Conscious Dance

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My The Little Book of Dance Inspiration book about ecstatic and "conscious" dance.

About

NOTE: This page is a daughter page of: Dance


So technically Conscious Dance isn't a known expression, but in 2023 I decided it was a nice umbrella word to include several dances that focus on the quality of presence and freedom of movement versus learning patterns and looking good. You may also like the term "hippy dancing". The main forms of conscious dance would be Ecstatic Dance (probably the best known of them), plus Open Floor, 5Rhythms, BioDanza, Contact Improv and many more - which look pretty much identical to the untrained eye. Perhaps I don't still don't know all the intricacies... but I love these "conscious dance" events so deeply that I created the website danceinspiration.net and co-wrote a book called book for those looking for a deep dive.

In this article, I explain some of the concepts in more detail. Just know that each venue and style has its own flavour, but they certainly have a lot in common.


Child Pages

Here are some of my favourite conscious dance events:


Warning: All these dances are subject to change, and I only update this everyone in a while. I live in Brisbane right now and I think it will be my forever city.


Related/Child Pages:

  • Oahu (Hawaii):
    • Ecstatic Dance - Oahu - Ecstatic dance started on Big Island, but there is much less of it on Oahu sadly.


A page from my book.
Another page from my book ("The Little Book of Dance Inspiration: Unlocking freedom in movement & authenticity in dance").


What is Conscious Dance

I sometimes like to call conscious dance events by the affectionate name "hippy dancing". I related best to this description from the Daily Telegraph:

I love it precisely because it isn't based on learned steps. Instead, the idea is to find your own dance by moving your body in whatever way you fancy.

It's as much meditation as it is a dance.


Eclectic Music

One of the many things I love about conscious dance is the music. It's often a lot of "world music" and "woo woo songs" but depending on the venue, you might hear everything from classical, tribal drums, chill-out, trance, jazz, rock and then out of nowhere a modern pop song with funny lyrics. Depending where you go you can expect anything from Bach, to Micheal Jackson, Toto, Enya, Adele, The Eagles and a hundred artists you've never heard of but wished you owned all their albums. And yet somehow all these different songs blend seamlessly together.... and often they blend in "waves".


Where does this happen

All over the world! See the links at the bottom or (better yet) visit danceinspiration.net.


What to expect

If you decide to come, arriving at hippy dancing can feel a little strange. If you arrive early you'll probably walk into a room with just a few other people - all of them stretching and flowing around the room like... well hippies. :)

If you arrive 15 minutes later the room might fill up (depending on the venue), and depending on the song they might all be dancing like maniacs - some people might even grunt. Arrive another 15 minutes later and these people might just be lying on the floor and some of them hugging. If you're not used to that then you'll think "what the hell is going on here!". You might be worried you've walked into some free love movement. With time you'll realize physical contact is pretty normal in some spaces. It's usually not "funny business" you're seeing - the regulars know each other well and hugs are pretty common.

At the end of most of these dances, you migh get a sound healing session, where someone with face paint plays a weird but beautiful instrument and people lay on the floor and zen out to the relaxing music... and/or you might get what I call the feelings circle (closing circle), where people talk about their feelings about the dance, and share announcements at the end. Again, feeling circles is an affectionate name I came up with - so I hope it doesn't sound like I'm being mean! Lots of people leave before the circle, but I like to stay because in smaller circles everyone says their name and has the chance to talk about anything they felt, discovered or have on their minds.


Who dances?

So what type of person attends this kind of events?! I'd like to joke that we are mostly (a) long-haired, tie-die-wearing hippies or (b) software engineers. There's a smidgen of truth to that, but don't let it scare you! Yes, a couple of dancers wear colourful clothes, and yes, there are a lot of people who practice or teach meditation and well-being.... but in reality, these are people who love dancing, and yes, lots of them have been to burning man or have alternative lifestyles. You don't have to own a bead shop to enjoy the dance though. :)

As you dance you'll notice a few people have had experience with some other form of dance - I like to guess who's done couple's dancing before. I'd say over half have never done any other form of dance. It doesn't matter if you're good at dancing or terrible. If you want to do some weird yoga pose, spin in circles, or jump... it doesn't matter. You are not being judged... and that is very refreshing. I've been told I'm a good dancer, but at hippy dancing, I embrace the freedom to do something weird, like crawl across the floor, or make a funny face at someone. It's the opposite of most other dancing where you're trying to look good and act like you have things figured out. It doesn't matter if you have two left feet, there are no steps to learn. In such a practice it's not about how you look, it's about how you feel and the energy you feed into the room. :)


What to wear

You will sweat, so I'd recommend a simple t-shirt and loose-fitting pants or anything else that breaths. I've worn jeans before, but they can get sweaty. Most girls wear dresses or tights, but I wear dresses on weekends only. :-P

If you've been to Burning Man, you'll already know what people wear dancing. :)

The biggest thing to know here is that most conscious dance events are barefoot! Shoes are very discouraged and socks are banned. This "encouraged" rule is more about safety than anything else - to prevent you from slipping over or crushing a foot. Ballet shoes are fine but seriously.... just give barefoot a try.

There's a drinking fountain and good bathroom / changing rooms with towels just outside the main dance area, but I like to bring my own towel' and a couple of water bottles. Almost all of us bring a bag and we leave them around the edge of the room. If you live far away you'll probably want a change of clothes for the drive home. Depending on how you dance, these events can be an incredibly intense workout! Most of us are sweating pretty heavily come the energetic part of the wave! Hence the towels and water bottles

Foot thongs

Dance paws from Amazon

As liberating as it is to be barefoot, if you dance as vivaciously as me I'd suggest you invest in a pair of "foot thongs" (sometimes called "foot undies") to look cool and protect against blisters. Quite a few of us wear them. Most choose the thong style design, but I prefer to wear dance paws" that you can get from Amazon or the Capezio Dance Theatre Shop in Mountain View for ~$30. These have a hole for each toe and feel awkward at first, but they don't slide off like some others might. My pair has lasted about 3 months, but I'm pretty heavy on my feet, so hopefully they'll last longer for you.

Communication without words

They don't have many rules at conscious dance events, but aside from the hard shoes and being generally respectful of others (i.e: don't dance so recklessly you might hurt someone) the other big one is no talking. The rule exists because talking in the middle of a soft profound song kind of spoils the ambiance and experience for everyone else, so if you do have to say something make sure you whisper! I'm always tempted to tell people how much I loved dancing with them - and often I will - but after a while you realize that you can say everything you want with a simple nod, bow, hug.... or even just your eyes. Try all four at once or something completely different for bonus points.


Saying no to a dance - using namaste hands

For all these dances, if there is an invitation to dance, but you'd rather dance by yourself, putting your hands together in a pray like position is saying "thanks, but I want to dance by myself now". If someone does this to you, smile and do it back to say "thank you for honoring yourself". It sounds a little bit hippy, yes, but trust me, saying no and receiving no in this way is quite beautiful to witness or be a part of. I actually have started to do this hands to anyone that says no to me and they always appreciate it, because it takes the awkwardness out of getting a "no". It's not a rejection, it's a "not now sorry", but you seem like a cool person. :)


Meeting people

The story of how I discovered these dance events is fun I think. I'd just moved to San Francisco and had joined an online dating site. On this site I chatted to a lovely girl who challenged me to come along. I took the challenge immediately - I love trying new things. I'm forever thankful for her friendship, wisdom and introducing me to the world of open dance! :)

In terms of romance, I know of at least one couple who met dancing, but generally I don't think people go to dancing looking for romance. It's not the most likely place and it's nice to show up and dance with people without that agenda/distraction clouding your mind. For me I actually like the age difference means that most people there are married/coupled up, and also just more relaxed about everything - not really worried who dances with who. Guys dancing with guys is fine, and if you dance with someone of the opposite gender it's as much physicality as you're comfortable with. Get a bunch of people all the same age together and the dynamics change and people feel like they are all in competition. At dance, what you can sometimes get in one night feels like a dozen or more beautiful "little relationships" from the people you dance with.... and it helps you feel loved.

Joining the dance

Some dance events you are more likely to dance with others than other dance events. Some people just dance in their own space and don't want to be interrupted, but I am constantly surprised by the connection you can share with someone when you dance. I dance as I hope to live - to be happy, open and I dance with everyone! If I make eye contact and they smile back, I'll usually want to dance with them... sometimes I almost have to force myself to say "okay, I should dance the next one alone". Every person I dance with is a unique experience, and the most wonderful unique dance movements have just naturally occurred. Throwing a pretend ball in a group, sitting back to back and rolling someone across the floor, pretending to wrap twine around each other, dancing with our heads connected an entire song are just a few of the beautiful bizarre things that can happen in two hours. It's an outlet for collaborative, spontaneous creativity. I've had people come up afterwards to say "how did you think of that", and the truth is it's something I only came up with by connecting with them - we came up with it together. When dancing with other people in this trusting, playful and open way you might be very surprised what organically emerges. Some connections are stronger than others, often it's playful and sometimes it's more profound. It's about as well as you can ever know a person without actually saying a word.

I think this level of vulnerability isn't for everyone, but even if you come along and dance alone I highly recommend the experience of coming along to understand why this form of dance is getting popular. I've only managed to get a few dozen friends to come along so far, I think about 60% of them love the experience, and 40% decide to come back. Depends who you invite!

More than any traditional dance dance, conscious dance has a huge element of meditation, of expression, of freedom. The cardiac benefits are great but I find it helps my heart and mind in other ways. The energy it gives me can help improve my entire week. :)

Hope to see you there on the floor!

Sincerely,

    Andrew Noske



A Few Breeds of Conscious Dance

Ecstatic Dance

Probably the most popular for of conscious dance around the world Ecstatic Dance

5 Rhythms

The 5Rhythms dance refers to 5 different styles of dance which together form a wave:

  • flow - (earth) - pleasant flowing music.
  • staccato - (fire) - sharp, edgy music.
  • chaos - (water) - chaotic, energetic, and often wild dancing.
  • lyrical - (air) - playful.
  • stillness - (spirit) - gentle music, at this part you'll naturally slow down and come to rest... some people will lie on the floor.

I've listed these rhythms because I was curious myself - I can never remember - but honestly, I don't like to think about what song is what category, because I feel like that might influence how I dance to it. You dance to any song however you want.

A single wave can last as long as an hour, and during that time the music goes from soft and flowing, where people are moving slowly around the floor, to something more upbeat, where people move faster and might grab a partner, and then up a crescendo where you experience a crazy high level of energy and often see people dancing in big groups. Only when you reach the point where you feel like you might collapse, the music starts becomes lighter and softer to the point where many people will lie down on the floor with a friend, allowing them to breath, meditate and recover and be ready for the next wave. It sounds like there are now hundreds of venues that do 5Rhythms - most of them in the United States and Europe. You can find locations on the official website:

Open Floor

The Open Floor movement is explained here: openfloor.org


See Also

Links


Acknowledgements: My amazing friend Sam Kennedy - my bromance from Guatemala, and coauthor! Hope we dance again soon buddy. I'll come visit Seattle sometime!
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