Dance As Meditation

Is This a “Party”?

It’s funny how difficult it can be to know exactly what to call an event like Dimension.

In other words: What category does what we do fall into?

Some default to “party” but we know it’s much more than a party.

Yet what’s a good word to describe a transformative, spiritual experience that encourages self-discovery via music, dance, artwork, and many other facets of sensory immersion and human connectedness?

What’s the best label for this gathering of a like-minded tribe bent on breaking away from daily pressures and connecting with something deeper – something that transcends the mundane – that we might forge and enter a space of shared, collective higher consciousness?

Are We Just “Dancing”?

In the same way that “party” falls short of encompassing what Dimension is, individual aspects of the festival also surpass or defy their common definitions (which, again, makes describing what we do a challenge!).

One clear example is “dancing.”

In short, “dancing” at Dimension means a great deal more than simply moving our bodies to music.

Dance to trance music has been described as a meditative ritual which allows adherents to see past our individual perspectives, creating a sense of unity with a larger consciousness – be that a "cosmic spirit" or collective awareness. There’s a sense of seemingly mystical connection with our surroundings and each other.

Active Meditation

While traditional meditative practices are passive and still, dance at Dimension is an immersive act of participation that allows both body and mind to sync to the repetitive beats and patterns in the music designed specifically to help us let go of our minds' usual distractions.

Then, as we continue with the music while it progresses . . . building up then breaking down in carefully planned sequences . . . our mindset and emotional state begin to change. We experience moments of clarity, peace, and insight.

The dance floor becomes a sacred space where we can feel safe to explore the boundaries of consciousness, experience a profound sense of oneness, and learn to see with greater clarity into the nature of reality.

Redefining Ancient Rituals

In traditional rituals, sound and rhythmic movement were used to bring practitioners into altered states of consciousness for purposes of healing and connection with nature or with higher powers.

Many frame the trance-dance experience as a modern redefining of ancient rituals for the 21st century, blending traditional practices with cutting-edge technology to serve those of all generations seeking deeper meaning and connection in an increasingly chaotic world.

In our version of the ritual, old world drums and chants are replaced by electronic beats delivered via high fidelity sound systems, mind-bending visuals, and countless creative expressions taking place all around us. The core purpose remains the same as always: to elevate consciousness, to promote free expression and transformation, and to foster a sense of unity.

Basically, the festival becomes a playground for self-exploration and collective transformation, with the music acting as the modern-day "spiritual guide" and technology serving as the medium.

Transformation and Enlightenment

Speaking of a modern take on ancient traditions, there’s a reason the optimal psytrance festival setting is open-air and all-night. Dancing as an act of meditation from the darkness of night through to the light of dawn symbolizes a journey through the struggles of ego – facing the likes of defensiveness, fear of judgment, and a compulsive need to maintain an idealized self-image – toward a state of acceptance and enlightened peace.

Many have tied this symbolic journey of passing from the darkness of ego into the light of raised consciousness to a narrative of spiritual “death and rebirth.”

As the night wears on, the music and atmosphere grow more intense. Then at the peak of the experience, we “shed our old selves,” meaning the imposed identities and burdens we feel compelled to carry in our everyday lives. 

As morning’s light begins to shine through, the music and atmosphere typically shift to be more uplifting and celebratory. This represents the "rebirth" phase, where we feel empowered to return to our lives with a newly raised, expanded, more connected consciousness.

A Word to the Uninitiated

Again, we’re trying to put words and labels here to an experience that can’t really be described or pinned down. The spiritual language used/borrowed, or any other metaphors or symbols, are, at best, a relatable approximation.

You can’t know trance-dance as an active meditation until you step to the dance floor, sense the music prompting you to let it guide your movements . . . and then feel, step-by-step, how the ritual maps to what you recognize to be timeless human desires to break free from the past, to confront and overcome inner obstacles, and to emerge stronger, more aware, and more connected to something that’s both larger than yourself and yet also, at the same time, something you find you identify with more than anything else.

Of course, none of us get there all at once. We can’t. Like any spiritual practice, dancing as meditation is one we become adept at by degrees. 

So, we invite you simply to come and try it for yourself. Take a small step. Surrender to the music just a little…

We believe if you try it you’ll find not just the mere temporary escape of another “party,” but a safe and inviting sanctuary where we are all free to journey outside our everyday identities, explore new ways of being, and return to the world renewed with a lasting sense of transformation that comes as we shed the constraints of our daily lives and embrace a more authentic and enlightened version of who we are.

Have you ever “found yourself” on the dance floor?

Source:

St John, Graham. “DJ Goa Gil: Kalifornian Exile, Dark Yogi and Dreaded Anomaly.” Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture 3, no. 1 (2011): 97-128.