✤ Learn the Art of Embodiment & Facilitation Skills ✤

→ Have you ever attended an Ecstatic Dance and wondered how the cohesive & potent feeling of community is created?

→ Have you been running conscious dance events, yet feel that there is something missing or that your dancers are wanting something more?

→ Do you possess mad leadership skills, but lack the embodiment training you need to feel confident holding the beginning and end of the dance?

✤ In this training you will learn to combine your own unique skill set with potent facilitation tools designed to build community and get dancers into their bodies ✤

The magical quality of Ecstatic & Conscious Dance is created in large part by the person who facilitates the dance. This role is called by many names: "Ceremony Leader", "Space Holder" or "Dance Facilitator". Regardless of the name, the role is the same: to guide the dancers, in an embodied way, into a musical set and when it has finished to guide them back out again, helping to ground and integrate the dancers journey.

Dance the Medicine delivers the online version of this training in two different formats: Live Online (11 sessions) or Self Paced format. Each session builds upon the last & is accompanied by a 170+ page professional manual. 

 The following is a brief outline of our curriculum:

✤ EMBODIMENT (Sept 27)

→ Explore the science of dance/movement and the psychosomatic intersection between body & mind

→ Learn why dance & music are so effective at creating meaningful community experiences and how to harness this potential

→ Use visualisation to make explicit your individual leadership skill-set and make a plan of how to meld them with embodiment practices

✤ CONTAINMENT (Oct 4)

→ Explore the role of facilitator; from the moment you walk into a venue until you walk back out into the street at the end of the dance

→ Move from the theoretical into the practical by discussing what is necessary to contain the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual space of a dance event in real life, tangible ways

→ Discuss no-nonsense methods to deal with everyday joys and struggles which are common in conscious dance environments (an example: how to get people to not talk)

✤ HOMEBASE (Oct 11)

→ Explore the role of facilitator; Holding a reverent opening and closing and what is important to consider during the musical set.

→ Create a foundation for the role of facilitator with tangible skills to stay grounded and present even when things don’t go as planned.

→ Discuss practical ways to prepare your facilitation ideas and create timelines 

✤ BODY EXPLORATION  (Oct 18)

→ Begin to explore DTM's 5 Pathways starting with Body Exploration, the most straightforward of all the pathways

→ Tips and tricks to explicitly draw attention to body parts, movements, sensations, impulses. In other words to "get dancers into the body"

✤ PSYCHO-SOMATIC EXPLORATION (Oct 25)

→ Explore the second of the 5 pathways which uses the entry points of emotions and emotional responses/experiences to build a bridge between body and mind

→ Discover how to use shared human experiences to encourage connection, coherence and community

→ Apply the principles of feeling our emotional "feelings" within the body as physical sensations, postures and movements ― the foundation of embodiment

✤ RITUALIZATION (Nov 1)

→ Demystify the base meaning of the word "ritual" and reveal how its essence is simply to make the ordinary extraordinary!

→ Model the use of gestures, words, actions, and/or objects within sequences to give it meaning and evoke a connection to something beyond our individual selves

→ Get real about how to ritualize without using religion, dogma, or resorting to appropriation

✤ SOCIAL ACTIVATION (Nov 8)

→ Discuss humanity's need for social activation, to set aside individuality and move collectively from passive to active in confronting oppression and encouraging connection

→ Explore the uncomfortable side of social activation; encouraging dancers to take a stand; and the comfortable side, encouraging connection, dyads/triads/pods, and play!

→ Get real about our role as community leaders in encouraging collective action while staying non-political

✤ VISUALISATION (Nov 15)

→ Discover the magic of the final of the DTM's 5 pathways, which taps into the imagination where we move beyond time, space, and ability and are limitless!

→ Visualisation techniques that encourage dancers to take what they have visualised and translate it into the physical body through movement

→ Explain how to create just enough structure to ignite the imagination but no more, allowing the dancer's to fill in as many of the blanks as possible

✤ INTEGRATION 01 (Nov 22)

→ Integrate the information already delivered, practice our skills, and collaborate with each other, and go over core principles not yet covered

→ Speak with special guests who have years of experience holding dance space; creating safe and fruitful containers for movement practices

→ Leave this module with a 2 month plan of action to put what you have learned into practice.

✤ 2 months break ✤

✤ INTEGRATION 02 (Jan 17)

→ Return after some time away to discuss progress and share stories

→ Create a  panel of established facilitators so you can ask questions from your new perspective of this role.

→ Fill in the blanks with more advanced facilitation skills  and tackle the topic of consent in non-verbal spaces.

✤ 1 week break ✤

✤ ONWARD (Jan 31)

→ Offer you our final top tips and words of wisdom!

→ Give you a chance to ask the questions which have been left unanswered

→ And end our time together with our very own graduation ritual as you leave us as DTM facilitators ♡

 Can’t get away to join us in person? No worries! Sign up for this 11 module live online training. 

The full online experience consists of 11 modules of content (total class time 33 hours) as follows: 

→ 9 x 3-hr live classes, break-out groups and Q&A sessions via Zoom every Tuesday from the 27 of September to the 22 of November 2022

→ 170+ page manual including weekly assignments, worksheets & resources

→ Full access to the recordings (released 48 hours after each class)

→ A designated Facebook/WhatsApp group to continue weekly discussions, share resources and maintain connection with your cohorts and teachers

→ A graduation certificate

→ A support network of fellow Certified DTM Dance Facilitators

→ A 2-month long break to practice your skills & get some experience facilitating

→ 2 additional 3-hour sessions to integrate, discuss our progress and celebrate each other in a graduation celebration on 17 & 31 January 2023

We will divide our 3-hour sessions between lectures on the day's topic, dance and movement practices, breaking into small groups for discussion, interviews with special guests and exercises, while making sure there is a little time each day for Q&A. You will receive a printable 160+ page professional manual and workbook which is filled with practical and theoretical information as well as spaces to record all your ideas and those of your cohorts. Each Module you will be given homework assignment to deepen your learning. You will leave this course feeling confident that you can facilitate many dances without running out of ideas!

When?

✤ Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) 18:00-21:00 (Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin)

✤ Western European Summer Time (UTC+1) 17:00-20:00 (London, Lisbon)

✤ Eastern Daylight Savings Time (UTC-4) 12:00-15:00 (New York, Montréal)

✤ Pacific Daylight Savings Time (UTC-7) 9:00-12:00 (Los Angeles, Vancouver)

Who is this path for?

→ Those who can not travel to an in-person training

→ Those who want a cohort to learn with and keep as colleagues for the years to come

→ Those who learn better in groups

→ Those whose schedule will fit well with the hours of the live training

→ Those who want to be able to interact with teachers and other students

If none of our dates/times/locations  work for you, don't worry. We have created this on-demand Dance Facilitator Training which you can take at your own pace.

The Self Paced independent learning  experience consists of 9 modules of content (total class time of approximately  22 hours), it includes: 

→ Immediate full access to the recorded modules of our last live online training (available for 180 days)

→ 9 modules of content, each recording is in between 2 - 3 hours long  

→ 170+ page manual including weekly assignments, worksheets & resources. It contains practical and theoretical information as well as space to record all your ideas.

Please note: Taking the training in this method does not result in certification because we have no way of knowing if you have completed the course. Under certain circumstances we may be able to certify you for an extra cost. Please inquire with us directly to learn more at info@dancethemedicine.com

Who is this path for?

→ Those who prefer to learn at their own pace

→ Those who learn better independently

→ Those whose schedule does not fit well with the hours of the live training (yes Aussies & Kiwis, we hear you!)

→ Those with limited financial means

→ Those who do not require/desire certification

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

You won't need any software, simply a web browser to watch the recordings.

 YOUR TEACHER

✤ BERNICE RAABIS (Nelson, BC - Founder of Dance the Medicine)

While now an experienced teacher of Ecstatic Dance Leaders, Bernice began humbly in a small dance studio nestled in the Kootenay Mountains of Western Canada. Here she ran bi-weekly events for over 8 years; Dance Church, a multi-generational Sunday morning dance, and Dance The Medicine, a conscious dance class based on Soul Motion, Movement-based Expressive Arts and Somatic Therapy. By 2016 Bernice was working beyond her local community, co-founded Ecstatic Dance International and began hosting successful trainings and events in Amsterdam, Guatemala and Portugal. In addition to having DJed many Ecstatic Dances around the globe, she was also at the helm of our hugely popular Ecstatic DJ Conference this past May, gathering 200+ aspiring and professional DJs from all over the world. She is on a mission to infect the world with dance in hopes that everyone, everywhere, will one day have a place to dance in community.

YOUR HOST

✤ CRISTINA CIOBANU (Montréal, Canada - Unicorn at Dance the Medicine)

Romanian by birth, world-traveller by choice and French-Canadian by adoption, Cristina is a passion-led event organiser and dancer by default. She’s been an art and circus teacher, a fire dance performer, a restaurant-bar and hostels manager and a very dedicated Earth and Human activist. In 2016, after encountering the spiritual community on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, she decided to serve the world as an event producer assistant and on-site manager in retreat centres that focus on well-being and movement therapies. This is how she got to meet Bernice from Dance the Medicine, and immediately after, she knew that her mission was to contribute to DTM’s vision. Cristina continues her training in conscious movement practices through alternative healing therapies such as Thai-yoga massage, complementary medicine and self-sustainable gardening.

 SUPPORT TEAM & SPECIAL GUESTS 

✤ Alex Sevilla (Ecstatic Dance Madrid) 

✤ Renée Lacroix (Founder of Ecstatic Dance UK and Lisbon) 

✤ Esta Polyesta (Ecstatic Dance Netherlands & Goa)

✤ Etienne / DJ John La Note (Ecstatic Dance Haute Alsace)

✤ Iona McNeil (London, UK)

✤ TBC Mira Khanya (Movement Medicine) 

 Q&A 

→ Will I receive a certification? Only those enrolled on the Online Training will be certified at the end of the course. We do not certify those who take the training Self-paced as we have no way of knowing whether they completed the course and homework. Under certain circumstances certification might be possible, please contact us to inquire about the process.

→ Will this training cover DJing? No, this is exclusively a Facilitator training. We will speak about music as many facilitators also provide musical soundscapes as part of their facilitation but we will not speak about the technical side of DJing. We DO however offer a DJ Training & a large collection of on-demand videos. Or you can join us for an online live DJ Training by signing up here. 

→ For how long will the recordings be available? The videos will be available for you to watch for a period of 180 days from the day you register to the platform that hosts the videos.

→ I'm not sure which path is right for me. Can you advise me? Absolutely. Simply send us a message or email us at info@dancethemedicine.com

→ What's your cancellation policy? In case of cancellation from your side, we don't offer any refunds, no matter the reason.  

Please DO READ our Training terms & conditions

"This training is for the big visionaries, event organisers, and executives of dance programs out there. It takes you through step by step how to create an Ecstatic Dance event. The best part is you’re surrounded by super rad people who truly believe in the vision as much as you do; and who feel alive in sharing that vision. I feel absolutely honoured to be a part of this amazing group of dancers, organisers, and beautiful human beings. Showing up with my whole heart, it changed me and I feel like I’ve grown a lot."

→ Carol Boccaccio - Canada

"Dance the Medicine prepared me with the tools to grow as an Ecstatic Dance leader and warrior! The container held, even online, was potent and full of space to explore the building blocks for the foundation of my dance. It was an honour to be a part of this community of conscious dance leaders. I now feel fully equipped to go out and infect my communities with the medicine of Dance!

→ Elissa Eskridge - Costa Rica

"This online training has come at the right time, just when I felt the call to share the awesomeness of conscious dance with my people, after such a crazy year. I am amazed by the connections I have made during this training and the quality of its content which was more than I expected."

→ Dounia Acef - Morocco

"Bernice, Renée and the DTM team are a knowledgeable, grounded and experienced group of teachers. They REALLY care about their students and it's obvious when you experience the quality of the production and information they share. They attract a huge variety of students and the opportunity to network during the course is high."

→ Rafaél Suvaii - Canada

"Through powerful visualization exercises, sharing of invaluable wisdom and experience, and creation of a supportive community, I now have the confidence and knowledge to go out there in the world and make an impact through dance. This training was everything and more that I needed..!"

→ Lien Kabelka - Belgium

"The leadership in this training was outstanding. The content was very well thought out, relevant and rich. It filled in a lot of questions I've long held around how to do a great job leading conscious dance, but also provided examples of many different approaches. I loved connecting with people from all over who are passionate about the same thing as me."

→ Sarah Hall - USA

"Renée and Bernice - you two are the leaders we need right now. Thank you for this amazing opportunity!"

→ Nadine Guldimann - Switzerland