The Social Embrace

The Social Embrace Join us for a lively and exciting event at The Interchange in Houston, TX, USA presented by The Barefoot Ballroom, Huntsville, TX, USA and John Kerr Smither The Social Embrace explores a partner dance lineage inside Ecstatic Dance called Barefoot Ballroom. The mash up of Contact Improvisation and styles of Ballroom dancing turned into Yonga, a meta-modern social dance. The Social Embrace intends to return the Ecstatic Dance community to itself and to the broader social sphere. An antidote to post-modernism, joy reveals itself inside the meta modern dance of Yonga. Evolving inside the ecstatic dance movement for 25 years it blends contact improvisation with partner dance. The Social Embrace is an expression of the Texas Ecstatic Dance journey. The purpose is to build bridges from the purely therapeutic and contemplative, to communal bonding, to the public expression of dance as art, and finally a fundemental expression, human physical freedom. *** PURPOSE OF SOCIAL EMBRACE 🌞To reintroduce social touch and embrace through movement and partner dancing 🌞To demonstrate partner dancing as prescriptive and antidotal act for post lockdown life 🌞To engage and daylight Eros, the creative and sensual impulse. 🌞To practice how to engage and let go 🌞To create the evolution of an internal mystical dance practice into an external extra-ordinary social dance 🌞To rename the Barefoot Ballroom Dance, Yonga, a dance named for the Meta Modern Era *** About workshop instructor: John Kerr Smither BIOGRAPHY and Chronology of getting to idea of Yonga and Social Embrace 1961-2023 Born in Austin, Texas 60’ - 1st Dance with American Indian Chief, Camp Stewart, Kerrville, Texas 70’ - Ballroom Dance (as Assistant) / Dynamic Meditation workshop, Frank Natalie, Esalen, Big Sur, California / Human Potential Movement, Houston / Keewaydin Temagami Camp, Canada 80’ - Johnson Atelier Technical Inst. of Sculpture, Princeton, NJ / Sculptor Studio, Deep Ellum, Founded World War Theater / Humaniversity, Holland/ Trance Dance, Wilbur Alex, Texas / University St.Thomas / Classell Shool of Art 90’ - 5Rythms / Houston - Gabrielle Roth (9 years) , The MET, Houston / Soul Motion, Vin Marti / Sufi Foundation, Dunya/ Dance Camp - Adnan Serhan / Body Choir, Austin / Philosophy Maj. SHSU / Buffalo Moon Lodge (8 years) 2000 - Ecstatic Dance Houston, Planet Fund (9years) / Founded The Barefoot Ballroom and Crazywood Gallery / Host C.I. 36 / Dance Retreats, Huntsville, Texas / NCDC Dance Camp / NEDC Dance Camp, Brietenbush, Oregon / Hollyhock, Canada, Interchange, Houston/ The Social Embrace 2023 - Introduction Yonga by The Social Embrace series of workshop events AGENDA: 11:00AM - 1:00PM Yonga at The Interchange The Social Embrace workshop. Union through Partnership 1:00 PM - 4:00PM The Social Embrace trip to Toulouse Cafe and Bar, Houston We are gonna to use knowledge and experience of Yonga from workshop in real life!