Daniella Weber was going through a tough time last winter. She was sitting at work, sitting in classes, experiencing back pain and headaches when she felt the impulse to move.
The 37-year-old University of B.C. employee had previously taken structured dance classes and she decided to sign up for a variety of free-dance sessions.
It changed her life.
Im somebody, like a lot of us, who tends to be in their head a lot and worry about things, she said. Its really changed everything. I realize just to follow what feels good and what brings me joy and dancing is definitely it.
She reports feeling more connected to herself and the broader community.
Weber isnt alone in a newfound passion for what some call ecstatic dance.
Thats why Jelena Marda, founder of Dance Divine, which celebrates its third anniversary Nov. 18, added a second free-dance session this fall and will host a monthly Friday event and offer business opportunities starting in January.
Marda, a psychotherapist and counsellor, discovered the joy of free dance when she tried 5Rhythms classes about six years ago. She recently completed her therapy training and was attracted to practices that emphasize body-based awareness. Because a lot of information lives in the body, the subconscious, the intuitive, the feeling, the emotional, all of those things, she said.
Marda had long wanted to DJ but couldnt imagine mixing classical, dance and hip hop music in clubs, and she had been searching for a moving meditation practice that would quiet her mind. That was my hallelujah moment, the 44-year-old said of her experience at 5Rhythms.
Now up to 40 people aged 20 to 70 gather Sunday mornings in an airy studio at the Scotiabank Dance Centre to dance free from instruction. The two-hour session starts with slow music where participants in comfy clothes stretch, breath and arrive, and then gain momentum as the tempo of the music builds to a more frenetic pace then slows again. The session ends with an optional closing circle where dancers can share their observations.
Its a little bit like the eye-gazing after the lovemaking, if you like, Marda said with a laugh. Its a little bit of cognitive integration of what just happened and then we often go for a big brunch afterward.
When she began her sessions, Marda says five to 10 per cent of the participants were men. That proportion has multiplied to 30 to 50 per cent.
Practices such as yoga, which has taken off in the last 15 years like nobodys business, those kind of practices have taught us a lot about cultivating awareness, she said. Theres a really genuine call for people to experience a more heart-based reality Its more loving, its more friendly, it is more in moment, its more connected, there a lot of really beautiful things about it.
Dance Divine will give away three five-class passes Sunday to celebrate its anniversary. For more information about ecstatic dance events in Vancouver, see dancemovesvancouver.com.
Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
