You arrive at the studio just before the music begins. Shoes come off at the door. Inside, the wooden floor is open and quiet. People drift in slowly, stretching, breathing, greeting each other softly. The atmosphere is intentionally ceremonial and community-oriented. Without conversations, phones, or mood altering substances, the experience becomes focused on moving with the music, and listening to the body.
Ecstatic Dance is about sharing a space where everyone is free to dance alone together and to express themselves without judgement. The event begins and ends with a simple opening circle. The presenter describes the rules of engagement for the session (sober event, no talking on the dance floor etc.). Then a seamless flow of music begins.
The Ecstatic Dance movement has spread around the world and has now come to Owen Sound. Local event co–organizer and DJ Guru Khalsa says: “I first attended an ecstatic dance session at a festival in India, and was struck by both the way that it was presented as an interactive workshop, and the idea of free-form dance as the medium for somatic release.” Somatic release is a process of “shaking off” stress and unwanted energy that is trapped in the body.
This way of dancing can be traced to the late 1960s; dancer Gabrielle Roth began exploring freeform movement at the Esalen Institute in California and later went on to develop 5Rhythms, a movement meditation exploring five energetic phases: Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness. These tempos bring the dancer through a variety of mental and physical states. Her work spread globally through workshops and teacher training, establishing the idea that dance could be a path to personal transformation; movement as medicine.
Ecstatic Dance also relies on elements of rave and nightclub culture. DJs, sound systems, and long-form electronic sets found their way into conscious dance spaces. Weekly conscious dance events began appearing in North America in the late 2000s and 2010s, often blending tribal and organic house or drum and bass music, world percussion and vocals, and ambient soundscapes. The music may run alongside ceremonial elements like drinking cacao, breathwork, sound baths or simple intention-setting. Ecstatic Dance can be seen as a kind of workshop on the dance floor, keeping the powerful musical arc and collective energy of rave culture while reshaping the setting into something more reflective, intentional, and rooted in community connection.
Ecstatic Dance is a sober experience. Says Khalsa: “I like to think of the “ecstatic” part as, using your own innate relationship to music and movement to achieve an altered state of consciousness, beyond the assistance of substances.”
The events in Owen Sound are co-created by Philly Markowitz, former world music programmer for CBC Radio and current clinical hypnotherapist. Markowitz is drawn to the practice of using music as a full-body meditation. “I’ve always found music to be a powerful tool to focus intention and energy. Free movement is great for my mental health. You simply dance with yourself and for yourself for the pure joy of it, and you are surrounded by others who share that joy.”
The Owen Sound gatherings are held monthly, in the beautiful Trillium Healing Arts Centre studio space on 9th Street East, next to The Roxy Theatre. The events are held on the third Sunday of the month at 2pm. Exceptions may be made in months with 5 Sundays. Additional elements, like sound baths or guided meditation, may be woven into the experience.
There is a dance on Sunday, May 24. A special event will be held on the summer solstice: Sunday, June 21. For event details, follow Ecstatic Dance Owen Sound on Facebook and Instagram @ecstaticdanceowensound.
The invitation is simple: arrive on time, step onto the dance floor, and allow the music to guide you.