All Races, All Genders, All Body Types - Part 3

By Thistle http://www.thistlespace.org/

When I moved back to the Midwest, I found that ecstatic dance was the thing I missed the most about California, so I decided to start a group here in Madison in March 2008. From those beginnings, a community has evolved and ecstatic dance has expanded to two days a week. Our basic structure is similar to that which I described in Garberville—building an altar, stretching, coming together to state an intention, dancing our hearts out, and coming back together to the circle to share.

Growing up Lutheran gave me two things; a sense of the sacred and dogma that would control my deepest parts. Ecstatic Dance is a way to continue experiencing the sacred, but without being manipulated by larger church forces. It is also community-building and supportive. The influence you have on the group makes the dance unique every time. It is a constant experiment in creating healing, loving group dynamics in communion with whoever shows up. If you breathe, you can dance.

All are welcome, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, history, ability or creed. We only ask that you respect our drug and alcohol-free space and that you respect your fellow dancers. We meet Sundays at Main Street Yoga from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bring something for the altar and a light snack to share if you wish. We ask for a $5-$10 donation to rent the space.

Although we still hold to the ideal that we share facilitation and music mixing, presently Madelon is mixing music for our dances, providing a totally new mix almost every Sunday. Madelon has a life-long love of music and recalls sitting in her bedroom at the age of 8 spinning her older brothers’ 45s—a DJ in the making. She has been delighted at the opportunity to revisit cherished favorite music, discover new music (particularly world beat and fusion), and work with it all to delight and move the dancers.

Madelon seeks music that both has strong rhythm and emotion common to our human experience. She says, "I like to work with music that supports the energy of our intentions and makes us move. Our bodies have their own intelligence, and my musical intention is to provide a container for that to emerge. Plus, it’s fun to sweat with wonderful people.”

For more information about Ecstatic Dance in Madison, call Diana @ 608.225.9886.