Barefoot Boogie, Free-Style Dance, Ecstatic Dance what’s the Difference?
barefoot boogie, free-style dance, ecstatic dance, sweat your prayers, dance jam, kundalini dance, tantra dance, puja groove, Soul Motion, Body Choir, Trance Dance, Spirit Dance and the list goes on!
Know What You’re Getting Into:
Have some idea of the ‘scene’ you’re showing up for to dance, then have a good time, shake your booty, and leave imagining you’re welcomed to return…
WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON.
Usually the dance is 2 hours long.
It’s drug, alcohol, smoke free.
Casual and barefooted.
People friendly, diverse ages and fitness levels.
Open to new comers, great place to meet people.
THE DIFFERENCES:
INTENTION:
Facilitated-someone verbally guiding the dance.
Free-open style-someone is ‘spinning the discs’ with no verbal guidance.
THE INTENTION GOES EVEN DEEPER:
It’s a social gathering! food, even games or raffles.
OR spiritual journey, non-verbal, held in sacred space.
MUSIC:
The unfacilitated dances usually have the music as the focus, like featuring the dee jay, the genre of music-80’s or 60’s or WORLD music.
Facilitated dances and ‘dance journeys’-the music is ‘holding’ the intention-
following a musically rhythmic wave for a playful-spirited, or emotionally cathartic, or physically exhausting (rave-techno) dance experience.
BOUNDARIES:
More dances have the strong unexpressed agreement that you dance ‘alone’ not ‘touching’ usually a vertical dance, standing upright.
Some dances encourage connection through touch like a kundalini or puja groove or tantra dance.
More dances are becoming wide open to each person defining their own boundaries, so you can dance alone or with another, or keep changing your boundaries with the intention of ‘exploring yourself’.
Most importantly be open to connect with yourself and others. Say Yes! to dance.
The boundaries, agreements of the dance, and etiquette are changing in community and open dance jams. Contact Improvisation, Tango, even NIA dance are all merging into the community dance arena – so the game rules are changing.
Define your own boundaries and allow yourself to explore moment by moment. Then you can have fun.
