The Spiral of Life and Dance
- Aug 2
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Ecstatica's past few months and its surprising connection to my past
It's been a little while now since my last blog post in April. As is life, a lot has happened since then. I attended the Dance The Medicine Immersion in May, where I got to DJ twice, which was both nerve wracking and exhilarating. DJing my first "Morning Movement" (a dance session before breakfast) was surprisingly scary, as you feel the tenderness in the room at that early hour and a sense of responsibility not to disrupt it. A lot of uncanny and incredible things happened, revealing once again the power of the group field, one of the reasons why I love collective dance so much. It was, overall, a deeply powerful experience, which is why I can't wait for the next Immersion this November in Portugal.
Later in May was our Pure Release event, a night of high intensity, high energy music. In a way, it was our "last hurrah" at our venue of the past year, which sadly closed down a few weeks later. Stranded without a venue, we cancelled our June "Elemental Resonance" dance (which will happen at a future date) as I set out to find a new venue.
The venue that I chose, Chestnuts Community Centre, is down the road from the place I have recently moved to - quite convenient but also surprisingly quite poetic. Only later, after I booked the space for our monthly Thursday dances, did I realise the connection to my childhood.
Firstly, I lived on the same street as a young child. Second, on that same street is a Sufi mosque. My father used to attend that mosque almost every Thursday when I was a child, and quite often my siblings and I would tag along with him. So, on Thursday evenings, while the adults in the mosque would chant the names of God (a ritual called dhikr, or "remembrance"), pray and sometimes dance in twirling motions, my siblings, our friends and I would play in the smaller rooms around the mosque.
Those Thursday evenings were my introduction to what you might call collective harmony, or "collective effervescence", understood as "the intense energy and shared emotion people feel when they gather for a common purpose." I certainly witnessed this at the mosque, especially when they were chanting. I couldn't put it into words, but I felt something shift in the air as the chanting reached its peak energy, with the speed and volume increasing (Interestingly, their chanting was almost like an ecstatic dance wave, as it would start off slow and quiet, then reach a louder peak, before becoming slow and quiet again). Though I rarely joined in, having it in the background lent a feeling of comfort, as if their chants were spells cast for protection. But the highlight for me was afterwards, when the adults would stay around and chat, and the kids could run around, make noise and seek sweets from the adults.
I didn't follow the same path as my father, but the irony is not lost on me that many years later I would pursue my own path on the same street, and on the same day of the week. I would never have expected this as a child, and I especially wouldn't have expected to do anything related to dance, as the child who attended the mosque was a massive bookworm who "didn't know how to dance."
Ecstatic dances are, in many ways, similar to those evenings at the mosque. People come together. They surrender to the experience. Things shift internally. They may even feel a connection to something greater, whether a higher being, their higher self or even their past self. And then there's the socialising afterwards, which suddenly feels more easeful and organic after sharing an emotionally heightened experience together. This too is collective effervescence. As one dancer shared after her first ecstatic dance with us back in March:
"It was amazing. I felt so good after, having had some truly transcendental moments."
It felt like another meaningful connection to have my sister join me at the first event, our July Ecstatic Dance, at Chestnuts. Yes, I cajoled her into it (she has only been to two dances: this one and another that I cajoled her into a couple of years ago), and I'm so grateful that she came because it brought a sense of comfort to the evening, as I knew she would have my back. Both she and another "space angel", or volunteer, contributed to an evening that went smoothly and pleasantly. It was one of our best dances, and I am so glad that everything that happened over the past few months made it possible.
But perhaps the outcome was the result of more than just the last few months. Perhaps it began many years ago, as it dawned on me that evening that what I experienced as a child had come back around, just like the twirling dancers.
What's next: Our August Ecstatic Dance
Our July dance was a wonderful evening, and I thoroughly enjoyed DJing what I feel is my most "ecstatic dancey" set yet (listen here), with lots of different types of songs that inspire different ways of moving.
For our August dance, I am absolutely buzzing to welcome DJ and producer Anahata, a genuinely lovely human being and an awesome ecstatic dance DJ, known for his sets and facilitation at Ecstatic Dance UK. I first met him at the Dance The Medicine Facilitator Training back in 2024, where he played a standout set, and I'm chuffed to be able to collaborate with him a few years later. How time is both fast and full of surprises!
We would love for you join us this August 20th. Whether it's your first time, or you've been with us before, you are so very welcome.
Find out more about the event and buy tickets here.
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