Monthly Dance Circles
Photo by Mark Warber
Monthly dance circles are a mix of sacred space, ceremony, community, and joy of movement. We meet to bring our energy together to release, heal, connect, or simply just feel our various emotions. It can be an escape from daily life. It can be a ritual for deep self-examination. It can be a connection to ancestors.
Once you arrive at monthly circle, you take off your shoes to represent shedding the outside world. You are wearing comfy clothes or maybe a flowing skirt that makes dancing easy. Then you enter the studio, feel the energy of other circle members coming to connect or express themselves in movement. You write three intentions on pieces of paper and put them in special boxes on the altar. There are smiles and happy conversation. Even if you are new, you feel the community.
When dance circle starts, we cast a circle led by our guide, Adrienne Sofia Rose. We do a few dances to get use to moving together as a circle. Then we dance three dances to represent releasing, healing, or connecting our intentions. Adrienne Sofia provides short dance combinations of suggested movement before each song. Yet, dancers are free to move as they are inspired.
After the intention songs, Adrienne Sofia Rose selects songs for various dancing that month. We have danced some hula, circle danced to the Outlander’s version of the Skye Boat song, and moved to Scottish wool waulking music. It varies. If we prepping for a performance, we will close the circle and then practice a choreography. While we enjoy ceremonial dances inspired by our various ancestors, we also love to just freely dance, play with props like veils, play with musical instruments, and laugh together.
Our Monthly dance circles are on the fourth Sundays of each month at Armentality Movement Arts in the Grand Rapids Masonic Temple in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan at 1:15-3 pm. Visit this website for news about monthly dance circles and performances. You can also find details on the Facebook pages of Witches of West Michigan, Mystic Dance Circle, and the Dream Circle Studio LLC website. Contact us for more details or if you have questions. We hope to dance with you soon!
Photo by Mark Warber