What Is conscious dance?
“At the intersection of WE and ME is a new kind of human. We are learning to be truly powerful as individuals while opening ourselves and expanding our ego structures to embody the motion of collectivity. We experience freedom in co-creation. In community, we come more alive.”
Conscious Dance is a transformative movement practice that activates the innate intelligence of our bodies for healing, self expression and a return to wholeness. We layer dance, music and breathe with intent and deep listening to the rhythms that move us to co-create experiences that are inspiring, empowering and invite our wholehearted participation with Life.
Conscious Dance comes in innumerable forms. A few you may encounter around the globe include: The 360, 5Rhythms, Authentic Movement, Azul, Biodanza, Contact Improv, Dancing Freedom, Interplay, Movement Medicine, Open Floor, Qoya, or Soul Motion. While the maps may differ in texture and tone, pace and possibility, the entry and end points share similarities. For example:
We Dance to Turn Inward.
Conscious Dance is a pathway, a journey of paying attention and waking up! By inviting mindfulness into our practice and centering IN the body, we cultivate deep levels of presence and awareness both in the dance and in our lives!
Image by Rolf Gibbs
We Dance for Wholeness.
Together we create spaces through which consciousness can deepen and grow. Conscious movement softens and opens us to a direct experience of wholeness, offering a palpable sense of the power and grace that is present both in movement and stillness. The practice is the foundation, the form, through which we access the body and enter the gateway of inner knowing and wisdom.
We Dance to Liberate.
Free your body, free your life! When we stop thinking about “how to” dance and instead open our hearts and bodies to the dance as it moves through us, we free ourselves from limitations, habitual patterns and beliefs. Through consistent practice we open to new ways of being in our body and increase our capacity to move and respond from a place that is anchored in the present moment, empowered by choice!
We Dance to Co-Create.
We invite all aspects of our Being - and beyond - to participate in the co-creation of our lives and weave fields that are vital, informative, and creative. Through intention and moving prayers we re.member our interconnection to all things and create spaces in support of our individual and collective journeys!
More than simply a practice, Conscious Dance is a global community that enlivens and awakens the extraordinary potential of the human spirit!
THE PRACTICES
For nearly 2 decades I have steeped in the field of Conscious Dance, exploring the incredible gifts of communal healing spaces through a variety of dance forms. Called to some more than others, and eventually deepening and devoting myself to 3 practices in particular - Dancing Freedom, Authentic Movement and the Open Floor - I have gained the skill and permission to teach these modalities and share this medicine with the world.
DANCING FREEDOM
Dancing Freedom weaves together Somatics, Ecstatic Dance, and a Co.creative partnership with the Elemental Field. Layered with the medicine of music, mindfulness and conscious communication, each class offers a rich communal movement ritual for exploration, realization and healing.
Find out more about the practice or what to expect in a typical Dancing Freedom class!
OPEN FLOOR
Open Floor is a resource based movement practice. We explore new ways of moving and responding to what is happening with intention and purpose. We learn to understand our habits and patterns for deeper insight and self awareness. The more we embody different responses in our movements, the more resources we can call on to move through life with flexibility, resilience and ease.
Find out more about the practice or what to expect in a typical Open Floor class!
AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT / CONTEMPLATIVE DANCE
Started as “movement in depth” by Mary Starks Whitehouse, Authentic Movement is an intuitive, improvisational dance practice involving a mover and a witness. We listen, attune, slow down and open up. We follow the deeper threads of body and psyche through movement and sound.
Experience the practice of Authentic Movement through a 6-week series for women, Moon Rising.
