Winter solstice dances

Winter solstice is a few days away and the Christian tradition of honouring the darkest night is only a week away.

A session of Afro-Modern dance wrapped up today, and as we are preparing to show off our new moves at Showplace on Dec. 30th, I'm thinking about how to write a description of what we've been doing this fall. African dance has always been a joyful experience for me and local musician Chaka Chikodzi's Zimbabwean marimba music (our live accompanient) has to be for me some of the happiest music on the planet. I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year and the beginning of the slow return of the light.

And yet I just finished watching a great Swedish documentary with archival footage from the 60's and 70's called "The Black Power Mixtape".  Angela Davis and her powerful words have propelled me back into thoughts of power, domination and the dark side of American race history. Words like "cultural appropriation" are swirling in my head as I remember how anxious I felt about starting an African dance class in Peterborough. Me, a White Canadian woman who loves African dance but who has little formal training in the style. Should I be teaching and choreographing this?

I am realizing I am asking the same questions I asked in my twenties, about the place I should occupy in race politics, and in non-Western art forms. And yet my body calls me on, joyfully into the dance, as my group joins other dancers and styles from Sri Lanka, Mexico and the Middle East. I am laying down my sadness at the injustice of racism in the world, and lighting the candle that is a body in movement to celebrate the light. I know others will be oblivious to my concerns, simply enjoying our performance and the chance to dance along with us, and this will be enough for me. I will be thinking about the joy of African dance, and remembering that darkness and light meet at the horizon.

Join us and all the other performers at Showplace on Friday, Dec. 30th, 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm. There will be a potluck dinner in the Lounge (please bring a side dish or appetizer; a chicken or vegetarian main dish with rice is included in the  $7.00 entry fee). There will be drumming workshops, live music, crafts for kids, and then the show upstairs between 8pm and 10pm.

http://www.showplace.org/

Visit our group Afrocentric Awareness Network of the Kawarthas at:
 http://aank2007.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

An embodied way of knowing

Cultural feminist Chalene Spretnak wrote in the 90's "the contemporary renaissance of Goddess spirituality is ... the practice of an embodied way of knowing and being in the world" and that it "celebrates the power of the erotic" that draws forth "unpredictable creative waves of spiritual, intellectual, and emotional renewal".(1)

It has been on my mind for a while to write an entry about my experience of ecstatic dance and the erotic.  A friend's loan of Spretnak's book, with its chapter on goddess religion, has made a link between "chaos" and the erotic for me. In my last entry, I wrote that dancing the chaos rhythm has the effect of renewal for me. Its crescendo and release remind me of a theatre exercise we used to do when I was studying acting in the 80's, designed to create a feeling of connection between actors on stage, as well as a sense of dramatic tension.  Participants would create a circle with their arms about one another and by breathing audibly (sighing) and moving together, the energy of the group would slowly rise until it exploded in what can only be described as an orgasmic state. I can assure you it had nothing to do with sex though and teachers facilitated the process with the utmost integrity.

I often reflect that we are dancing chaos, men and women (and children) together, expressing movement that is sometimes interpreted as sensual or even sexual in a society that has separated the body from the mind and made the body a pornographic object to be bought and sold. It is impossible for me to complete the chaos stage of the wave without some erotic sensation of freedom. I feel taking this risk softens the boundaries between us, even if a less walled division of the sexes is a little disconcerting for some of the group.

I don't think it is possible to truly dismantle the boundaries that our culture enforces between body/mind/emotion/spirit/soul without also softening the boundaries between our bodies and those of others. The contact improv group in town also works on this basis, encouraging physical contact between dancers as a way of listening not only to your own body but the body of another person. This too has nothing to do with sexual intimacy.

I have been reading Thomas Moore's book "The re-enchantment of everyday life" and he talks about  western society's hunger for a more erotic connection to life. I think this is what I am experiencing during ecstatic dance, and in everyday life, as I seek a more "embodied" way of being in the world.

(1) Spretnak, C. (1991). States of grace: The recovery of meaning in the post-modern age. Pages 137, 138,149. Harper Collins, New York.)

Chaos & goddess love of the body

This week during an ecstatic dance session, I was reminded again why I love the chaos rhythm so much. Chaos is one of five universal rhythms according to Gabriel Roth and it represents the cresendo in the "wave" of music used in ecstatic dance that follows her philosophy.

To me, chaos is utter freedom ... from the mind, from inhibitions, from daily worries. In fact when it works best for me, it is quite mindless! Of course I am still present to reality around me; I don't run into other dancers; I don't forget where I am (well maybe for a few seconds!) or that others are aware of me; but I do leave the conscious plane to some extent. And I enter into the dark world of goddesses, fierce, grounded and free. I am definitely connected to the "below" energy I talked about in my previous blog.

It seems to me we need more chaos, living in a highly controled Western world where our behaviour is closely monitored for conformity, by others, and by ourselves. Chaos is what happens when we loosen our hold on order, control, rational thought ... and the wild enters in, bringing fresh thoughts and new-found balance. It is the healing energy of the yin-yang circle of life that wipes away the rigid walls built up by rules and narrow thinking.

If you want to know more about any of the five rhythms, check out the following workshop. Peterborough local Kate Huband is holding a full day session on the five rhythms on Saturday November 19th at All Saints Anglican Church Hall,  235 Rubidge St, Peterborough

(parking available on Park St. in Church parking lot)

register & more information

call Kate: (705) 750-0411 email: katehuband@gmail.com

go to website: www.danceyourbones.com

$45 per-registered $50 at the door (sliding scale for unemployed)

I also want to salute Rosemary Ganley for her excellent lecture at Trent this week on feminist theology. She spoke to us of some of the great women thinkers within Christianity, Islam and Judaism. I left the lecture hall in a deep reflection on a particular theologian whose ideas sank deep.  

(Paraphrased) "From the Abrahamic religions, we learn about the love of social justice and community; from Buddism, inner peace; from Aboriginal spirituality, the love of the Earth; and from Goddess religions, the love of the body.""States of Grace" by Charlene Spretnak

Love your body.

Above and below

A friend and I have been talking lately about the Dark Goddess (or goddesses) and what She represents. As my ecstatic dancing is always exploring my relationship to the divine feminine, I wanted to express some experiences of Her darkness that I've had lately when I dance - the "below" that I connect to when I dance low to the ground and the energy I call up into myself from Mother Earth.

Once I read a book about Hatha Yoga that invited practitioners to use their imaginative minds when they held a pose to uncover the hidden meaning of that pose. Tree pose has always been a favourite of mine and I began visualizing myself as a tree, half of myself visible, above ground, half invisible 'below' the ground, a root system that is a mirror reflection in terms of scope and importance. As I balance in that position, one foot firmly 'planted', I visualize my roots extending down into the earth. My trunk becomes an extention of those roots and I no longer begin at the surface of the floor I stand on. My physical balance improves but so does my spiritual balance as I reflect on some deeper part of myself.

The Dark Goddess is here for me, in the unseen underworld. When I stomp or skip on the ground, I am awakening this part of myself the same way humans have awakened the fertile earth with dance for milleniums as part of their spring planting rituals. When I let my chest beat with the rhythm of the drum and I direct it towards the floor, bending away from my "head" and concentrating on my body connection to the earth, I feel goddess energy fill me and I can move into a "trance" state that is very restoring. I end the session feeling connected, alive, my mind cleared of debris.

I also want to tell readers about a local musician who has launched a successful new album that has some great meditative dance music. Elyse Bruce has teamed up with Gerry Dere to produce "Dreamtime", a project that is raising funds for the Make a Wish Foundation. Her son has an incurable disease, Myasthenia Gravis, and his life has been touched by the foundation. If you want a copy of the cd, Elyse can be reached through Centre Stage Performing Arts, Peterborough at (705) 745-5573. Mayeline and I are now holding our classes at their shared space in Peterborugh Square (with the Tai Chi Assn) and I'd be happy to get you a copy.

Yoga dance workshop

I have mentioned Amrita's beautiful Nritya yoga workshops. Here is an update on her fall session in Montreal.

Oct. 16th and 23rd
1 pm to 4:30 pm
$175
To register, go to:
http://www.ananda-amrita.com/Upcoming%20Events_Fr.htm

Loving, welcoming bodies

With a new fall ecstatic dance session beginning, there has been the usual arrival of new dancers to the group. We are an open collective (or 'tribe' as some members like to say) and new people drop in all the time, needing to be welcomed.  Some may not be that comfortable expressing themselves in movement.

This week I observed several dancers staying for long periods in the corner or sides of the room. We always have the choice to do this and I appreciate when the group leaves me alone to be quiet and reflective when I want to be. Sometimes it is because I am in pain and by back is stopping me from enjoying movement. Many members deal with physical injuries and dancing is another way for us to deal with pain or tightness. Other times it is because an emotion is asking to be felt in stillness. But for newcomers, it can simply be discomfort or shyness.

Several of us interacted from time to time Thursday, inviting new dancers to share more of the space. But one particular interaction caught my attention. A dancer who had been in the corner for a long time was joined first by one dancer, then a second. They just danced beside them, shoulder to shoulder, but not really with them. As if they were just keeping them company.

Then one dancer started to move forward slowly and the other began to follow. It was as if an unspoken invitation to join the space had been offered and accepted. After that, the solitary dancer moved with the others in the room. I felt I had witnessed a beautiful healing moment when someone's aloneness was shared and then dispersed into the group, allowing them to make the shift in their feeling state.

It reminded me not to be so caught up in my own journey all the time but rather to share my body generously with others when I am dancing. Moving with them. Or beside them. Or around them. Whatever way our bodies seem to wish to connect.

Loving, welcoming bodies in movement.

Fall events

Summer is fading and fall dance activities are gearing up. Thanks to those who came out last Saturday to the Open House with West Coast Swing, Contact Improv, Afro-Modern, Ecstatic and Zimbabwean Traditonal dance. We had a ball! If you want to get in touch with any of the facilitators, contact me and I will be happy to pass on their info.

Mayelin Lovet and I will be offering an Afro-Modern fusion class this fall, Saturdays at 12:00 pm at George St. United Church. Email debbie.at.home.09@gmail.com for more information or to register.

Dance Your Bones has resumed Thursday evenings at All Saints Church and so will my blog reflections on meditation in movement.

Dance music

Dance Your Bones facilitator Tina shared her favourite dance music source Mondomix tonight so I'm passing it on in a new section at the bottom ... Favourite Dance Music. Check it out, only $.99 a song.

Dancing is the soulmate of music, so I'll get busy adding some music links in that section. Feel free to send me your favourite titles & links.

By the way, I checked out Dancing With the Goddess on YouTube and found Atman's great dance music so now there's a soundtrack to my blog :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJYU8Qc_-k

It is linked down below.

The ethnicity of movement

This week while dancing, friends commented on my obvious joy of dancing to African music. A discussion followed about moving to music from different ethnic traditions and whether learning a dance style such as African (or more specifically Ghanaian or Zulu dances, as there is certainly not one "African" dance) affects how you relate to the music.

That was an interesting thought, that there might be an authentic way of moving to a particular piece of music or rhythm and that learning a style might limit your interaction with that music. I hear the voice of the individual here seeking freedom from tradition and boundaries, a very valid quest.

I have studied many different "ethnic" dance styles (and by the way, ballet is an ethnic dance for me, representing historical upper class European culture - I have had people try to tell me it is a universal dance form - boloney!). I can't say I have tried to find my own authentic way of dancing to music but rather I sought to invest my body awareness in trying to absorb how the teacher/dancer felt in her/his body so that I could feel the music the way they did. What I discovered is that there are very different ways of moving and being human.

Look at the lilt of the Celtic dances. Observe how the centre of gravity is higher in the chest and the feet keep the beat of the music and skip, as if over rocky terrain. Look at the dances from Africa, how the centre of gravity is low in the hips and how that frees the chest to beat with the rhythm, not just the feet. I feel profoundly different doing these dances, and yet I love both. I can express two different ways of being human. This is another path to freedom for me, freedom to explore the "other" from within their own cultural boundaries.

Do you have connections with different dance traditions? Have you "studied" that style or do you just like to move to it in your own way? What did you learn?

By the way, stay tuned if you are in the Peterborough area, as I will be teaming up with Mayelin Semmler to offer a modern/Afro-Cuban fusion class this fall.

Wounds

Dancing, meditation in movement, has been very healing for me. It has helped me to identity where wounds lie in my body so I can start to become conscious of them and enter the healing process.

For some time, I have been dealing with a wound from the age of 20. Caught in a political battle between my dance school and the Royal Academy of Dance, I had a ballet examiner tell me "I would never be a teacher". No wound lies deeper than one that is closest to your divine mission, and mine is most definitely teaching. I was trying to become a dance teacher and when she failed me in that exam, a piece of me broke and did not repair for a very long time. I even quit dancing for a number of years.

I lost all consciousness of that wound for a very long time and it went deep into my body. A healer helped me to locate it last year in the right side of my chest, where my "wing" attaches. This represents my yin or feminine side for me. I have been working on reparing this breach so that I do not continue to have to live solely out of my male side.

While dancing, I have been balancing myself, thinking of my right side, flying around the room like a bird. Last night my body said "You can fly straight now" and I know the work is done.

Do you have experiences of healing while dancing?

Yoga of dance

I had a beautiful experience last year at a workshop with Amrita Choudhury, a Montreal-based dancer who teaches sacred dance from her Indian tradition. I highly recommend her workshops, listed on her website.
http://www.ananda-amrita.com

I attended a session she offered in the Laurentians and found an incredible connection with my past sacred dance experience in the evangelical church, despite being from a completely different cultural and religious tradition. It was very meaningful to learn chants and dances that give expression to your heart and I am very thankful to the friend who introduced me to Amrita.

Keep dancing.

Body talk

One of the most curious things for me is learning whether other people find their bodies speak to them the way I experience it.  Maybe some of you wouldn't say it is your body talking but rather your soul, your  restful mind, your heart. Here is how it works for me.

A couple of months ago I arrived at a dance event feeling good and ready to move.  I warmed up and had nothing in particular on my conscious mind.  The warm-up ended and the facilitator asked participants to remember that stillness was also important and to pay attention to it, not just moving. Something immediately responded in me and I started to settle my body and my mind.

I had just become still when my body said "My spinal cord is tired".  I thought that an odd thing in its wording, "spinal cord", as opposed to "spine" or "back". I practice giving my feelings and intuitions a voice, so specific words are important to me.  I began to roll up and down slowly, feeling if my back was sore but that wasn't it.  I continued to follow this line of thought and movement and not too much later I understood that in fact I was zoning in on my nervous system.

I had been through a busy spring and an emotionally difficult experience at work.  My nervous system was asking for a rest and I spent the rest of the session dancing gently, meditating on stress leaving my body.

Share an experience you've had and please don't give up if I don't seem to reply or connect with you... I'm still learning about how blogging works and I may not have these settings right!

Welcome

Welcome to a blog about meditation in movement.  I practice a very personal approach to ecstatic dance - personal in the sense that I have never "studied" any particular theory or approach to ecstatic dance.  I simply move and see what I learn from my body. I am both teacher and learner, schooling myself in embodied meditation.

A blog is a chance to reflect on what I am learning, and then share those reflections with others who practice or would like to explore ecstatic dance.  You are welcome to comment too if you have other related embodied experiences - some find their spiritual connections while hiking or canoeing.

I become disheartened when people create syndicated bodies of knowledge when our own inner knowing is enough.  Everyone can dance. Dancing is part of being human.  Anyone can teach themselves to listen and to follow their body. In fact they are the only ones who can.

I hope you'll write back about what you're learning too.