Saturday Afternoon Ecstatic Dances at Durham Friends

Our new series of dances at Durham Friends is going well. For people new to this form of dance see the details below. There is no charge but contributions will be accepted only to cover the rent, and no profit will be made. Parking- the lot between Ronald McDonald House and Durham Friends is available and if full, parking on Alexander is free. It is Alexander Ave. not to be confused with TW Alexander. Schedule: Arrive 4PM Circle Up 4:10 Dance 4:15-5:45 Closing Circle 5:45 Socialize 5:50 Close 6 Set weavers: Aug 1- Jack Wolf Aug 29-Laura Aliberti Sept 12- Richard Jerram So Far we have had sets from Laura Aliberti, Richard Jerram, and Jack Wolf and will continue with that rotation. 1)For the local Ecstaticim - We will be rotating the sets between Laura, Jack, and Richard. The opening and closings will be fairly spare. The flavors of the sets will be with the weavers. I (Jack) am also a member of Eno Friends Meeting in Hillsborough, so am trying to get some interest in the Friends community and Durham Friends are hosting us at their very nice Fellowship Hall with hardwood floor, excellent acoustics and window views of the woods. 2) For those new to this form of dance: We do 80-90 minutes of unstructured free form dance. There are no rules or steps, though we do not converse during the dance. We have chairs set out and there is no need for any physical abilities, sit and wiggle a finger, if one wishes. People may dance in any combination or solo. These types of dances occur internationally. They were largely inspired by the late Gabrielle Roth and her 5 Rhythms concept (https://www.5rhythms.com/ ) and each set weaver may utilize some of that. Richard has been teaching 5 Rhythms for decades in the US and UK and if you are interested in that aspect, talk with him. My (Jack) take is that we seek to create a deep experience, spiritual for many, but others may just enjoy the movement, freedom, and exercise.