do it right (expectations of self)

Let go of expectations of others

Don’t grasp or chase others, physically or otherwise

Trust and maintain your boundaries (you don’t owe anyone anything)

Move when you want to move

Listen, see, and feel