FAQs
Click on a question to expand it and read the answer.
How is Ecstatic Dance different than dancing at a party or a club?
Ecstatic Dance is not a party. While there's plenty of fun available to be experienced at Ecstatic Dance, that's not the goal. It is a journey of movement meditation—an intentional practice to drop out of the thinking mind, and discover what's beyond everyday chatter, judgements, worries, and fixations. At Ecstatic Dance, we use the music to move out of our heads and into our bodies, hearts, and spirits.
What kind of people come to Ecstatic Dance?
Our community is for people of all ages, all races, all creeds, all sexual orientations, all gender identifications, all body types, and all levels of dance experience. Some prefer to dance alone, while some like to dance in contact with others. Many of us are completely new to dance ("I'm not a dancer"), and find so much joy moving our bodies in whatever ways feel good, regardless of how it looks to others. Some of us took dance lessons at one time or another, and are relieved to be in a space where there is no structure or "right" way to move. Some of us come from other movement traditions (yoga, spinning props, martial arts), which we get to incorporate into our freeform dance here. And still others come for the great music and warm sense of community more than the dancing--it's all good and welcome!
What KIND Of Dance music can i expect? is it all electronic?
Most of the music played at Ecstatic Dance can be loosely categorized as "Global Bass Music". This is music produced on a computer, with distinctive rhythmic and sub-bass elements to be felt deeply in the body during dance. Some Bass Music has a definitively electronic feel (such as house, techno, trap, dubstep, or glitch hop), while other genres can feel a lot more like studio-recorded music with added digital production spice (such as tribal, electro-swing, future-cumbia, ghetto-funk, psybient, or future-soul). And Bass Music from any genre may often include recorded vocals or samples of live instruments. The advances in audio technology over the past decade have certainly caused a blurring of the lines in music production, to the point where the term "electronic" is much less useful for describing the way music sounds.
We encourage our DJs at Ecstatic Dance to play a wide variety of music in their shamanic journeys, drawing from the dozens of genres and sub-genres that are coming out of the Bass Music scene--as well as welcoming them to include tracks from more "old school" music genres (such as afrobeat, tango, dub, reggae, R&B, jazz, blues, or even classical). Ultimately, each DJ has their own style and areas of specialty, so we suggest you try them all out to learn which of our DJs resonate best with your dance practice, and perhaps notice how your own preferences evolve over time as you experience more Bass Music.
We encourage our DJs at Ecstatic Dance to play a wide variety of music in their shamanic journeys, drawing from the dozens of genres and sub-genres that are coming out of the Bass Music scene--as well as welcoming them to include tracks from more "old school" music genres (such as afrobeat, tango, dub, reggae, R&B, jazz, blues, or even classical). Ultimately, each DJ has their own style and areas of specialty, so we suggest you try them all out to learn which of our DJs resonate best with your dance practice, and perhaps notice how your own preferences evolve over time as you experience more Bass Music.
What about the music makes this movement experience "Ecstatic"?
Is it all joyful and beautiful?
Is it all joyful and beautiful?
We all have different ideas and preferences for what is "ecstatic" or inspiring when it comes to dance music--sometimes very different preferences--which should come as no surprise considering the vast range of ages and backgrounds represented in our community. It's highly unlikely that everybody is going to like every song in the movement journey, and it's not actually the DJ's role to endeavor for that.
In our particular lineage of Ecstatic Dance, "movement as medicine" is intended to cover a wide range of feelings, emotions, and rhythmic sensations across the inner landscape. Joyfulness is ecstatic, but so is Love, Rapture, Devotion, Soulfulness, Sensuality, Playfulness, Wistfulness, and Peacefulness. Nostalgia is welcome too--a beloved classic song may help release an emotional memory stored in the body. And even elements of the shadow realm are a part of the landscape of this movement practice--Wildness, Chaos, Intensity, and Grief can be ecstatically cathartic on the dancefloor, and therefore the journey will not always be beautiful to everyone. You may find some of the songs are provocative or triggering to you personally, which we hope you will take as an opportunity to discover new sources of catharsis and liberation. For more on this whole topic, we highly recommend Gabrielle Roth's book, Maps to Ecstasy.
In our particular lineage of Ecstatic Dance, "movement as medicine" is intended to cover a wide range of feelings, emotions, and rhythmic sensations across the inner landscape. Joyfulness is ecstatic, but so is Love, Rapture, Devotion, Soulfulness, Sensuality, Playfulness, Wistfulness, and Peacefulness. Nostalgia is welcome too--a beloved classic song may help release an emotional memory stored in the body. And even elements of the shadow realm are a part of the landscape of this movement practice--Wildness, Chaos, Intensity, and Grief can be ecstatically cathartic on the dancefloor, and therefore the journey will not always be beautiful to everyone. You may find some of the songs are provocative or triggering to you personally, which we hope you will take as an opportunity to discover new sources of catharsis and liberation. For more on this whole topic, we highly recommend Gabrielle Roth's book, Maps to Ecstasy.
Does the DJ take MUSIC requests, either before or during the dance?
Our DJs appreciate being introduced to new dance music from fellow community members, but do not take requests to play particular songs or musical genres at any time. Our DJs play from personally curated music collections they practice with and mix uniquely. Since each Ecstatic Dance is a movement meditation journey, our DJs select very particular music based on an intention and rhythmic direction they are holding. This includes "reading" the whole dance floor to best serve the community, rather than fulfilling individuals' preferences.
Why isn't talking permitted on the dance floor?
Refraining from conversation helps to create a sacred space for movement meditation. By letting go of words and associated mental activity, we learn to connect with ourselves and each other in wonderful new ways.
Is Ecstatic Dance religious or affiliated with a church?
Many people find Ecstatic Dance to be a deeply spiritual experience, but it is not in any way associated with a religion or church.
What should I wear? What should I bring?
Feel free to wear whatever allows you to move comfortably. We recommend you bring layers, because we ventilate the dance hall with open windows year-round—it can vary between cold and hot during the same dance. Some people prefer yoga clothes, some prefer festival wear, and some prefer a simple t-shirt and shorts. Everyone (all genders) are required to keep a top on.
Please bring a water bottle. Please leave valuables at home.
Please bring a water bottle. Please leave valuables at home.
Why is this dance barefoot (when it's indoors)? What if I need to wear shoes?
When indoors, Ecstatic Dance is done barefoot because we love the feel of connecting to the earth with our feet directly on the wood floor. Street shoes are not permitted for reasons of safety (so bare feet don't get stepped on) and hygiene (we don't want to dance barefoot on whatever gets tracked in from the street). Some people need arch support, and are permitted to use special soft-soled dance shoes that are worn only indoors. Some folks like to wear dance paws (do a Google Search) or grippy socks.
Are Children permitted to attend?
For safety reasons, we no longer permit children under the age of 13 to our evening dance events. As for our Sunday morning events, children of all ages are welcome. A few important things you should know when bringing children to Sunday morning dance:
⦁ All participants are expected to abide by the same guidelines for being in the dance space, as posted at the event entrance. Parents must take full and active responsibility for their child's behavior (and volume) so as not to disrupt the experience of the other participants.
⦁ Please only bring children who actually want to dance and be with you on the dance floor. We’re not comfortable with kids hanging out at Odd Fellows with phone/tablet screens.
⦁ Help your child(ren) refrain from talking on the dance floor. We especially need you to attend to your child(ren) during the last couple of songs and the Gong Bath, when we bring the dance vibe into quiet meditation.
⦁ Keep your child(ren) close to you at all times to help maintain a bit of social distance on the dance floor for covid safety. We're not okay with children roaming independently.
⦁ The music volume can get a bit loud. We do provide complimentary foam ear plugs, but some parents prefer to get sound muffs for younger children (do a Google search).
⦁ All participants are expected to abide by the same guidelines for being in the dance space, as posted at the event entrance. Parents must take full and active responsibility for their child's behavior (and volume) so as not to disrupt the experience of the other participants.
⦁ Please only bring children who actually want to dance and be with you on the dance floor. We’re not comfortable with kids hanging out at Odd Fellows with phone/tablet screens.
⦁ Help your child(ren) refrain from talking on the dance floor. We especially need you to attend to your child(ren) during the last couple of songs and the Gong Bath, when we bring the dance vibe into quiet meditation.
⦁ Keep your child(ren) close to you at all times to help maintain a bit of social distance on the dance floor for covid safety. We're not okay with children roaming independently.
⦁ The music volume can get a bit loud. We do provide complimentary foam ear plugs, but some parents prefer to get sound muffs for younger children (do a Google search).
Why isn't Ecstatic Dance Corvallis donation-based like some other ecstatic dances around the country?
While some variations of community dance are donation-based, the vast majority of Ecstatic Dances have a set entry fee (including those in our lineage listed at www.ecstaticdance.org). We're producing Ecstatic Dance Corvallis as a consistently premium experience, which comes with high expenses for a beautiful venue, high-end audio equipment, and professional DJs (who practice and perform with sophisticated DJ software, not iTunes playlists). There are other significant expenses (insurance, supplies, advertising), plus paying modest hourly wages to those of us who work to make it happen each week. To keep this dance sustainable, we need to charge what we do. Compared to a yoga class ($15-18), movie in a theater ($10-15), or evening at the pub ($$$), we believe the Ecstatic Dance Corvallis experience is a very good value.
Why don't you set aside a section of the Dance hall for acrobatic contact improv (or Amoeba-group dance, or A tribal circle)?
The main reason we haven't implemented anything like that goes directly to our vision for Ecstatic Dance Corvallis: it's a community of people all sharing a movement meditation journey together. We genuinely appreciate that each person comes to have their own experience and get the kind of movement nourishment they prefer, but ultimately we're interested in holding a container where it's about the whole community. We would not feel good about segregating the community into different spaces and dance activities. We want everyone to feel welcome to explore and share the whole dance floor, and not feel shut out of different spaces unless they are willing to do a certain kind of dance.
There are other more pragmatic reasons for not designating special zones, such as the challenges of divvying up space fairly and functionally, or deciding which activities deserve special treatment.
So, we're all in the soup together, finding our own personal flow while at the same time supporting and accommodating everyone else who is present with us.
There are other more pragmatic reasons for not designating special zones, such as the challenges of divvying up space fairly and functionally, or deciding which activities deserve special treatment.
So, we're all in the soup together, finding our own personal flow while at the same time supporting and accommodating everyone else who is present with us.