Everyone is a Dancer

“I do not live inside my body, my body lives inside me.”

Movement is born when we emerge into this world. The subtle act of breathing is the continuous yet subtle expansion and contraction as life pulses through our body. It is easy to take this for granted as it goes unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of life. However, the sad thing is that most of what happens in our bodies goes unnoticed as we disconnect and give precedence to our mental thinking selves. Society values the intellect and demonises the sensual experience of the body.

To be sensual is to be alive to the signals emerging out of the wisdom of the body. Are we always aware of that quickening of the heart to signal danger before we are even conscious of it; or that quickening of the heart to signal rapture at encountering some magic? Pain signals an awareness of problems to be solved – pleasant sensations signal pleasures to be enjoyed.

The dancer moves with their whole body. Music evokes emotion and feeling which is translated into expressive movements. As we let go into the fluidity and grace of movement we learn to release from mechanisms of emotional disconnection, defensive armouring, or the trauma of dissociation. The beauty and wonder of conscious dance provides a safe space for the beautiful journey back to the centre of our being. A journey that brings us back home to our body so that the sensitivity and connections we experience while dancing are carried over like music we sometimes hum in our head. The awakening of sensation and information gleaned from the body accompanies our minds to create a more conscious life bringing us into presence, expanding our horizons, and deepening our awareness.

To be dancing is to be continuously creating an enriched life. There is only one person who can stop you from ever doing this – you.

_Christos Daskalakos

dance YOU!

“Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. 

 It’s the rhythm of your life.”

_Jacques d’Amboise

For many, dance is a profound journey of self-discovery. I have the privilege of witnessing the veils of illusion melt away and eyes lighting up with joy at that moment when someone breaks through personal barriers, gains insight into their emotions and thought patterns, and emerges with a deep sense of knowing and authenticity. This profound opportunity for self-discovery and transformation is possible when the dance encourages people to express themselves freely through movement, without constraints.

The transformative power of conscious dance lies in its ability to inspire individuals to connect with their true selves. The act of dance in many societies is a courageous act that goes against religious, cultural, and society’s restrictions. Tragically, there are many spaces around the world where dance is forbidden. Tragically there are many spaces where dance is allowed yet the opportunities are squandered.

The very physical, emotional, and psychological barriers that keep people from dancing are the ones that offer the most freedom. As much as dance can bring us face-to-face with vulnerability and resistance, it also opens up opportunities for freedom and joy. When we learn to move through discomfort, we tap into hidden reservoirs of strength, resilience, and creativity that open up a magical endless horizon that allows us to celebrate our own individual uniqueness.

_Christos Daskalakos

dance! WE ARE ONE

he more you dance, the more you discover about yourself.”

_Rudolf Nureyev

Dance is a holistic embodied experience that goes beyond physical movement. It has a transformative power that opens up and expands our awareness, physically, emotionally, and existentially. Through dance we become more attuned to our bodies and can easily pick up the subtle fluctuations that connect us to an ever-dynamic and changing experience of life, connecting us deeper, wider, and higher, to this mystery of our existence.

Through dance, we learn to move with intention and simultaneously find the capacity to move with fluidity making each moment an act of creation. No longer are we bound as emotional prisoners, victims of circumstance as dance provides an expressive outlet to feel, process and enjoy that part of life that is based in the heart. And, where appropriate dance can be a cathartic release helping us to let go of stress, anxiety, or any other pent-up emotions locked in our bodies.

Existential awareness means that we know the deepness and richness of all aspects of connection that make us one with the world – a cosmic whole. Dancing with another creates empathy and synchronicity and often becomes a mirror for our own understanding. The transcendent aspects of dance become a form of meditation or prayer in motion – allowing us to connect to a deeper sense of self and even magically, something greater than ourselves. Dance is an action. Dance, and truly understand what it means when all spiritual teachers tell us, “WE ARE ONE”.

_Christos Daskalakos

Lost and Found in the DANCE

“It’s the soul that dances, the body only follows.”

_Anon

Losing oneself in the dance transcends the conscious mind, allowing instincts to take the lead. These dances exist outside the constraints of time, where our internal clock slips away unnoticed. Being subsumed in the movements, highly attuned with emotions, paradoxically means losing oneself in the dance, yet in reality, it's a profound moment of self-discovery.

To lose oneself is to simultaneously authentically find oneself through dance—an essential process of shedding the societal mask and inner dialogue that draw a circle around our identity.

Dance serves as a transformative medium; enabling individuals to explore facets of themselves they hadn't previously known. Spontaneous, liberated external movements can alter the internal landscape, breaking the confines that encircle our being. Dancing toward freedom involves undergoing the ancient shamanic ritual of deconstruction and self-loss, ultimately emerging renewed, replenished, and undeniably reborn.

_Christos Daskalakos