Music
At Northern Michigan Ecstatic Dance we dance for about an hour, usually to a pre-arranged playlist. Every so often we have live music or a live DJ. Usually we make the playlists ourselves, other times we use playlists arranged by other DJs.
All styles of music are welcome and we try to mix it up as much as possible, however some genera work better than others.
We tend toward songs with no lyrics or non-English lyrics.
Although some songs might be dark or assertive, they are never violent or hateful. The goal is for you to leave the dance feeling powerful and uplifted.
You can find more about the music in the FAQs.
The order of the songs
The music always follows the same pattern. The feeling of the whole set is like a wave, one swell and release, like an inhale and an exhale, or like a whole lifetime.
The music always begins gently, so you can open
It picks up to have steady and perhaps rapid beats
The middle is wild, off-kilter, and fast
It shifts into soaring or rolling tunes
The end is always slow, stilling, and releasing
Sample Playlist
On this page you can hear the beginning of each track to get a sense of the kind of music we might to listen to. To hear the full songs and the full playlist, open the playlist in your Spotify account.
If you don't have a Spotify account, find a friend who has one and plan a dance party, because otherwise the songs will play out of order, and in ecstatic dance the order matters!
A suggestion for how to use this playlist
Open the playlist in your Spotify account. On this page you will only hear the beginning of each track.
The theme for this playlist is Rest. Start with a few minutes of silence and total rest, letting your body be in any position that is deeply comforting and supportive.
Ask yourself: What does Rest mean to me? How is the Dance like Resting? Spend a few minutes writing or talking to yourself about these questions.
Play the music and fall into it as fully as you can, letting it do all the work so your body can just follow along.
When the music ends, note anything that came through for you.
Then take some big breaths, stretch, and awaken yourself for what comes next!
Here is a link to a playlist that anyone can listen to. There are lots of playlists for ecstatic dance on music websites like SoundCloud and MixCloud.
Would you like to Make a Playlist for one of our dances?
!!!! check out the guide below !!!!
Offerings from dancers: flowers, treats, poetry
Our monthly newsletter includes links to playlists.