Here are some comments from dancers about their experience at Ecstatic Dance Seattle events.
- “The ecstatic dance is one of the highlights of my week. The ceaseless chatter of my mind stops, my body moves as it chooses, and my heart soars. I feel renewed and revitalized after dancing.”
- “The loving support of the circle has helped me move through a tremendous range of emotions and mental states. I love the community that is building between the dancers. At times I need to dance alone, at other times the touch, movement of dancing with another transports me. I have met many wonderful people, and I love getting to know people I might otherwise not get the opportunity to meet.”
- “It’s a wonderful safe space to dance through the pressures of the world and emerge into loving ecstatic expansiveness.”
– Cynthia - “Ecstatic Dance has given me the opportunity … to feel the energy beneath my feet, to experience it rising and filling my body til mind disappears and there is nothing other than oneness between me, the earth, and spirit itself. This is the ultimate church for me.”
– Franklin - “I started going to Ecstatic Dance just as I was undergoing a painful break-up with my partner. What I found was an amazing environment where my grief could be freely expressed and where I could quickly move through it to reconnect with my inner joy of being alive. The participants and facilitator created a safe place where my heart could re-open and receive the warm gift of community. I can’t say enough about the magic and healing that can happen in such a beautiful and supportive setting.”
– Hugo - “Ecstatic Dance has become my primary form of exercise, emotional release, fun, and connection. I love the safe environment to express in any way that feels right at the time. Every dance is different. There are often some of the same people and some new people and always a different mix with different energies that keeps it fresh and invigorating. Mary holds it all together by opening her heart and being herself, which continues to attract wonderful people to the dance and keeps them coming back.”
– Jerry - “The dance is my favorite freedom portal…my weekly confluence with freed-up and vibrant people. I am completely rejuvenated there and I get to connect with my community and PLAY!”
– Ted - “Esctatic Dance has changed my life. It is like a long prayer that gets me in touch with my body and emotions and spirit. I breathe. I sink in. I realize where I am holding or resisting. Full natural expression comes forth. The space is so loving and safe, and community within oneself and with others is shared.”
– Lara - “Experiencing Ecstatic Dance was so liberating. I forgot how many ways my body could move! The dance is a refreshing outlet away from the “rigidness” of everyday life. It makes me feel like I’m getting back to my roots. The best part about the dance is that I could do it when I was pregnant! And Mary Anderson’s style of facilitating is so gentle and welcoming. There are no judgments placed on anyone. It is true freedom!”
– Gina - “Ecstatic Dance is one of the safest healing environments I’ve ever been in. What that means to me is that I can trust my own body/mind/dance/process when I go. I always have the experience of being healed, or opened up, or integrated when I move among and with others who are fully expressing themselves. I go there because I am confident that I’ll find just what I need. Mary Anderson creates an extraordinary space that transcends “body movement” and allows for the Divine to be experienced.”
– John J. - “If I ever miss this dance, what I miss so much is the feeling of dancing in the arms of a warm loving vibrant family. There are so many people at this dance I share this feeling with that it is amazing. I gain a sense of grounding and connection through participating with this wave of dance experience, from quiet … to intense … to stillness, that I don’t gain in any other dance experience. It is sharing this experience with this group of people that makes so much difference in my life. I share it collectively even when I dance alone, personally when I partner with the friends I have discovered there, and impulsively when groups of dancers spontaneously join together. Frequently I am surprised at the depth of experience and joy that touches my whole being when I dance with this group of people, and at how quickly new dancers blossom and join the family. My life began a sudden shift for the better when I started dancing with this group of people.”
– Roger - “I felt like I had finally found a way to celebrate my spirituality, by allowing my body to move and express the feelings of my soul.”
– Anaria - “I have been coming to Ecstatic Dance every week, often twice a week, for the past nine months. I now realize that this experience is so much more to me than just ‘dancing.’ I feel a part of something much larger than myself. We are a community, a group of friends, a tribe. We don’t use words to communicate when dancing. I may not know anything else about someone other than his/her name, and we connect through dance, and become ancient friends. It’s beautiful. I am an American woman, born of a mixture of light-skinned European ethnicity. I’ve always wanted to belong to a culture, a tradition, a tribe, an extended family. I now have that experience. Last week I was greeted by another dancer with a hug and a whisper in my ear, ‘Welcome home.’ This feels like what I’ve always wanted ‘family’ to feel like.”
– Kathryn