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From The Loft
 

For this month’s Loft piece, Raasa Leela celebrates the huge success of our online auction and gala fundraiser while also thanking those who helped make it happen (more details in the News section).

As I get to know the Earthdance community I am floored by the amount of talent and generosity amongst us. The online auction and Gala were a huge success thanks to all of you. I enjoyed very much getting to know so many different people. I discovered we are a quirky bunch whose creative minds come up with amazing gifts like an Authentic Canadian Maple leaf or a Personal Serenade. I learned we have incredible artistic talent with gifts like a Hand Carved Cutting Board, Hand Knit Sweater, beautiful oil paintings, Dancing Pottery, and a whimsical grape vine sculpture. I was awed by our location resources with gifts to CAMP in Zipolite Mexico, an Adirondack Retreat Home, several NYC apartments, and our beloved 9 Mountain right next door to Earthdance. It was fun to discover the hidden talents of our left brain supporters with gifts of Money Talk, IT Support, Nasa Brains, ChatGPT Tutorial and the much sought after - and highest bidding item - Website Development! And of course our community shines with embodiment gifts of dance, yoga, fitness, sexuality, storytelling, musicality, bodywork, coaching, hypnosis, ritual, Astrological Psychotherapy, tarot and so much more. Plus the much appreciated gifts of Natural Beauty Products, Garden Goodies, Child Care, Professional Gardening, and Home Renovations. A special shout out to the youngest contributor, Osh, with his precious home made Jewelweed Salve. What an awesome resource we all are! Thank you so very much for your donations and your bids!

Moving onto the Gala. It was an epic communal undertaking of giving. Thank you to Christos and Jen for advertisement and postings. Thank you to 9 Mountain for loaning us tables, chairs and lights, and Goodwill for a super deal on 60 glasses. The Creamery for donating drinks. Thank you to Marty’s sponsorship donation which cut our food bill in half. Thank you Olive, Rosalee, and Kal for setting up all the tables. Thank you Melanie, Helena and Shannon for decorating. Thank you Jen for picking up the Prosecco, bringing decorations, and taking photos. Thank you to the chefs, Kale and Falcon, who tirelessly fed us with Love. Thank you Faith for singing so beautifully and leading us in the blessing of the food. Thank you to our MCs, Chandra and Princess, whose charm and grace were beacons of the evening. Thank you Lina, Osh and Viti for checking people in. Thank you to our DJs extraordinaire, Brando and Ashley, who kept us on our feet and moving all night. Thank you to CJ for helping with sound set up. Thank you to Levi and Spirit who generously donated funds and then miraculously got the room to match their donation. Thank you to Justice, Jupiter, Tom, Robyn, Richard, Janna, Amy, Funda, Marielle, Shan, Aitabé, John, Lisa, Faith, Princess, Evan, Chandra, Paul, Benoit, Tamara, Michael, Walker, Chris, and those not mentioned who matched the room with funds. Thank you to Neal and Tamara for the garlic braids. Thank you to our anonymous matching donor. Thank you to Daniel for your support. Thank you to all those that attended in person or in spirit. Thank you whomever magically cleaned up the Gala. And last but definitely not least thank you to Bruce for his delicious sourdough pancakes that were a huge hit.

- Raasa Leela, Gala and Auction Organiser Extraordinaire

 
News & Updates
 

OUR AUCTION AND GALA WERE A SMASHING SUCCESS!

We did it! Between the auction, the gala, and our anonymous matching donor, our community managed to raise over $30,000 from all our collective efforts! And perhaps best of all, we did it with a spirit of play, fun, and connection. It's been truly heartening seeing winning bidders now being put in touch with those who donated, and knowing that the spirit of community and creativity will continue to ripple out in all kinds of ways. Thank-you sincerely to everyone who donated items or their time and energy into this amazing coming together.

THE PASSING OF KEITH HARMON SNOW

It's with sadness that, amidst all the celebration of the holidays and so much to be grateful for, we are sharing the news of the death of a longtime member of our community:

Keith Harmon Snow passed on to the ancestor realm on December 8th, 2024 in the early hours of the morning. Keith battled cancer for some years, and now his suffering is over. He is free. Keith lived with conviction for justice for all beings. He was a gifted photographer, journalist and proud father. His son, Birch, age 11, and Birch's mother, Chaya, also members of the Earthdance community, are deeply mourning this loss. Chaya wrote a eulogy if you would like to read more. The family will host a memorial in the new year. You can visit this site to receive an update about that. 

Black History Month Artist Residency - Call For Applications

In honor and celebration of February’s Black History Month, Earthdance annually offers two free week-long residencies to two selected black dance-based artists. This annual program is part of our commitment to equity & access and one of the ways we are using our unique resources to further the careers and artistic development of black dance-based artists.

Applications for 2025 are now open. Please click here for more info and to apply.

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Upcoming Programming
 
Winter Jam with hosts Dey Summer and Gabrielle Revlock

Come for just the night or sleepover and enjoy Sunday brunch. The theme is “Come Home to Earthdance”. We are raising funds to expand our housing for staff, work exchangers and personal retreaters.

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Spiral & Root: Earthdance Professional CI Training
January 6 - 26, 2025

Welcome to Spiral & Root: Earthdance’s Professional Contact Improvisation Training. For those who are longing for a deep and durational dive into CI research, pedagogy, and professional training, you’re invited to gather with us for three weeks

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ContaKids: Teacher Training
February 2nd - 8th, 2025
Sunday, November 24th, 2024
ritual: 4-7:30pm
potluck: 7:30pm-8:30pm

After over a decade of successful work in Europe, with more than 400 trained teachers from 35 countries, we are thrilled to bring ContaKids Teacher Training to Earthdance! 

ContaKids is a unique method that enhances parent-child connection through playful movement and contact improvisation. This training offers you the opportunity to start working immediately with families and join our growing American teacher community. Don’t miss out!

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ContaKids: Free Classes for Parents and Kids
Sunday, February 2nd at 5:30pm and Saturday, February 8th, 2025 at 10:30am

During our upcoming Teachers’ Training taking place at Earthdance, we will be offering 2 free classes for parents and kids guided by the founder of the method, Itay Yatuv.

ContaKids is a unique and fun activity for parents and their children (age 2 to 5). Through playfulness, movement and touch parents and children develop a new physical form of communication, which is enjoyable for both; children enhance and improve their motor skills and self-confidence and parents develop a sense of trust in their child and themselves.

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Grieving Ourselves Whole: Exploration of Grief Through Embodiment, Song, and Ritual with Chaya Leia Aronson and Charlotte Althea Collins
Thursday, February 27th - Sunday, March 2nd, 2025

We invite you to join us for three days and nights of tending the sacred waters of our emotions, through ritual, movement, and song. We gather at Earthdance, a beloved place to many and has become home to a lineage of ever-evolving grief work.

Coming together to move, sing, and feel has great power to connect us more deeply to our wholeness and purpose, opening the door to the unique and necessary ways our Soul can contribute to healing on this planet.

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Contact Improvisation & Somatic Approaches Applied Therapeutically with Aaron Brandes and Gabrielle Revlock – REGISTER NOW!
April 10th - 13th, 2025

This workshop delves into the therapeutic potential of Contact Improvisation (CI), Authentic Movement (AM), and Restorative Contact (RC), as well as other somatic practices. Drawing from our unique career pathways combining movement, choreography, fascial bodywork, psychotherapy, and evidence-based mindfulness practices, we have developed therapeutic material that articulates safety, empathy, mutuality and agency through movement, touch, and verbal processing.

This workshop welcomes therapists, bodyworkers, and individuals interested in personal healing and wellbeing to explore these transformative practices.

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Skimming the Surface: A Movement Healing Retreat with Valerie Green – REGISTER NOW!
May 2nd - 4th, 2025

“Skimming the Surface” Movement Healing Retreat will support adults that may be overcoming diverse forms of stress and trauma through somatic based expressive movement exercises. These workshops will help participants release blocked and repressed energy causing stress or discomfort in one’s life by integrating movement, feelings, and emotions. 

Offerings will integrate creative movement, improvisation, body reading, energy and breath work, body/mind embodiment and consciousness exercises, shamanic journeying, somatic experiencing, parts work, use of voice, free writing prompts, intuition and Core Energetics. 

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Dancing the Landscape Week Workshop with Frieda Kipar Bay and Dana Iova-Koga – REGISTER NOW!
May 23rd - 29th, 2025

In this immersive workshop we ask the question- what happens when we consider this relationship as a dance? How do we dance a landscape? How are we danced by a landscape? In the flush of early summer we will work indoors and out, drawing from our primary movement sources of Qigong and Butoh dance, Body Weather, Fighting Monkey, and Contact Improvisation. We will also become intimate with some of the plants, geology, and animals of the Earthdance landscape through animal track and sign, plant identification, and land stewardship tasks.  We will expand upon the many definitions of “landscape” (physical, internal, psychosocial, geological, political); we will explore the role of time, rhythm and cadence within our dance, and we will traverse the spectrum of practical to poetic implications of what it means to dance and be danced by our landscapes.  

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Second Sunday Of The Month Jams at Earthdance

The long-time tradition of weekly Sunday CI Jams has returned! Come for a class beforehand, or just for the jam. Stay for the sauna and potluck dinner! Registration not required. 

Class: 5:00 – 6:30pm (rotating teachers)

Potluck: 6:30 – 7:30pm

Jam: 7:30 – 10:00pm

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Save The Date
 
SAVE THE DATE: Spring Jam!
April 3rd - 6th, 2025
SAVE THE DATE: July 4th Jam!
June 28th - July 5th, 2025
SAVE THE DATE: Falling Leaves Jam!
October 16th - 19th, 2025
SAVE THE DATE: New Year’s Jam!
December 27th, 2025 - January 1st, 2026
 

This month's photo montage is all about the Gala, for those who missed it and want to see a glimpse of the magic we co-created!

 
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252 Prospect St., Plainfield, MA 01070
(413) 634-5678
contact@earthdance.net

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Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia.

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