Name: Dance Meditation
Start: 2026-04-11T16:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-04-11T18:00:00-04:00
Location: Durham Friends Meeting (Quakers)

This is a new dance, in the manner or Ecstatic Dance and Dancewaves, that will be set for Saturday afternoons 4-6 at Durham Friends. I reserved three dates 4/11, 5/2 and 5/23, and if things work out would hope to have a regular dance, one or two Saturday afternoons a month. I will divide the details below into some words for the local Ecstatic dancers (1), and then for the Newbies (2) below to explain this form of dance.
1)For the local Ecstaticim - We have several dances going on currently and I dont want to step on any toes, and talked with Scott and Aubrey and also with Laura and Baxter who I did dances with at Murphy School around Covid years, but I feel drawn to doing sets and dancing as a spiritual practice, and want to add a few flavors to the soup. I outline these in depth in a FB Group I formed which I encourage you to look at and/or join here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1243813750668011
There will be no charge for these dances as I am adhering to a teaching from Stephen Gaskin about not charging for sacred things. The rent is not great and if people care to contribute for that, that would be appreciated. The opening and closings will be fairly spare. My own thoughts are that when they become very ceremonial or personal it detracts from the more universal mystic experience. I am doing this first set but will share out the sets to those interested, but it will all be volunteer. The flavors of the sets will be with the weavers.
I am also a member of Eno Friends Meeting so am trying to get some interest in that community and see this as an outreach to my Quaker friends.
2) For those new to this form of dance:
These types of dances occur internationally and were largely inspired by the late Gabrielle Roth and her 5 Rhythms concept (https://www.5rhythms.com/ ), though it will be up to the designer of each set how strictly they wish to adhere to 5 Rhythms concepts. It can be a useful model. We have a resource in my friend and Eno Friend's Meeting Richard Jerram who has taught 5 Rhythms for years and does workshops and such and is currently planning something for those interested in learning about 5 Rhythms. I will post it when dates are set.
We generally will keep to the dance wave pattern of starting slow building up to high energy and cooling down. The sets will be without conversation and people may dance solo or interact as they are moved. There is no need to know any steps or structures and from my experience as a social dancer, some people are turned off by having to be a good dancer or something. This will be less dancing with the stars than dancing in the stars. Also for the more health challenged, there is no need to dance continuously and I will provide chairs for those who want to rest and there is no need to push beyond one's comfort level.