Yes!

And you should know:

Kids have a magical infectious energy that most adults love to be around. Dancing comes naturally to young people; they don’t need to think about it to move. 

It is a gift to have a young person in the space, be that an infant, a toddler, a six year old, or a preteen. (Teens too are always welcome, and are a very special gift, I mean that in all seriousness, but most of what I want to say here doesn’t apply to this age group. They can function as adults in most cases.) 

Know that kids will be warmly welcomed and cared for, just like everyone who comes to the dance.

Although this is an all ages friendly space, it is not designed for kids. There aren’t special activities for them. 

Activities can be adapted to suit them, just as all adults must adapt so that what ever happens suits them. This is called the law of adaptation. 😉 

I can usually find a way to make it work and will treat the young person as an equal member of the group, because they are.

We don’t talk during the dance. 

It’s fine to make vocalizations (sing along, shout yee haw!, or the like) and it’s totally fine to answer a question or speak briefly to your young person as needed, kids have things to say! 

The purpose of this dance is to create sacred space for transformation and having conversation in the room disrupts that process. Many kids are totally great at being mostly quiet. They can sense it and they do fine.

As the adult companion, it is your responsibility to keep talking to a minimum and know when it is time for your little one to be in a different space if they need to talk a lot. 

If you or your kid needs to move to a differnt space for a period of time or depart early this is always just fine. 

We expect everyone to take care of themselves so they get exactly what they need in that moment.

The music is intended to be positive and all ages friendly. Much of the time there are no lyrics, and when there are they are in a language other than English or they are positive. 

Occasionally there is a cuss word. Even more occasionally a song or even a whole playlist is kinda dark.

I can’t guarantee a pure G rated experience, even though it very largely is every time. Please reach out in advance if you want to know for sure the contents of the playlist. I will know a day or two before the dance. Email nomiecstatic@gmail.com, or for a quicker response message me on Facebook. 

We are almost always done by 8:00 PM. Sometimes a little later. We end in a circle together. There is an time for sharing and then we do something simple to seal it in, like hold hands and pass a squeeze. The closing takes about 10-15 minutes. 

Feel free to leave early if you need to. It is truly OK.

Also, the music has a natural arc to it that puts us in a restful and dreamy place at the end. It could be good for getting in a sleepy zone!

Kids can bring a little chaos to the space. Some extra unpredictability, and that is awesome. Almost always it is more joy, love, or insight. 

Occasionally it is more disruption. It is so good for us to learn to allow the unexpected, the unpredictable, and the maybe uncomfortable into our lives. 

We get to notice ourselves in it and practice bringing in more love and more patience and more kindness and more forgiveness. Which is why kids are a gift at ecstatic dance. 

At the same time, adult companions are expected to track children and modify behavior if children are being rowdy or otherwise treating the space as a free-for-all playground area. 

Although the dance can be playful, it is not an open play space. We are practicing being conscious of our bodies and everyone else in the room, and youth can practice this too.  

Please bring your favorite young person sometime - your own child or your grandchild or niece or nephew or neighbor or special friend. Everyone can dance!