About Us
Mount Shasta Ecstatic Dance is a community-led movement dedicated to conscious dance and authentic expression. We provide a safe, substance-free space where people can connect with themselves and others through the transformative power of free-form movement.
Every week, we curate a unique and immersive experience through our rotating collaborator team of a local or traveling DJ, somatic facilitator, among others. Our mission is to foster a vibrant community where all are welcome to move without judgment, find their rhythm, and cultivate a deeper sense of presence and connection.
MSED History and Structure
Ecstatic Dance was founded in Mount Shasta in 2015 as Heartbeat Ecstatic Dance by Paul, Shanti, Maca, and Joa. The weekly Thursday night dance was nurtured and grew from a base of about 5 dedicated weekly attendees.
In 2018, there was a change in leadership, to Elizabeth Diane, Joa, and Brian Kadmiri, with Paul retained as an advisor. The combination of the shift in leadership and the break during 2020 brought on the name change to simply Mount Shasta Ecstatic Dance.
Through the years, this Ecstatic Dance has been housed by multiple non-profits. Presently, Mount Shasta Ecstatic Dance is a project of Headwaters Nexus, a non-profit dedicated to dance, music, and arts within the community and is intended to remain the dance’s forever home.
About Ecstatic Dance
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While the first “Ecstatic Dance” was formed on Hawaii in 2000, this framework is a western interpretation of community practices that have existed in many cultures across time for healing, spiritual connection, and strengthening community bonds.
This practice of Ecstatic Dance draws inspiration from a long history of communal, free-form dance across many cultures and eras. It's a contemporary expression of an timeless human impulse to use rhythmic movement for spiritual and social purposes.
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The ecstatic dance movement has roots in 20th-century developments in somatic practices and free-form dance. Influential figures like Gabrielle Roth, who created 5Rhythms, formalized a structured moving meditation practice that emphasized free-form movement and emotional expression. Her work helped popularize dance in the west as a tool for self-discovery and spiritual growth.
The rise of rave culture and conscious dance gatherings in the late 20th century directly contributed to the Ecstatic Dance movement, as people sought alternative, substance-free ways to experience community and spiritual connection through music and dance.
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A widespread and continuously expanding global phenomenon, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Ecstatic Dance events offered each week around the world.
Learn more at ecstaticdance.org
Land Acknowledgment
We acknowledge that we are on the unceded, ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Modoc, Karuk, Pit River/Achu Valley, and Wintu peoples, among others. These Indigenous peoples have stewarded this land and come to the mountain for ceremony for generations, and continue to do so today. We honor their wisdom and enduring connection to the land.
We recognize the historical and ongoing injustices they have faced and commit to learning from and supporting Indigenous communities. We offer our gratitude and respect to the people, their elders, both past and present, and all future generations.