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No, you don’t need to have any specific experience; only to be willing to move and dance.
Here’s what you need to bring to a trancedance.
During the trancedance everyone is blindfolded, except the facilitators. They move through the dancing area and dance amongst the participants to ensure that no serious collisions occur. The dancing area is marked by small carpets, in order to avoid touching walls.
No you can’t. The blindfold is an essential part of most of our rituals. If during the trance dance session, you start feeling uncomfortable with your blindfold, we advise you to first dance around this issue, before your final decision to remove the blindfold. Of course, you are free to take it off, but you will be gently asked to leave the dancing area, out of respect for the ritual and the other dancers.
The music varies according to the moment, and the theme of the dance. From sounds of nature and ethnic music from all over the planet, right through to contemporary and electronic music. Often we play live with a variety instruments. Occasionally only live music is played but that would be explicitly mentioned in advance.
Read more on our page about Trance Dance Sound & Music
Trance is an altered state of consciousness that can be experienced regularly by any human being: during sports, whilst daydreaming on a train, during meditation, etc. During everyday waking consciousness, the brain operates on fast beta-waves. When reaching a state of trance, these waves slow down from alfa (no-mind, meditation) to teta (dreams, creativity, awareness, creativity, data processing,….).
Read more about this in the article Awakening within the Dream.
No, it is not necessary to have experience with shamanism, trance or meditation. Your facilitator will be happy to answer any questions you might have, in the circle or individually before or after the dance. You can also send us your questions here.
This varies according to the space available, other circumstances and the number of facilitators. In 2007 in Vierhouten (Netherlands), an estimated 300 to 500 blindfolded dancers participated in the outdoor opening ceremony of a festival. During that same festival, also, a trancedance was facilitated for one person in a workshop tent. On average workshops have between 6 and 25 participants.
During our normal activities children and young adults under the age of 18 can participate when accompanied by an adult. We do have good experiences with youngsters from the age of 9 upwards. Occasionally special activities are organised for children and young adults.
Trance dancing can be a beautiful way to make contact with the baby in your tummy. That is why women who are experienced trancedancers are welcome to join during their pregnancy. However, you should let us know in advance, so we can offer special attention to safety.
You can dance during your moontime. Understand however, that trancedancing during menstruation can make the experience more intense.
You can dance with a slight injury, as long as you respect your own limits. You can dance in a relaxed way. You can dance while seated on the floor. You can lie down at any time if needed.
You can dance whilst seated, but of course it’s not always easy to move around with a wheelchair amongst barefoot dancers. Best to contact us in advance so we can discuss the possibilities according to the available space, the number of participants and facilitators.
We make it a priority to create a space free of judgment, where all people (with the right intentions) are welcome. Trance dance is especially suited for shy people. All of the dancers are blindfolded. You can experiment with all kinds of dance movements without the feeling of being watched. The facilitators are not blindfolded but they are concerned with safety and playing their instruments.
No. Trance dance is not recommended for people with a serious heartdisease, or people who are suffering a psychotic episode. It goes without saying that it is important that you mention and discuss any serious medical condition with us in advance.
No. A trance dance can be an intense experience, which, according to some, is comparable to a psychedelic experience, but no drugs are used during our activities. At the beginning of a dance session, we use a conscious breathing technique which results in more energy and a high amount of oxygen. All natural.
