Ecstatic Dance Facilitator Guide
Introduction:
To the uninitiated, Ecstatic Dance may look like a daytime rave. A DJ will play intense, rhythm based electronic songs, while people are mostly dancing with themselves and seemingly without any form or structure.
But Ecstatic Dance is unique in many ways. The music is not just electronic. An Ecstatic Dance set encompasses many genres from around the world and throughout history. The set begins soft, ideal for a few minutes of meditation, yoga and stretching. It gradually crescendos to a climax at the peak. Then, it smoothly and gradually returns to soft music again, ideal for a few minutes of stretching and meditation. This Ecstatic Dance ‘Wave’ has a purpose. By having time to warmup/cooldown, slowly moving to/from the intense peak state, one can let go of self judgment and experience a greater sense of presence. The idea is to help people gradually enter a fully embodied state.
In a way, it’s a meditation. To some, the Ecstatic Dance space is likened to a temple. And to some, despite it not being a church, Ecstatic Dance is their way of praying. There is no talking and no cameras, so people can be in the moment. There’s children, elders, and everyone in between. There’s people of many backgrounds and identities. The only requirement is to co-create the event by participating in the Guidelines (below).
Founded on the principles of fostering a space for introspection, inclusivity, and interconnectedness, everyone is welcome.
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A Brief History:
In the late 1970’s, Gabrielle Roth, an American dancer and musician in the genres of world and trance dance, created an approach to mindfulness/meditation movement called The 5Rhythms™.
Roth described the practice as a “soul journey”, that by moving the body, releasing the heart, and freeing the mind, one can connect to the essence of the soul.
The five rhythms (in order) are Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and Stillness. The 5Rhythms, when danced in sequence, are known as a "Wave."
The term “ecstatic dance” is notably mentioned in Gabrielle Roth’s book, “Maps To Ecstasy: The Healing Power of Movement (1998)”. Gabrielle also notably published another book in 1998, “Sweat Your Prayers: Movement as a Spiritual Practice.”
The phrase “sweat your prayers” is frequently used to describe ecstatic dancing.
Many “trance dance” events were happening around the world, yet “Ecstatic Dance” had yet to become actualized and was far from becoming a commonly used phrase.
In about 1999, students of Gabrielle Roth’s “Maps” traveled to Hawai’i for the Hawai’i Dance Festival, held at Kalani Honua Educational Center, founded by Richard Koob and Earnest Morgan, two dedicated lovers of dance and Hawai’i culture.
A workshop called “Ecstatic Dance” was taught by Bodhitara Searles. It was a guided conscious movement workshop.
After the Hawaii Dance Festival, a new form of Ecstatic Dance became a weekly experience at Kalani… On Sunday mornings, every week, hosted by Max Fathom (alternating with Eldon Lee).
This new form of Ecstatic Dance no longer had a teacher nor a specific lesson plan. It was self-guided with the exception of the musical choices made by the DJ. Talking was omitted with the exception of a poem or meditation to start the experience, and then when dancers would share about their experience after the music ended. While Kalani’s website was not frequently updated, in 2000 Ecstatic Dance became a regular event on Kalani’s website. Max’s era of facilitation can be first found on their calendar, here.
Since Max’s initiation to Burning Man, Max began integrating electronic music into the journeys. Over time the popularity of Ecstatic Dance grew. Soon, the group of 15 grew to 150, and it kept growing. At that time, Ecstatic Dance in this form wasn’t happening anywhere else. The 5-Rhythms influenced, non-verbal, sober, electronic music infused musical journey wave, preceded by heartfelt poetry and intention, was unique to Puna, Big Island.
When Max decided to pass on the Stewardship of Ecstatic Dance, he passed it on to another Kalani community member and passionate dancer, Elizabeth Betwixt.
Elizabeth’s tireless efforts forged the foundation of what Ecstatic Dance has become today.
Taking the Stewardship on as her full time vocation, through weeks, months, and years of practice and refinement, she developed the verbiage, the tenets, and the formatting to keep Ecstatic Dance intimate, high quality, and to ebb and flow with both smaller and larger dance groups alike.
The foundations in Gabrielle Roth’s 5-Rhythms were always observed.
But as a new incarnation, not 5Rhythms, not church, nor a class or workshop, she described Ecstatic Dance as a “Community Ritual Movement Space”, and the musical arc as a “Community Ritual Movement Journey” .
After experiencing Kalani Ecstatic Dance and with the permission of Max and Elizabeth in 2008, Ecstatic Dance was brought to Oakland - California by Tyler Blank and Donna Carrol. The popularity of Ecstatic Dance exploded. Soon after, new interpretations of Ecstatic Dance sprung up around the world. Ecstatic Dance became a common moniker for almost any conscious dance event.
In the following years, Tyler and Donna’s paths diverged. Donna kept ecstaticdance dot com and associated trademark to promote "The Business of Conscious Dance". Tyler formed a non-profit to promote the preservation of Ecstatic Dance as an open-source and non-commercial event with ecstaticdance dot org, providing resources to freely help others start other Ecstatic Dances and connect with other communities around the world.
The final Ecstatic Dance at Kalani led by Elizabeth’s Stewardship was 6/21/2009 with attendance over 400 people. Noise complaints and permitting issues resulted in a Hawaii County order to stop Ecstatic Dance at Kalani.
After overwhelming positive testimony a special use permit was granted and Kalani could host Ecstatic Dance again. However, Kalani management evicted Elizabeth due to ongoing liabilities and the event’s not-for-profit nature. Ecstatic Dance had been a completely volunteer effort, supported by no-minimum donations. No one was turned away due to lack of funds.
After evicting Elizabeth’s Stewardship, Kalani announced their own Sunday morning dance event and initially respected Elizabeth’s request to not use the “Ecstatic Dance” moniker. Ecstatic Dance was the cultivation of Max and Elizabeth Stewardship over the last 9 or so years. However, Kalani staff eventually co-opted the name, changing first from Sun-Dance to Ecstatic Sun-Dance, and finally taking over Ecstatic Dance.
In the few years between 2000-2009, Ecstatic Dance grew to see hundreds of weekly participants with the care of Max, Elizabeth and others… Eldon, Salita, Kristal, Sprocket, Sahuna…
While Ecstatic Dance was founded around local community participation and stewardship, it became a main attraction to both locals and tourists visiting Puna, with 300-400 attending weekly.
As popularity has continued to grow, the moniker ‘Ecstatic Dance’ is now being widely used.
There are hundreds of Ecstatic Dances with varying principles and guidelines… some with none at all.
Now, with the help of Kalani inviting cooperative stewardship with dancers from that original 2001-2009 era, Kalani Ecstatic Dance again strives to cultivate the principles that made Ecstatic Dance resonate with so many people and spread around the World.
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Community:
Many people come to Ecstatic Dance with a focused dance background. Some come with foundations in 5Rhythms, Authentic Movement, Contact Improv, and Theatrical Movement. Some come with no formal background in dance, moving in raw, improvised ways. Ecstatic Dance encompasses people of many backgrounds, ages, cultures, genders, sexualities and affiliations. Focused on love, kindness and inclusivity, all are welcome. There are children, elders, and everyone in between.
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Guidelines:
There are 5 primary guidelines for Ecstatic Dance.
The guidelines are meant to be guiding principles for co-creating the container of Ecstatic Dance.
Note, they are all equally important and are interchangeable in their order.
1. We keep the space talk free; (except in emergencies) and express ourselves through movement and sound, speaking only during Closing Circles. We also refrain from photography or video (ideally our phones altogether). These guidelines allow us to be in the moment and cultivate a deeper connection to our bodies and senses.
2. We take responsibility for ourselves and our own safety and wellbeing; We practice taking responsibility for ourselves both physically and mentally/emotionally. It is a time to examine our fears, judgements, anger and sadness, and consider our own part in creating our thoughts/emotions.
We take care of ourselves and decide our experience. If we dislike our experience in one area, we can move to another area or outside. We practice our “No” as well as our “Yes”, and choose if and when we want to dance or be in contact with others. We speak up for ourselves in Closing Circle, expressing the positives and negatives we may have perceived.
3. We contribute; Ecstatic Dance stewards, weekly facilitators, and Kalani staff(venue) put in hours upon hours of work every week to co-create Ecstatic Dance. In order to maintain the sustainability of Ecstatic Dance, a financial or physical contribution is necessary..
4. We take care of the space; adhering to the venue rules, refraining from alcohol or drugs, only wearing non-marking dance shoes, not inviting pets, not wearing strong scents, not burning sage or incense, and cleaning up after ourselves… especially pools of sweat!
5. We respect each other equally. We balance our own individual needs and desires with the needs and desires common to the group.
Young or old, no matter the background or how someone looks, we treat everyone with respect and kindness. We move how we wish, no matter how it looks. We allow a unified group experience composed of a multitude of expressions. That said, we consider how our actions may affect others and explore the boundaries of our own expression while respecting the space and experience of others. We’re cautious of how we move, careful to respect each other’s desire to dance by themselves, never touching or coming too close to others without a clear invitation and consent.
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Facilitator Roles:
There are several facilitator roles in holding Ecstatic Dance:
Stewards:
A core group of dancers and community, dedicated to the co-creation of Ecstatic Dance, taking on the weekly setup, breakdown, administrative and various tasks required for the weekly experience, as well as ongoing organization and planning.
Voice of the Circle:
Ecstatic Dance is non-verbal (talk-free), but someone must speak in order to guide the Opening and Closing Circles. Thus the title: ‘The Voice of the Circle’.
All Stewards and Facilitators adhere to the guidelines as well, keeping the space talk-free except when in ShareBack (see Opening+Closing Circles).
Musical Facilitator:
A Musical Facilitator’s job is to focus on serving the community with a musical journey… crafting and executing that musical journey to carefully carry dancers through the experience, connecting emotionally, inspiring movement, and potentially being transformative.
Community Facilitators:
Community members may offer to help and facilitate creating the container. This may look like offering to help before and after Dance. Or, by little things like wiping up wet spots on the floor or gently and kindly (and non-verbally) reminding others that it’s a talk-free space or of other guidelines.
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Schedule:
A Traditional Ecstatic Dance Schedule:
7:30am: Setup, Sound Check
8:30am-9:30am: Yoga
9:30am: Stewards + Facilitator Meeting (15-45 min.)
10:15: Music Warmup (~45 min.)
11:00: Opening Circle + Invocation (5-15 min.)
11:15-1:45: Music Main Program (2-2.25hrs)
1:45-2:15: Closing Circle + Share-Back (15-30 min.)
Kalani Current Ecstatic Dance Schedule:
9:00am: Setup, Sound Check
10:00-11am: Yoga
11:00: Opening Circle + Invocation (5-15 min.)
11:15-1:30: Music Main Program (~2-2.25 hrs.)
1:40-2:10: Closing Circle + Share-Back (15-30 min.)
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Opening + Closing Circles
The Opening and Closing circles start and end the Community Ritual Movement Journey.
The Opening Circle is an opportunity for the Voice of the Circle to describe the Guidelines, and for a community member to share a poem, song, dance, or some other type of means to invite the group to contemplate something during their dance journey. This poem, song, dance, etc. is also known as ‘The Invocation’. Traditionally, Opening Circle occurs after the ‘Warmup’, allowing dancers to gather first.
Some Invocation participation guidelines are:
- Provide a thought provoking idea, or even just a word to contemplate
- Provide a personal piece of art, like a poem, song, or dance
- Provide an activity, being careful to explain the activity and what’s involved up front, inviting people to participate rather than telling them to participate.
- Keeping it brief, around 3 minutes, and advising the Musical Facilitator of what indicates the finish, so they can start music directly at the end (or making a transition over the end).
The Closing Circle includes an opportunity for individual community members to share using words in a space that is otherwise non-verbal, about their experience during their dance journey, called ShareBack.
Before ShareBack, the Voice invites everyone to listen intently to every individual who speaks, and without reaction or cross-talk.
ShareBack is intended to be specifically about the dancer’s experience during the journey, it encourages honest and vulnerable feedback, including negative as well as positive thoughts and feelings. It is an opportunity for community members to share and be heard without judgment by their community about their experience.
Some ShareBack participation guidelines are:
- Share in a “popcorn style”, speaking if & when one feels called… and not if one doesn’t… but sharing only once.
- Share only about our experience during Ecstatic Dance… avoiding story about outside experiences unless it directly relates to what came up during Ecstatic Dance.
- Be responsible for our own perspectives, using “I statements”… ie. “I perceived, xxx”… “I felt, yyy.”
- Listen, intentionally, to each person’s share… giving it our full attention.
- Avoid reactions if possible… avoid applause, cheering, snapping, etc… just absorb and witness each other without reacting... receive the good, bad, beautiful, funny and sad or ugly thoughts all the same. Harbor a space where positive and negative feelings are welcome.
- Avoid using the attention of the group to preach, coach or perform.
- Avoid cross-talk and responding to individual shares.
Note: The Voice may “pause” the circle and reiterate the guidelines at any time, particularly if they’re being ignored or if someone is taking more time than is fair to everyone.
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On Musical Facilitation:
The role of Musical Facilitator is an incredible responsibility and paramount to the Ecstatic Dance Movement Journey.
The term “Musical Facilitator” comes from the idea that the responsibility this role holds is greater than it would normally be for a DJ or musician. A DJ or musician’s responsibility is to entertain and put on a good show. Much of it can be about the performer, not the dancers and community.
As a Musical Facilitator, the responsibility is of humility and service to the dancers. Many emotional psychological breakthroughs can happen through the Ecstatic Dance journey. Facilitating this journey is likened to piloting the collective “ship” of several hundred souls from port to port, through storms and chaos, and then back home.
This said, the Musical Facilitator will typically play music in the same way a DJ would, cueing and playing songs while looping, transitioning, and effecting the music along the way.
It is encouraged to mix live (not using recordings or playlists) with smooth transitions between songs, to create a seamless, uninterrupted experience.
Musicians who make their own music are encouraged to play the music of others, with no more than 40% of their own. This is so as to create a well rounded and diverse musical journey.
Live instrumentalists (percussion) may accompany the music, though it is advised to have arranged and practiced ahead of time. Note, any accompaniment can become distracting or fatiguing when played continuously throughout the journey. Limiting accompaniment to a few songs is encouraged.
It’s important to always have a backup plan… even if just an older Ecstatic Dance recording on an MP3 player. If a computer crashes mid-journey, having something ready will avoid an abrupt and extended pause in the music.
Musical Facilitators are encouraged to become familiar with the concepts of Gabrielle Roth’s 5Rhythms, which were a guiding “map” for Kalani Ecstatic Dance’s founder, Max Fathom.
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Warmup+Main-Program:
The musical journey may be split into two parts, which allows the Opening Circle to be held ~45 min. after music has started and community members have had time to arrive.
This also allows the possibility of two Musical Facilitators to guide the musical journey, one the “Warmup” of ~45 min., and the other the “Main Program” of ~1 hr. 45 min.
Whether for the Warmup, the Main-Program, or for both, here are some guidelines to consider:
The Opening+Warmup, as well as the descent to Closing+Stillness are especially important. While some come to bounce and jump the entire time, some community members come feeling sensitive, achey, or may be processing something intense or painful. A slow and gentle ascent from the Opening Circle helps everyone have time to prepare for the intense journey to come. Likewise, after the intensity of the journey, creating a soft and smooth landing helps the community integrate the experience and move forward with a sense of a new beginning on the horizon.
For Musical Facilitators offering music for the Warmup, the beginning should be *very* soft, with 15-20 minutes of zero BPM (no drums or percussion), very calm music. This is when people warm up their bodies before the next 2 or so hours of intense dancing. It’s encouraged to carefully pace the ramping up of the musical intensity from this point. This is when dancers are drawn into the musical journey.
If facilitating the Warmup, it’s encouraged to carefully consider the end of the Warmup for the Opening Circle.
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A Musical Journey Map:
Kalani Ecstatic Dance Founder, Max Fathom, suggested composing a musical journey that observes the 5Rhythms, but not to strictly adhere to it.
Still, a defining characteristic of the Ecstatic Dance musical journey (with a similarity to the 5Rhythms) is an ‘arc’, ‘wave’, or ‘bell curve’ of intensity.
The arc can be broken down to phases, illustrating the gentle rise towards a climactic peak, then again a gentle descent to stillness.
Example Phases of a Musical Journey:
The Opening
Descriptions: Quiet, low intensity, low or zero beat/tempo, vocal/acoustic/ambient
Keywords: Opening, Graceful, Gentle, Soft, Smooth, Easy, Patient, Flowing, Stretching, Spiraling, Slow, Sensuous
5Rhythms Comparison: Flowing
The Warmup
Descriptions: Quiet, beginning with very low intensity, acoustic/ambient, little to no beat/tempo
Keywords: Soft, smooth, calm, sweet…
5Rhythms: Flowing
The Buildup
Descriptions: Medium-loudness, clearly defined beat, medium-intensity
Keywords: Strong, Sharp, Patterned, Percussive, Driving, Defined, Insistent, Throbbing, Thrusting
5Rhythms: Staccato
The Climax
Descriptions: Loud, clearly defined beat, high-intensity
Keywords: Expanding, Exploding, Chaotic, Intense, Explosive, Bursting, Wild, Hot, Free, Electric
5Rhythms: Staccato+Chaos
The Release / Resolution
Descriptions: Medium-loudness, clearly defined beat, medium-intensity
Keywords: Playful, Euphoric, Whimsical, Celebratory, Silly, Fun, Intimate, Renewed
5Rhythms: Lyrical
The Closing
Descriptions: Quiet, low-intensity, low or zero beat/tempo, vocal/acoustic/ambient
Keywords: Completion, Peace, Quiet, Spacious, Whole, Complete, Harmonious, Peaceful, Fulfilled
5Rhythms: Stillness
Notes:
- BPM is not the same as ‘energy level’. A song with a slow BMP can be very high energy, and vice versa.
- Songs may have the same energy level, yet one might be better for the beginning, having a ‘rising’ or ‘exciting’ feeling. Some songs may be better for the end, having a ‘descending’ or ‘relaxing’ feeling.
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A diagram recreated from the first Ecstatic Dance Facilitator Workshop workbook:
The Guidelines, from the first Ecstatic Dance Facilitator Workshop workbook:
Thank you for reading!
~ Sky Makai