Ritual Rhythms Ecstatic Dance & Beyond - Ancestral Wisdom in the Digital Age

It was my total honour and pleasure to chew the cud and go deeeeeeeeeppp with Pixie Pete, a total legend of the UK ecstatic dance scene. We started talking in daylight and were so carried away that we found ourselves talking in the dark at one point, thats how good the conversation was. In this episode we go deep into dance as therapy - how the Ecstatic Dance space can be a therapeutic one and what that means when it comes to establishing intention and holding it safely and with integrity.Pixi Pete is a DJ, musician and somatic and embodiment facilitator with over a decade immersed in embodiment, movement, meditation and performance. His work lives at the meeting point of music and movement — creating spaces where people can move from thinking to presence, from their heads, into their bodies and explore connection, expression and what it means to be fully present.At the heart of Pete's work is a love of music that refuses to sit neatly in one box. His multi-genre, open-format style moves fluidly between deep, soulful grooves, playful rhythms, unexpected turns and dynamic peaks. Weaving electronic sound with live percussion to create immersive dancefloors. Alongside his music, his training as an Embodied Resilience Practitioner, Authentic Relating Lv1 and the Dancing Heart Path informs the way he reads a room and responds to the people in it — creating experiences that feel both alive and grounded.Whether behind the decks, playing live percussion or facilitating, Pete brings his heart, playfulness and a strong care for the energy of a group. His aim is simple: create spaces where people feel welcome, connected and free to move, express and be themselves.Insta @djpixipetewww.linktr.ee/pixipete

Continuing my fascinating chats with people at all stages of their ecstatic dance adventure this time I talk to the effervescent and endlessly enthusiastic Yasmin - the founder of Ecstatica UK and one of the many people that helps to keep the Dance the Medicine world turning.We chat about so many topics, finding the perfect space for an ecstatic dance; compiling sets and when it all goes wrong, how enough enthusiasm will see you transporting a sound system to every dance using just taxis and some willing friends, what to have ready and so much more.She is a passionate Ecstatic Dance facilitator and DJ whose journey has taken her across the globe. From living in intentional, land-connected communities in Colombia to training with world-class mentors like Dance the Medicine, she has gathered a rich tapestry of practices in movement, meditation, and energy. Her introduction to ecstatic dance was so powerful it left her high on joy - and it’s been a deeply healing and liberating force in her life ever since. Through Ecstatica, Yasmin creates spaces where others can fully let go, explore, and come home to themselves - reclaiming their power, potential and innate freedom through dance.Website: https://www.ecstatica.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecstatica.uk/Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/Ecstatica_Yasmin/

BERNICE RAABIS • Founder of Dance The MedicineIn this episode I chat to the inspiring, funny and warm hearted Bernice Raabis. We laugh a lot, discuss masses of content and unravel her journey. Her ecstatic dance story is a fascinating one, from a Gabrielle Roth VHS video replayed many, many times through to spontaneously embarking on a journey to facilitate dance for others after training with Soul Motion at Esalen. All leading, in a very perfect and unplanned way, to her current work with Dance the Medicine. We talk about the challenges and successes of training, empathy in our space management and facilitation. Bernice is on a mission to spread conscious dance communities across the globe. In 2011, she founded Dance Church, a long-running and wildly successful conscious dance in the vibrant mountain town of Nelson, BC, Canada. There, she DJed and facilitated weekly, weaving epic soundscapes into transformative dance experiences that support freedom through connection to self, community, and humanity. In 2019, she set out to gather an epic team of conscious dance professionals, and the Dance The Medicine Team was born, dedicated to providing embodied conscious dance education. Bernice is a certified Soul Motion facilitator, a student of the Tamalpa Institute, and a relational somatic therapist. Her work is deeply grounded in embodiment, community building, and supporting her students to deliver the specific type of dance medicine they feel called to bring into the world.Links: Upcoming Leadership Training: https://www.dancethemedicine.com/dance-community-leadership-training-germany-september-2026Website: https://www.dancethemedicine.com/

This podcast was always meant to be about everyone involved in this wonderful scene.Not just the main movers and shakers, but those buzzing with passion and energy for dancing, cacao, playing or whatever their involvement.At The beautiful Avalon Dance Odyssey I had the great fortune of meeting the kindhearted Eddy Spinozzi. He was just so enthusiastic about what the podcast had to offer that it seemed like the perfect fit to have him as a guest. Little did I know how fascinating his story would be!Having only attended his first dance a year and a half before, and being a self confessed rock and metal fan with no taste for dance music he was instantly converted and before long was putting together his own dance - learning to facilitate, DJ and everything else involved on the job...thats the sort of passion and energy that is contagious and so valuable!I know youll love listening to this as much as I enjoyed recording it!If you're in Bristol, get along to a dance with Eddy, I am certain you'll be swept away by a lot of heartfelt love in that room!Terra Ecstatic Dance info page and events: https://dandelion.events/o/terraTerra ED whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbCNXYF6GcGNCb20tM0Imy IG: https://www.instagram.com/dj.duoz/

I love these chats so much!! Today was no exception, Anahata Grant is a total gem of a human and is currently to be found at dances all over the UK and beyond. With a past life as a music producer working with artists like the legendary Tricky and more, this chat has so much to listen to and learn from especially musically. If you like to nerd out on the tunes this is one for you. Its a total pleasure to play into this chat with a snippet and to play out with the entirety of a brand new and totally magical tune that he has recently completed 'Mitakuye Oyasin'. Ive had the joy to play it out at two recent dances and the response spoke for itself - sublime! So if you haven't heard it wait until the end for the full experience and if you play then hit him up for the file! You can find more on Grant via insta on https://www.instagram.com/anahatagrant108/ go catch him at EDUK in Hackney WIck or at a dance near you soon !!