We dance to free ourselves. We dance to come home. We dance to feel connection to each other. To the pulse. To our joy and our sorrow. To allow it all to move through. We dance like no one is watching or like the whole world is watching. We dance because we know it is the medicine we need. We dance to come home to ourselves again and again.
The Spirit of Dance Temple
Dance Temple is the heartbeat and core of a larger cultural transformation, providing a place for people to get real, express their sovereignty and cultivate trust within themselves and in community.
Region by region, Dance Temple upholds a devotion to creating inclusive, safer spaces for all walks of life to gather, to dance to great music and to move through whatever is alive for them in a non-verbal space. As well as being a central hub for conscious dance in each area, the Dance Temples hold a shared vision to be a sanctuary for embracing authenticity and sacred expression and provide a central gathering place for communities to unite, express and celebrate.
How are we different from Ecstatic Dance?
In truth, Dance Temple is quite similar to the broader movement called ‘Ecstatic Dance’, that is now found all over the world. That said, Dance Temple was created on a foundation of conscious dance facilitation and not so much djing, although that did come later… The core collectives that make up the roots of the Dance Temple movement are comprised of seasoned dance facilitators who come from various lineages of conscious dance.
We’ve come together in the aim to weave a community space that appeals to a more diverse crowd while still holding a gently facilitated container to unify the group at times and lead people deeper into their dance practice. Rooted in 5Rhythms, Kundalini Dance, Inner Journeys, Authentic Movement and many more conscious dance forms, Dance Temple is an umbrella for the various forms of conscious dance and facilitators to come together to co-create vibrant community.
The format:
Each DJ-facilitator brings their unique flavour to the basic format and as well the deeper purpose of the dance.
The format is as follows:
- spacious a warm-up time after the doors open
- guided opening to land people in their bodies, the place and all together
- musical journey through eclectic genres: starting slow, building to a peak and then making our way back to a still point*
- Gentle facilitated landing by the host
- Closing circle
*some facilitators may offer some light guidance during the journey but we mostly just allow the dance to unfold
Core Principles
- Freedom of expression
- Inclusivity
- Non-verbal space
- Respect and consent
- Sacred space: welcoming prayer, ceremony, emotion and authenticity.
Begin and end together – facilitated open and close are core to our values of offering support to drop into the dance, connection to each other and ourselves, to deepening our intention and creating synergy in the space. - Honour the cycles and seasons: Solstices and Equinoxes, depending on personal connections lunar cycle
- Facilitate liberation from systems of oppression that live within us
Origins of Coastal BC Dance Temple
In 2010 a small collective birthed Dance Temple on Salt Spring Island, driven by a vision of liberating dance for all. Though the initial collective dispersed, Naomi carried the flame, hosting dances for the following 3 years. In 2013, serendipity struck as Jaz and Lila independently conceived the same name for a similar event and joined forces with Naomi, sparking a kindred event in Victoria. The Salt Spring Dance Temple collective expanded once again with the addition of Cat, Cedar, Vanya, and later Kaia, Luma, Samaya, Lila and Shauna, all conscious dance facilitators bringing their unique flavours to the mix.
Expansion and Growth
As the Dance Temple spirit rippled out, Alex King-Harris aka Rara Avis came on-board in Victoria and Salt Spring helping to up level the production and reach of the events. The movement expanded as Ali, Chris and Christy started up the Cowichan Dance Temple. From Comox to Powell River, Nanaimo to Cortes, new temples emerged with more coming online in Saskatoon, Ottawa, Port Alberni and Port McNeill..
Currently many of the dj-facilitators cross-weave at the different dances and the various Dance Temples are supported and run by amazing community leaders.
Origin of Dance Temple Edmonton
Hope Corbin’s journey with conscious dance began in the late 1990s through her involvement with Ecstatic Dance events worldwide. In 2004, she traveled to Australia to study Kundalini Dance with Leyolah Antara, bringing these teachings back to North America. During her practice, she experienced powerful visions of herself as a dance priestess in a temple setting, serving her community through movement.
Inspired by her experiences with Ecstatic Dance in Big Island and Oakland, Hope established Dance Temple Edmonton in 2012 with the support of Co-Founders Emilio Gagliardi, Murray Dodds, Janelle Cooper and Olivia Kachman. The name emerged naturally, drawing from Hope’s desire to create a sacred dance space that would provide her students with freedom to explore their own practice. What she initially believed was the origin of Dance Temple was actually part of a larger synchronicity – similar events had independently emerged on Salt Spring Island in 2010 and in Victoria around the same time.
Hope embraces this parallel evolution of Dance Temple communities, seeing it as a testament to a shared vision among conscious dance facilitators. She remains dedicated to fostering connection between these various Dance Temple communities and supporting the growth of conscious dance practices.
The Music of Dance Temple
The following are some examples of what a journey sounds like.