The power of Ecstatic Dance!

The power of Ecstatic Dance!

Dance has been a spiritual, emotional and community-building activity throughout history! It was a manifestation of personality and culture—an experience of Freedom and creativity.

We’ve all jumped and lived on the dancefloor or swayed in the crowd to our favourite bands. Some may have elegantly trotted across the ballroom, enjoying the waltz or the foxtrot.

Yet, these dance forms failed to stimulate the more profound experiences of the free-flow meditative trans-like dances of antique times. That was until Ecstatic Dance began its resurgence!

Being reborn in the early 2000s, Ecstatic Dance has become wildly popular in the Conscious Community – people who would practice yoga, meditation and other forms of conscious development. Previously, similar spiritual forms of Dance focused on the acoustic: the mellow and quiet. In contrast, Ecstatic dance bursts with energy, drawing heavily on various styles of music and rhythms! And it’s exactly what people love about it! While plenty of spiritual practices promote stillness and static postures, Ecstatic Dance reemerged with an excellent way to move the body’s energy and have a full release!

To understand the roots of Ecstatic Dance, we must venture back in time. The ancient Greeks – followers of the god of wine Dionysus were the first to enjoy Ecstatic dancing. In it, they saw a spiritual component, a way to worship Divine and wild trans-like states in which they could escape their bodies. In time, these dances became ritualistic. Variations of this form of dancing were common throughout the world. Rhythmic drumming and shamanic rituals used Ecstatic Dance to connect with the Great Spirit through the body and have served as a form of meditation. Through these intense dances, groups also formed tight, emotional bonds with one another, which benefited communities.