✤ 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 and yet feel that there is something missing or that your dancers want 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?

If the answer is yes then join us in this training where 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, guide them back out again, helping to ground and integrate the dancers' journey.

Our In-Person Dance Facilitator Training is delivered in an integrated model:

3 Pre-Training Modules (pre-recorded videos)

→ You will receive your first 3 modules (pre-recorded classes) which you can watch in your own time. (approx 9 hours of content)

→  Complete assignments/homework from these modules in the course manual before arriving at the Training

→ This will give you the opportunity to learn the theory of facilitation so we can dive straight into the practice at our in-person portion of the training

7 Days In Person in Devon, UK @ EMBERCOMBE RETREAT CENTER  (27 May to 02 Jun )

→ We will spend 7 days & 6 nights immersed in an interactive learning environment.

→ We will dive deep into the content of our 5 middle modules in what we call the 5 Pathways Intensive.

→ And much MUCH more. Read on below  to find full details about this portion of the training.

3 Post-Integration Sessions (online via Zoom on Wednesdays/12 June, 11 Sept, 18 Sept)

→ We come together 3 more times  for online for a 3-hrs sessions via Zoom. We do this in order to integrate our learning. 

→ In these three session we will deliver  additional content, to track your progress, support each other & contine the learning with more assignments/homework (fun ones!) 

→ There will be lots of time for questions, discussion and of course a graduation ceremony as you  blossom into certified DTM facilitators.

The following is a brief outline of our curriculum which is delivered in 3 different formats:

3 PRE-RECORDED TRAINING MODULES 

✤ Module 01 - EMBODIMENT 

→ 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

✤ Module 02 - CONTAINMENT 

→ 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)

✤ Module 03 - HOMEBASE

→ 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. 

→ Discussion about practical ways to prepare your facilitation ideas and create timelines

7 DAYS IN-PERSON  @ EMBERCOMBE RETREAT CENER in DEVON. UK (27 May to 02 Jun )

✤ Module 04 - BODY EXPLORATION

→ Learn the principles of Facilitation ‘Homebase’, the foundation you can return to, time and time again

→ 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" 

✤ Module 05 - PSYCHO-SOMATIC EXPLORATION

→ 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

✤ Module 06 - VISUALISATION

→ 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

✤ Module 07 - SOCIAL ACTIVATION

→ 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

✤ Module 08- RITUALIZATION

→ 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

3 INTEGRATION SESSIONS (Online Via Zoom)

✤ Module 09 -INTEGRATION 01 (12 June)

→ Integrate the information already delivered and build your knowledge bases with new content and core principles not yet covered. 

→ Speak with a special guests who has years of experience creating safe and fruitful containers for movement practices

→ Go over the inperson portion  discuss what was learned and receive the next assignment with roughly a month to complete it. 

✤ Module 10 -INTEGRATION 02  (11 Sep)

→ Integrate the information already delivered and build your knowledge bases with new content and core principles not yet covered. 

→ Speak with a new special guests who also has years of experience but in a different modality and with a different way of facilitating. 

→ Go over assignment/homework from Mod 09, discuss what was implemented and receive your final assignment.

✤ Module 11 - ONWARD (18 Sep)

→ 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 Certified DTM Facilitators ♡

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 Relational Somatic Therapy. By 2016 Bernice was working beyond her local community, co-founded Ecstatic Dance International and began hosting successful trainings and events in locations such as 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.

SUPPORT TEAM

✤ Sophie Auber (Ecstatic Dance Montpelier)

✤ Alex Sevilla (Ecstatic Dance Madrid)

✤ Esta Polyesta (Ecstatic Dance Amsterdam & Goa)

Embercombe is a beautiful 50 acre rewilding estate on the edge of Dartmoor. It is a place to find a deep connection with nature – wild nature around us and wild nature within us. We have been in existence for 23 

years. 

Our valley is a perfect place to find a deep connection with nature wild nature around us and wild nature within us. It is a place to breathe, to reconsider, to regenerate and to relearn who we are. Our site is a mixture of ancient woodlands, meadows and gardens in the magical Devonshire Teign valley. We have a stone circle for those looking for ceremony, a lake for wild swimming, food forests and established orchards to explore and unwind in. 

The lodging at Embercombe is comfortable and consists of mostly shared yurts. You have the choice between a private yurt or one shared with one, two or three others. There is also the option to camp or stay in your own van. 

Please see below for a more detailed description of each accommodation type. When you register for this training you will make your choice of accommodation. The cost of the accommodation will be added at check out. 

Our in-person program is a blended training which consists of a total of 60+ hours of training as follows:

→ 3 x 3-hr pre-training modules (video recordings) before we come together in person
→ 7 full days/6 nights of in-person training
→ 3 x 3-hr integration modules (via Zoom) after the training
→ Dancing, live training sessions, small group discussion/support, opportunities to practise the skills you are learning, special guests with lots of time for Q&A
→ 200+ page manual including assignments, worksheets & resources
→ 9-month access to the recordings of the online sessions (Modules 01, 02, 03, 09, 10, 11)
→ A designated WhatsApp group to continue weekly discussions, share resources and maintain connection with your cohorts and teachers
→ A graduation certificate & some extra goodies
→ A support network of fellow Certified DTM Dance Facilitators

mbercombe, Higher Ashton, Exeter, EX6 7QQ

+44 (0) 1647 252983

By Train

Exeter St David’s is the closest station which serves most of the UK. It’s approximately 7 miles from Embercombe. We will offer a return transfer to/from Exeter train station for £35 both ways please leave a message when booking that you need transport.

By Bus

There is a 360 Dartline bus service from the Central Bus Station in  Exeter which stops 1.3 miles from Embercombe. Look for route name Exeter-Dunchideock-Bridford and get off the bus at the Belevedere Castle stop. On leaving the bus, continue along the top road. After 400 yards you’ll reach the Belvedere Castle entrance on your left. Opposite, there is a little road going down to the right, signposted Trusham and Ashton. Follow this road for approximately 20 minutes until you reach Embercombe’s main gate on the right.

By Car 

-From the Southbound A38:Follow the signs to Exeter Race Course. Climb the hill slowly and get  into the left hand lane, at the top of the hill (Haldon Hill) take the left exit marked Dunchideock and Exeter Race Course. Pay particular attention as you do not get much warning of the exit! Turn right at the roundabout at the end of the sliproad towards  Dunchideock and follow this road through Haldon Forest. After 1.7 miles, the road goes downhill into trees and just opposite is a forest car park area on your right. Take the sharp left turn signposted Trusham  & Ashton. Entrance to Embercombe is 1.2 miles down on the right.

-From the Northbound A38: At the top of Haldon Hill (A38) take the exit marked Dunchideock and  Exeter Race Course immediately after the petrol station. At the ‘T’  junction turn left and follow the road through Haldon Forest. After a 1.7miles, the road goes downhill into trees and just opposite a forest car park area on your right, take the sharp left turning signposted Trusham & Ashton. Entrance to Embercombe is 1.2 miles down on the  right.  

Note: Satellite navigation systems: We recommend that you don’t use your Sat Nav system to reach Embercombe. They’ve been found to be unreliable in the rural areas around Embercombe and visitors often arrive at the wrong address. Instead, simply put 'Embercombe' in Google Maps.