WEEKLY SUNDAY MORNINGS
Conscious Dance
10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Cambrian Hall | 215 East 17th
Sliding-scale cash drop-in $20 - $25
Adults only
MOVEMENT
Dance Divine is an unfacilitated event. This means that there is no instruction or choreography. It’s a free-style conscious dance event where we practice moving authentically. For many of us it is also a personal movement practice that we use to gain self-awareness, and as a way to move with, or through, the things we are feeling.
MUSIC
The music sets last about 1hr. 45 min. and have an emphasis on instrumental music from a multitude of genres. They start slowly, giving us time to tune into ourselves. The tempo picks up, through gently flowing to more percussive styles that eventually build to a cathartic peak with high-energy music. It then tapers off to a reflective, quiet ending.
COHESION
We aim for a cohesive group energy and shared intention so please arrive on time and get grounded (exhale!) and warmed-up. The registration table is open for the first 30 minutes. We hold an optional closing circle at the end, as a way to connect and share, or simply as a way to honour our practice and ‘close’ as a group.
SILENCE
As a form of ‘moving meditation’ we practice listening to our inner selves, and talking disturbs that focus and can cause us to ‘pop out’ of our body-based awareness. As an Authentic Movement practice, we practice speaking with our bodies. Therefor we refrain from verbal communication on the dance floor in order to maintain sacred space.
STILLNESS
Roughly the last 10 minutes of the music set is a for rest and integration. Staying for the closing circle is optional, but please respect this silence at the end by waiting to move about the space until the closing circle starts to form. If you need to leave early, please leave around 12:05 to avoid disrupting the stillness at the end.
5 RULES ON CONTACT & BOUNDARIES
We are here to get out of our heads and into a body-based awareness. When we ‘drop our guard’ a bit, we tend to experience new movements, perspectives and feelings. Doing that can be very therapeutic. It can also feel a little vulnerable and it requires the absence of “inter-personal agendas” (people trying to get something from you, or give you something). To achieve this, we practice integrity and self-awareness (being trustworthy) and encourage neutrality and friendship on the dance floor. This is not a pick-up scene.
Contact can be a powerful aspect of conscious dance and a good opportunity to practice self awareness and personal growth, however please err on the side of caution when it comes to physical contact with others. Please:
1
Initiate physical contact only with people you know. If you don't know someone, but would like to practice contact with them, chat with them about it before or after the dance.
2
Listen to your feelings and communicate your boundaries clearly. Please don't expect people to have mind-reading skills; it is your responsibility to clearly communicate your “yes” or “no, thank you”.
3
Pay attention to non-verbal cues in others; contact should be invited & accepted so please do not proceed without clear consent.
4
Decline an invitation by using the “namaste” gesture to bow out, and a smile? (Try not to take offence where none is intended.)
5
Do not pretend to be offering support or practicing contact improv dance when you are actually trying to ‘make a move’ on someone.*
* This is deeply unethical. People sense hidden agendas and get confused by mixed messages. Many people are a little wounded around boundaries. Let’s support each other to recalibrate our systems so that we can accurately decipher the authentic from the inauthentic, instead of reinforcing old wounds and negative beliefs. Having non-verbal experiences of depth, safety and joy in a group-setting can be very powerful and transformative. Ideally it will leave us with a renewed and expanded experience of trust and belonging (not the opposite).
I spend most of my Saturday nights creating new music sets. I love doing this. And it takes time. Each set gets worked on for 4 to 6 hrs. I debut new sets on Sunday morning, where mix them live and record them into a single audio track.