Our Ecstatic DJ School simultaneously offers a Beginner and an Intermediate track for you to choose from. Click here see the curriculum of our Beginner course. If you're not sure which level is right for you, fill in this survey.  

INTERMEDIATE COURSE: WEDNESDAYS

✤ For established DJs and conscious dance music makers. Join a small cohort of colleagues to up-level skills and fill in the blanks in your DJ tool kit ✤

→ Are you an Ecstatic Dancer and musician who wants to get more involved in the dance community as an Ecstatic DJ? 

→  Do you feel comfortable with the technical side of DJ software but are unsure how to put together an Ecstatic/Conscious set? 

→  Are you an established conscious Dance Facilitator or Ecstatic dance organizer looking to take your DJ skills to the next level and feel more comfortable behind the decks?

→  Would you like to learn alongside peers who understand skills specific to conscious dance DJing, which are not understood in a traditional DJ academy environment? 

→ Join us and 12-16 fellow intermediate-level DJs on this exciting new adventure!

This 9-module training will take place on Wednesdays over a period of  12 weeks (with 3 weeks off for winter holidays). We will come together each Wednesday for 3 hours. Training begins on Nov 10 and ends on Jan 26.

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

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

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

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

All sessions will be recorded and released within 48 hours to allow participants to make up any missed sessions and stay on track with content and assignments. 

CURRICULUM

What makes conscious/Ecstatic DJ sets different from those played at regular dance parties or nightclubs? Mixed BPM/genre sets created with expansive intros and spacious outros allow dancers to move through a full spectrum dance journey;  inward towards connection with self, outward into a dance practice among community and finally onward, into the world having been somehow changed by the dance. Knowing what tracks to use, where to put them and how to get from one track to the next is what we teach!

DTM’s EDJ School teaches emergently. We plan and deliver curriculum by responding to your specific cohorts skill level, interests and requests. While we aim to fulfill the learning objectives set out in our programming, our ultimate goal for the intermediate level is a uniquely curated group learning experience. We want you to leave this training with the skills you wanted to learn and having filled in the blanks you didn’t even  know existed. 

You will learn:

DTM Ecstatic DJ School - Technical Intermediate Track

• DTM’s Unique Conscious/Ecstatic Dance Set Creation Theory
• Music Management, Library Organization & Browsing
• Tracks! : How to find them, Where to buy them & When to use Them
• Waveform, Counting Music and Phrasing
• 5 Instructional classes containing lessons, discussion and theory
  • Alex’s Traktor Pro 3 Top Tips: Streamline Workflow, Lower Stress, Have Fun!
  • Playing Live, Reading the Room and Improvisation
  • DJ Controllers and Consoles : Learn what ALL the Buttons, Knobs & Sliders do.
  • A Deep Dive into Preferences: Getting your DJ software set-up just right!
  • Best Practices for Setting Cue/Load/Grid/Loop points & Beatgridding
  • Intermediate Transitions 
    • Seamless Mixing: Combining Basic Transition Techniques 
    • Filtering/EQ/FX
    • Looping/Pre-setting loops
    • Harmonic Mixing
• 4 Practice sessions with 1-on-1 help available
• And More! Our emergent style of teaching delivers a unique curriculum over 9 Modules which delivers the skills your cohort wants to learn.

PROGRAM

✤ 01 - WELCOME & CHOOSING OUR PATH (Nov 10)

We will: 

→ Meet the Team, your Cohorts and Small Groups

→ Decide within the group what key points to focus on during our training together

→ Dive into a DJ software lab, establishing common ground and going over the basics.

✤ 02 - PRACTICE SESSION 01 (Nov 17)

We will: 

→ Begin together as a group to check in, discuss last week's homework and past course material.

→ Move Into solo practice time. Teachers will be available for 1-on-1 help.

→ End with QnA and group discussions specific to the upcoming course material.

✤ 03 - FOUNDATION: SET CREATION + TECHNICAL BASICS 01 (Nov 24)

We will: 

→ Explore what constitutes an ecstatic/conscious dance set and review criteria DTM considers important when creating the dance journey

→ Examine basic transition skills as the building blocks of more complicated transitions.

→ Explore emergent curriculum, responding to your cohort's  skill level, interests and requests. 

 ✤ 04  - PRACTICE SESSION 02 (Dec 1)

We will: 

→ Begin together as a group to check in, discuss last week's homework and past course material.

→ Move Into solo practice time. Teachers will be available for 1 on 1 help.

→ End with QnA and group discussions specific to the upcoming course material.

✤ 05 - TRACKS: SET CREATION + TECHNICAL BASICS 02 (Dec 8)

We will: 

→ Participate in group discussion, sharing and demonstrations relating to tracks including how to place them within a set. 

→ Study transition challenges unique to mixed bpm/mixed genre Djing and how to creatively overcome them.

→ Explore emergent curriculum, responding to your cohort's skill level, interests and requests.  

✤ 06 - PRACTICE SESSION 03 (Dec 15)

We will: 

→ Begin together as a group to check in, discuss last week's homework and past course material.

→ Move Into solo practice time. Teachers will be available for 1 on 1 help.

→ End with QnA and group discussions specific to the upcoming course material.

✤✤ 3-WEEK BREAK FOR THE HOLIDAYS ✤✤

✤ 07 - LIVE! SET CREATION + TECHNICAL BASICS 03 (Jan 12)

We will: 

→ Explore live DJing and Improvisation, specifically how to read the room and what to do with the information we intuit. 

→ Examine transition skills during live performance. Learning skills that lower DJ stress and increase our connection to dancers.

→ Explore emergent curriculum, responding to your cohort's  skill level, interests and requests.   

✤ 08 - PRACTICE SESSION 04 (Jan 19)

We will: 

→ Begin together as a group to check in, discuss last week's homework and past course material.

→ Move Into solo practice time. Teachers will be available for 1 on 1 help.

→ End with Q&A and group discussions specific to the upcoming course material and take requests for Mod 09 curriculum.

✤ 9 - ONWARD (Jan 26)

We will: 

→ Integrate the previous 8 modules, assess our growth & develop healthy DJ habits for the future

→ The DTM Team will offer some  final top tips and words of wisdom, while delivering the final day of curriculum based on your requests. 

→ And end our time together with our very own graduation ritual as you leave us as the first cohort of DTM’s online Ecstatic DJ School ♥

YOUR TEACHERS

✤ BERNICE RAABIS (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.  

✤ ALEX SEVILLA (Ecstatic Dance Madrid)

After more than two decades behind the decks, Alex stumbled upon conscious  dance 5 years ago, and went on to change his entire professional life as  an engineer and entrepreneur to share his passion for dance and music.  His career began as a resident DJ at Templo del Baile,  a monthly conscious club in his hometown Madrid, with over 200 dancers.  After 2 years, he was invited to play for Ecstatic Dance Madrid, where  he was able to take his sets to the next level. During the pandemic, his  mission was to help the Ecstatic Dance community worldwide by helping  organisers to move to the challenging world of live-streaming. Once the  lockdowns were over, he set out to make people dance in person again by  offering donation-based sessions in the streets of Spain, a monthly event now known as La Plaga del Baile (The Plague of Dance). Dance The Medicine recruited him as a teacher  and tech support during their first Ecstatic DJ Conference in May 2020,  where he has been working ever since, sharing all his know-how and  passion.

Q&A

→ What gear/software do I need?  Our teachers will demonstrate and teach on Traktor Pro 3 (software). While you are not required to download and install Traktor Pro 3 if you use other DJ software, you will get far more out of this course if you do. If you wish to purchase a DJ controller (hardware), we recommend Traktor Kontrol S2 as an entry-level controller, or the Traktor Kontrol S4 if you want to choose something more professional. You may use any brand/model of DJ controller/console you wish. 

→ How do I know which course (Beginner or Intermediate) is right for me? You will know best where you fit. Sometimes it is best to take a very basic  course in order to hone our skills and have an opportunity to feel  confident. At other times, we need to throw ourselves off the deep end  and jump before we feel ready. We are confident that anyone of any level could learn a lot for either of our courses. However, if you would like our input please take this survey and we will get back to you to discuss which course is right for you. 

→ For how long will the recordings be available? The video recordings will be available for you to watch for a period of 180 days.

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

TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR GRADUATES

"This training is for the big visionaries, event organizers, 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 surrounding 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 as of dancers, organizers, 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 honor to be apart 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 in 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

Very much looking forward to meeting you!

Bernice, Alex & the DTM team