WHO WE ARE

We are a community of adults of all ages that meet to explore the energy of dance, movement, and sound in a safe, non-judgmental space. We move slowly, quickly, gracefully, clumsily, playfully, seriously, noisily, and quietly. Many of us have no dance background and others have a variety of dance and movement experiences. Our intention is to share and practice movement, with each other—as gifts.

Structure

The structure of our weekly dance is simple yet consistent. Warm-up starts at 7 pm and is approximately 35 minutes long. Warm-up is a time to root yourself in your body and come into the moment; we request that people warm up in silence. At the end of the warm-up, we join in an opening circle for introductions, announcements, requests, and offerings for the dance. We dance for 75 minutes and end at 9 pm.

The Music

We play recorded music that is compiled by one of the dancers in the community. The DJ is different every week. 

The Money

At each gathering, we ask for $5-10 from everyone to cover the space rental. If you can’t afford it and have to choose, we’d rather have you dance than pay. If you are unable to pay, help with set up, tear down, and greeting supports the community.

How We Contain the Space and How It Contains Us

The sacredness of the space is created and held by all as a place of honor, respect, and acceptance for what is expressed and for who is expressing it. We gather to support and witness each other, and ourselves, as we dance and share our unique truths and individual stories. In that vein, you are 100% responsible for your well-being during this experience and 100% responsible for maintaining awareness of how you are impacting others.

Please do not wear any shoes on the dance floor that you’ve worn outside. We ask that dancers leave talking in the hallway and enter the space in conversational silence. It is ok to use the facilities but be courteous and respectful of others in areas outside of the dance space. If you can, please help us set up (lights, sound system, and sweeping) and break down. Socializing is encouraged, but not in the dance space.

The Shadow of Dance

Dancing in a community with others like or unlike us evokes stories about ourselves and our relationships with others. Some of this may feel wonderful. Some of it may feel uncomfortable and edgy.

Some of the Things We Are Practicing

• Having fun! Enjoying our body as the juicy, fluid, alive, feeling, and soulful organism that it is!

• The non-verbal expression of thoughts and feelings

• Experiencing our body as a teacher of the natural intelligence that comes from attuning to our internal and external senses

• Exploring where “I” end and “you” begin.

• Learning to discover and communicate our boundaries and our desire for connection—to say yes and no—non-verbally

• Intuition—tuning into others and learning what creates safety/freedom for self/other

• Owning our experience of another’s dance as completely ours

• It is beyond the scope of this group to be a vehicle for processing all the stories, feelings, and characters we discover through movement. So we invite you to engage other support systems in exploring the discoveries made here. Meanwhile, celebrate the opportunity to keep it all moving in the presence of loving witnesses, and remember—it’s all yours.