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Dancing Freedom launches in the Comox Valley

Free-form ecstatic dance practice is sweeping the globe.

Dancing Freedom has launched in the Comox Valley.

Originating in San Francisco, this free-form ecstatic dance practice is sweeping the globe with community dances emerging across North America, Canada, Hawaii, Australia and Europe.

“Dancing Freedom gets you out of your head and into your body. It is the most direct route to freedom and awakening I have found,” says Helen Pattinson, dance facilitator. “Together we move, sweat, let go of self-consciousness and find freedom through movement.

"You don't have to be a 'dancer'. Come as you are. If your heart beats, you can dance!”

Pattinson is a passionate dance and yoga facilitator and new import to the Comox Valley from England. After several long vacations here, she chose to make Vancouver Island her home.

Pattinson’s travels took her to San Francisco and Arizona where she trained in Dancing Freedom with founder Samantha Sweetwater.

“During training, we danced six to seven hours a day. It was intense, exhilarating and grounding. Each dance begins with a theme or intention, and becomes a moving meditation or prayer on that theme.”

“Our first session at The Big Time Out festival in Cumberland this August was a great success. Fifteen of us gathered of all ages and backgrounds. We danced to the theme of ‘awakening.’ It was moving, exciting, beautiful.

"There is no specific way to dance, or dance moves to learn. We encourage you to move how you wish. Dancing Freedom invites you to get out of your thinking mind, get into your body and just dance! The main thing is, you can’t get it wrong!”

An eight-week session starts Oct. 5 at the Old Schoolhouse at 3985 Island Highway South in Royston.

For more about Dancing Freedom Fridays at the Old Schoolhouse, visit www.inspiredearthprojects.com.

— Inspired Earth Projects