SAVE THE DATE: New Year’s Jam!
Event Categories: Major Event (left column)
SAVE THE DATE: Falling Leaves Jam!
Summer Jam! with hosts Alli Ross and Cody Strauss – SOLD OUT
We’re dreaming a jam of joyful connection and embodied expression—where families, movers, and magic-makers of all kinds can gather for dance, ritual, pageantry, and moments of meaning. We hope to co-create something alive, inclusive, and full of heart.
Children’s Programming
The children’s program is a very special part of the summer jam at Earthdance. This jam brings in many families and about thirty or more kids of all ages. Every morning, for 4 hours, there will be 6 staff and one coordinator who will be dedicated to creating a fun experience for your children.
They will be offered opportunities to move around and play in the field, make art and crafts, have story time, gardening, forest walks and more. We couldn’t have a summer jam without S’mores around the bonfire, pizza making and our now-famous giant slip’n slide. This year we’re hoping to add more soccer games, foam swords fights, ninja training parcours, baking(-and eating!) cakes and crepes, and dancing.
We’re also planning more afternoon offerings as well as parents-focused sharing circles and other workshops. We are so excited to welcome you and your kids to our program. Whether it’ll be your first time or not, we are looking forward to being in community with you.
JOIN The Children’s Programming Team!
As we’re planning the kids’ program, we’re also creating our 2025 team. You would like to be part of it? The staff works from 9am until 1pm for 5 mornings of the jam (you get one morning off!) in exchange for a free jam.
Please tell us about you and how you could contribute in this application form. Jump on this great opportunity early because we’d like to complete our team sooner than later. We’re looking forward to hearing about you!
Summer Jam Details
- The Summer Jam is one of the four main Earthdance seasonal jams, it often has around 100-160 participants, offers children’s programming and is open to all movement levels & backgrounds.
- We will have commuter, children, full and 2 half jam ticket options.
- We are not offering a single day drop in for this jam.
- Please take a look at what to expect at an Earthdance Seasonal Jam.
- CHILDREN: May only attend the jam with a caregiver responsible for the child.
- NEWCOMERS: We ask that newcomers only attend the FULL or 1st Half of the Jam (Friday-Tuesday). We will be offering classes on embodied consent and CI fundamentals.
- NINE MOUNTAIN: You must purchase a commuter ticket for Nine Mountain here AND then email robyn@ninemountain.com to reserve a bed at an additional charge.
Arrival, Onsite Check-In, Opening Circle, and Departures.
- Arrival and Onsite Check-In: The welcoming will commence for Full and 1st Half Jam participants on Saturday, June 28th from 4:00pm-7:00pm. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
- NEWCOMERS: May ONLY register the Full or 1st Half Jam to attend the Opening Circle, attend classes on embodied consent and CI fundamentals, and to orient you to this new environment.
- Opening Circle: Sunday, June 29th at 10am.
- Full and 1st Half Jam All House Clean: Wednesday, July 2nd at 10am
- 1st Half Jam Departure: Participants will depart on Wednesday, July 2nd by 2pm (after lunch).
- 2nd Half Jam Check-In: Arrive to check-in on Wednesday, July 2nd between 4-7pm. Dinner is at 6-7pm
- Full and 2nd Hall Jam All House Clean: July 5th at 2-3pm
- Jam Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Saturday, July 5th.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
- Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
- The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
- The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
- Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
PRICING: Sliding Scale
Full Jam – Adult Tickets (June 28th-July 5th)
GRATITUDE LODGE:
Financially Strained ($630) to
Financially Abundant ($1030)
CAMPING:
Financially Strained ($595) to
Financially Abundant ($995)
COMMUTING:
Financially Strained ($560) to
Financially Abundant ($960)
Full Jam – Kid Tickets
GRATITUDE LODGE:
Financially Strained ($150) to
Financially Abundant ($500)
CAMPING:
Financially Strained ($120) to
Financially Abundant ($480)
COMMUTING:
Financially Strained ($110) to
Financially Abundant ($470)
Additional Kid Ticket: $75 (can be purchased after the 1st kid’s ticket)
Nine Mountain Full Jam Tickets
You must purchase a Full Jam Nine Mountain ticket and then email robyn@ninemountain.com to reserve a bed for an additional price.
1st Half Jam – Adult Tickets (June 28 – July 2nd)
GRATITUDE LODGE:
Financially Strained ($430) to
Financially Abundant ($830)
CAMPING:
Financially Strained ($415) to
Financially Abundant ($815)
COMMUTING:
Financially Strained ($400) to
Financially Abundant ($800)
1st Half Jam – Kid Tickets
Financially Strained ($100) to
Financially Abundant ($425)
Additional Kid Ticket: $50 (can be purchased after the first kid’s ticket)
No Camping or Commuting ticket prices for kid’s Half Jam Tickets
2nd Half Jam – Adult Tickets (July 2nd-July 5th) SOLD OUT
GRATITUDE LODGE:
Financially Strained ($400) to
Financially Abundant ($800)
CAMPING:
Financially Strained ($385) to
Financially Abundant ($785)
COMMUTING:
Financially Strained ($370) to
Financially Abundant ($770)
2nd Half Jam – Kid Tickets SOLD OUT
Financially Strained ($75) to
Financially Abundant ($400)
Additional Kid Ticket: $50 (can be purchased after the first kid’s ticket)
No Camping or Commuting ticket prices for kid’s Half Jam Tickets
Nine Mountain 1st Half Jam tickets available and 2nd Half Jam Tickets SOLD OUT
You must purchase a Half Jam Nine Mountain Ticket and then email robyn@ninemountain.com to reserve a bed for an additional price.
Equity & Access Tickets
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 12 FULL JAM and 6 Half Jam Equity & Access Discounts to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI and have a relationship with CI. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
Applications Are Closed!
Earthdance makes efforts to support Equity & Access at all its events. At our four Seasonal jams we do this through:
- Reduced price Equity & Access tickets for folks who find our normal tickets to be a barrier. Participants self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI are prioritized when allocating these tickets.
- An Accountability, Safety and Care (ASC) team that supports the processing of difficult situations that might come up in relation to consent, identity and other relational issues.
- Support from a BIPOC Team at our seasonal jams that hosts meals and supports offerings and affinity spaces based on BIPOC participants’ desires
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, jam offerings, sauna & quarry access, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, jam offerings, sauna & quarry access, and food during the jam.
Commuter
You will have access to the jam offerings, sauna & quarry access, and food during the jam.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Nine Mountain
Please contact to Robyn at robyn@ninemountain.com to reserve a bed at an additional charge after registering for a Nine Mountain ticket with Earthdance.
Cancellation Policy
Refund available up to 14 days (June 14th) before the event less a $75 for Full Jam Ticket, $30 for Half Jam Ticket & $15 for Children’s Ticket processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days (June 14th) from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors. We do not offer refunds if you catch a cold, the flu or COVID after the cancellation date.
Health Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Earthdance’s buildings are ADA accessible. More info here.
HOST BIOS
Alli Ross
Alli Ross is a performing and teaching artist collaborating through dance and theater for most of her life. Her training spans a wide range of approaches to contact improvisation as a form of dialogue and as a tool for storytelling. Recent work includes a residency at Mass MoCa which brings a new enthusiasm for locative audio in immersive theater.
Other performance credits include the development and touring of Healing Wars with Liz Lerman (2012) and the U.S. premiere of Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More, originating the role of Lady Macduff (2009-2011) /American Repertory Theater/Emursive’s NYC. Ross is an Associate Professor of Theater at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee where her research and classes over 11 years work at the intersection of movement arts, somatics and contemporary theater.
Cody Strauss
Cody Strauss is a home organizer, yoga instructor, kid’s camp leader, workshop facilitator, and performance artist. Cody is also known as a clown artist because she specializes in Juggling All Those Things — while also being a mom, a partner, and staying human in this beautiful, tender, fraught world.
Fusing decades of somatic practices and facilitation, a deep regard for sacred rites and rituals, Cody creates soulful participatory art events. She encourages groups to dive deep– into creative connection, being kids, making meaning, playfulness, and exploration of our inner wilderness as it meets the world. Cody’s aim is to help us all to emerge together; more connected with one another and more connected with our essential selves. An illumination of spirit takes courage .
Spring Jam! Guest Facilitator Brandon Gonzalez & hosts Meta Bobbe and Anya Smolnikova – SOLD OUT!
The Weight of our Unfolding
New buds in spring are tender, full of potential yet vulnerable, to the elements and to the weight of their own unfolding. They emerge from the stillness of winter, delicate yet determined, stretching toward warmth.
Like these buds, we will attune to the delicate rhythm of our own emergence. How can we create enough spaciousness and cultivate enough sensitivity to make this process visible? By slowing down, shedding what is not needed, and attending to each other, we will cultivate a space ripe for easeful creativity. Through the lens of dance as ritual, we will invite an expansion and deepening of possibility within our Contact Improvisation practices.
Spring Jam Curatorial Update
Earthdance is excited to introduce a new addition to this year’s Spring Jam— a CI Intensive! Brandon will be leading classes on Friday and Saturday, offering a chance to deepen our dancing throughout the weekend. No additional sign-up or commitment is needed—come as you are and dive in.
We are also delighted to welcome Ana Harmon on Saturday, who will be offering a Gaga movement class.
About Gaga:
Gaga is the ever-evolving movement language created by choreographer Ohad Naharin. Classes are predicated on a deep activation of the body and attunement to physical sensations. Information is layered, building into a multisensory, physically invigorating experience. While many instructions are imbued with rich imagery, the research of Gaga is fundamentally physical, connecting to a specific process of embodiment. Inside Gaga’s guided structure, the improvisational nature of exploration enables each participant to connect to their own research and range.
Jam Details
- Attendance: An average of 40-80 people will attend this jam and is open to all movement levels & backgrounds.
- Jam Options: Full Jam and Saturday Drop-In Day.
- Saturday Drop-In: Ana Harmon will be offering a Gaga movement class. (Drop-In Day is available only to folks who have been to Earthdance before or attending the Full Jam).
- Newcomers: If you have never been to Earthdance, we ask that you only sign up for the Full Jam. This will allow us to better welcome and orient you to Earthdance.
Arrival, Onsite Check-In, Opening Circle, and Departures
- Full Jam: Arrival/Check-In on Thursday, April 3rd from 4:00pm-7:00pm front of the Farmhouse. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
- Opening Circle: Friday, April 4th at 10am. We request that ALL Newcomers attend the Opening Circle.
- Saturday Drop-In (Only for folks who’ve been to Earthdance before): Arrive Saturday, April 5th at 8am. Breakfast is from 8-9am. Check-In from 1-2pm during lunch with Olive. Departure at 10pm day of.
- Closing Circle/Final Clean: Sunday, April 6th Closing Circle at 12:30pm, Lunch 1-2pm
- Final Group Clean at 2-3pm.
- Full Jam Departure: After the final group clean by 3pm on Sunday, April 6th.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
- Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
- The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
- The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
- Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
PRICING: Sliding Scale
FULL JAM
GRATITUDE LODGE
Financially Strained $375.00 to Financially Abundant $800.00
CAMPING
Financially Strained $350.00 to Financially Abundant $775.00
COMMUTER
Financially Strained $325.00 to Financially Abundant $750.00
SATURDAY DROP-IN DAY
Financially Strained $85.00 to Financially Abundant $450.00
Equity & Access Tickets
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 4 FULL JAM Equity & Access Discounts to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI and have a relationship with CI. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
Apply Here! Deadline is March 27th!
Earthdance makes efforts to support Equity & Access at all its events. At our four Seasonal jams we do this through:
- Reduced price Equity & Access tickets for folks who find our normal tickets to be a barrier. Participants self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI are prioritized when allocating these tickets.
- An Accountability, Safety and Care (ASC) team that supports the processing of difficult situations that might come up in relation to consent, identity and other relational issues.
- Support from a BIPOC Team at our seasonal jams that hosts meals and supports offerings and affinity spaces based on BIPOC participants’ desires
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, jam offerings, sauna & quarry access, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, jam offerings, sauna & quarry access, and food during the jam.
Commuter
You will have access to the jam offerings, sauna & quarry access, and food during the jam.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Nine Mountain is NOT available.
Cancellation Policy
Refund available up to 14 days (March 20th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days (March 20th) from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors. We do not offer refunds if you catch a cold, the flu or COVID after the cancellation date.
Health Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Earthdance’s buildings are ADA accessible. More info here.
Guest Facilitator
Brandon Gonzalez
Brandon Gonzalez is an interdisciplinary dance artist, choreographer, and educator based in Austin, Texas. He’s moved by the transformational power of dance as a ritual practice, using it as an experimental ground for investigating embodied human experience. Focusing on the capacities of the body as a resource for artistic practice, he develops works across a variety of media and performance modalities. He teaches Contact Improvisation nationally and internationally, and for over 15 years has produced dance events in Austin. Working as a co-organizing member, he helped establish the annual Texas Dance Improvisation Festival (TDIF). He is also the Artistic Director and an established DJ/facilitator at Ekstasis, a vibrant community ritual-dance event in Austin. Brandon is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Theatre and Dance at TXST University. He holds a BFA in Studio Art from TXST and an MFA in Dramatic Arts from UC Davis.
Brandon has only been to Earthdance a few times and is looking forward to dancing and getting to know the community there!
SATURDAY Drop-In Gaga Facilitator
Ana Harmon
Ana Harmon is a dance and movement advocate currently living in her home state of Massachusetts. She has been a Gaga teacher since 2019, completing her certification in Tel Aviv with the artistic guidance of Ohad Naharin. Now more than ever, she is committed to dancing every day and sharing the healing power of movement with a range of movers. Ana currently divides her time between Gaga teaching engagements and supporting the Gaga organization’s various artistic and educational programs across the globe. She is a faculty member at the Boston Conservatory and recently led an undergraduate Gaga course at Harvard University. Ana trained with Boston Ballet’s pre-professional program for 13 years and joined Ballet Austin II in 2008. In 2010, she joined Kamea Dance Company in Be’er Sheva, Israel where she danced for three years. Ana completed a BA in English Literature & Middle Eastern Studies from Tel Aviv University in 2016.
As a new resident of the Pioneer Valley, Ana is excited for her first visit to Earthdance!
CICo HOSTS
The CI Committee (CICo) is the Earthdance seasonal jam production team. Since 2001, this team has been supporting the Guest Facilitators and producing the jams from behind the scenes. For this Spring Jam, instead of having two guest facilitators, Anya and Meta will be joining Brandon in hosting the event.
Meta Bobbe
Meta Bobbe (she/her) is an integrative body therapist, embodiment and movement researcher, and a CI teacher and community organizer. Since first encountering CI in Israel in 2012, this practice has become central to her life. Meta has been part of the leadership team at Earthdance for years, serving on the CICo seasonal jam organization team since 2019, was an intensive teacher at Spiral & Roots CI Professional Training 2025, and is a former Earthdance Board Member (2020-2023). Curating CI spaces that foster creative expression, community connection, and a welcoming atmosphere is both a passion and a practice for her. She’s excited and honored to be part of this Spring Jam’s team!
Meta is a Certified Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist, Ilan Lev Method Practitioner, and Licensed Massage Therapist. She holds a BBA in Management and Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A seasoned traveler and former expat, Meta now resides in Florence, Massachusetts.
Anya Smolnikova
Anya Smolnikova (b. Minsk, Belarus) is an artist and educator living and working in Vermont. Her art practice spans painting, drawing, performance, installation, dance and community actions. Smolnikova has exhibited internationally in Armenia at HAYP; in Los Angeles at LAST Projects; in Chicago at Mana Contemporary, Heaven Gallery, Links Halls, No Nation, and 6018 North; in Massachusetts at the Boston Boston Center for the Arts, Piano Craft Guild, MUSA Collective, Dorchester Art Projects and Four Eleven Gallery in Provincetown. Collaborations include projects with Anastasia Tinari, FAR x WIDE, Seeding Sovereignty among others. Teaching includes Northwestern University; Northwestern Prison Education Program; Chicago Art Partnerships in Education; Museum of Fine Arts Boston; Brookline, Cambridge and Boston Centers for Adult Education; The Field Center and The Putney School in Vermont among others. Smolnikova has been a resident artist at the Vermont Studio Center, Boston Center for the Arts, Groundworks Space in Hudson Valley, and holds an MFA from Northwestern University in Chicago. She lives at The Field Center in Vermont, where she is a founding member, Director of Operations, Curator and Faculty.
Contact Improvisation & Somatic Approaches Applied Therapeutically with Aaron Brandes and Gabrielle Revlock – REGISTER NOW!
“All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you.” – Octavia E Butler
This workshop delves into the therapeutic potential of Contact Improvisation (CI), Authentic Movement (AM), and Restorative Contact (RC), as well as other somatic practices, demonstrating how their principles can enhance somatic intelligence, attunement, and co-regulation.
Areas of CI that will be covered include compression, reciprocal touch, bonding with the earth, spherical space, attunement, and weight-sharing. Sessions on AM will include embodied practice as well as historical and theoretical contextualization, highlighting how AM can be scaffolded to support emotional and psychological healing. 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.
Arrival, Onsite Check-In, Opening Circle, and Departures
- Arrival/Check-In: Thursday, April 10th from 4-7pm front of the Farmhouse. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
- Opening Circle: Friday, April 11th at 10am.
- Final Clean: Sunday, April 13th at 2-3pm. Lunch 1-2pm.
- Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Sunday, April 13th.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance is a Public Charity that relies greatly on ticketing income to fulfill its Artistic, Cultural and Educational mission. We want to make our work available to folks with varying economic realities and offer a sliding scale payment for participation in most of our events. Please take a moment to reflect where you best fit on that scale. We ask everyone to stretch where they are able so that those who cannot may still have access to our events.
As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
- Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership(s), past, present and future.
- The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other marginalized intersections for you and your family.
- The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
PRICING: Sliding Scale
GRATITUDE LODGE
Financially Strained $400.00 to Financially Abundant $950.00
CAMPING
Financially Strained $375.00 to Financially Abundant $925.00
COMMUTER
Financially Strained $350 to Financially Abundant $900.00
Equity & Access Tickets
We are excited to offer up to 3 FULL JAM Equity & Access Discounts to individuals who have a financial need. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge and prioritize such individuals when granting these discounted tickets.
Apply Here! Deadline is March 27th, 2025.
Earthdance makes efforts to support Equity & Access at all its events, this event offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
- Reduced pricing offered to people with a financial need and self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized.
- Classes and discussions that aim to presence awareness and inclusion at the event as a whole.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, event offerings, and food.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base event cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, event offerings, and food.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the event offerings and food.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other event participants.
Nine Mountain
Nine Mountain is not available.
Cancellation Policy
Refund available up to 14 days (March 27th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days (After March 27th) from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors. We do not offer refunds if you catch a cold, the flu or COVID after the cancellation date.
Health Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Earthdance’s buildings are ADA accessible. More info here.
HOST BIOS
Aaron Brandes
Aaron Brandes (Brando), LCSW, M.Ed, is a movement educator, psychotherapist, and bodyworker dedicated to fostering healing and resilience through somatic practices. With over 20 years immersed in dance, yoga, and body-based therapies, Brando has both taught and performed internationally, sharing his passion for movement as a tool for emotional and physical well-being. Together with Gabrielle Revelock, Brando co-authored an essay on the therapeutic applications of touch is published in the book, Resistance and Support: Contact Improvisation @ 50 edited by Ann Cooper Albright, and presented at CI@50 at Oberlin College. His journey includes a two-year residency and yoga teacher training at the renowned Kripalu Center, which solidified his dedication to integrating mindful movement into his work.
As a nationally certified Structural Integration practitioner, Brando brings a unique approach to his body-based psychotherapy practice, blending extensive experience in Contact Improvisation (CI) and other somatic modalities. CI remains central to his research and professional evolution, inspiring him to explore how movement can serve as a deeply therapeutic practice for navigating the complexities of modern life. Brando’s work continues to innovate within the field, encouraging others to use movement as a pathway to self-discovery and resilience.
For more insights and links to Brando’s videos, visit his website: BodyandBeing.net.
Gabrielle Revlock
Gabrielle Revlock, MFA, is the creator of Restorative Contact, a mindful touch-based movement practice. She developed this form by synthesizing key elements of various somatic techniques including Contact Improvisation, Restorative Yoga, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Tai Chi, Klein Technique, Yin Yoga, Authentic Movement, and Deep Listening over her 20+ years as a professional dancer, choreographer, certified yoga teacher, and movement educator. Her research on the therapeutic applications of touch is compiled into an essay, co-authored with Aaron Brandes, and published in the book, Resistance and Support: Contact Improvisation @ 50, edited by Ann Cooper Albright. Revlock has been an invited speaker at CI@50 at Oberlin College, the Embodiment Conference, the Dance & Somatics Conference and the Future of CI Conference at Earthdance. Previously offered on Airbnb Online Experiences (2020-2024), Restorative Contact was one of the highest rated experiences in the category of wellness and is now an on-demand offering on Happily, a site dedicated to relationship-building. Revlock has been a practitioner of Contact Improvisation since 2003 and has taught the form at Movement Research, the School for Contemporary Dance & Though, Philadelphia Dance Projects, DNE Dance Camp, Soho Contact Improv Collective, Montreal Annual Jam pre-festival, Smith College, Hampshire College, and Salt Spring Island Contact Improvisation Festival. She will be teaching CI at Amherst College in Spring 2025.
As a choreographer, Revlock is the recipient of a New York City Bessie Award. Her work depicts complicated but relatable interpersonal relationships, developed through meticulous character study and improvisational structures. Presenters include The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, New York Live Arts, JACK, The Flea, Joyce Soho, Gibney, Philadelphia Dance Projects, Center for Performance Research, ODC, FringeArts, Velocity Dance Center, Provincetown Dance Festival, Chop Shop and American Dance Festival. Internationally she has toured to Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Hungary, Russia and India. Revlock holds a BA in Art History from Vassar College and MFA in Dance from Smith College. More at GabrielleRevlock.com
Skimming the Surface: A Movement Healing Retreat with Valerie Green – REGISTER NOW!
“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.
Each movement journey is handcrafted to best support the participants. Green serves as a guide to help open doorways where each individual will do their personal work, leading them to a heart centered and intuitive place, finding a physical expression and release of emotions and energy whereby a healing process can begin.
Ms. Green’s approach helps participants confront emotional wounds and bring them to the surface in a gentle and compassionate way. When using the language of movement rather than words, different images or emotions may arise, which bypass the controlling and censoring mind. This experience leaves participants feeling expanded and curious about their emotions, with new insights to move forward from.
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.
The weekend will also allow time in sauna and nature to journal, reflect and integrate, and create community connection among participants.
*This retreat experience is open to adults of all bodies and abilities.
Workshop Themes
Friday Evening: Identity & Embodied Transformation
Saturday Morning: Breaking Through: Overcoming Fear & Finding Flow
Saturday Afternoon: Exploring the Self Through the Four Elements
Saturday Evening: Forgiveness, Acceptance, Surrender – Ancestral Healing Ritual
Sunday Morning: Collective Healing & Personal Processing
Sunday Afternoon: Closing Ceremony – Embracing Courage
Participant Testimonials
“It is such a fruitful journey. Staying present with all of the material you generously offer allows for big insights and ‘aha’ moments.”
“A new experience is a way in; the class opened up a door that I needed to go through on a path I hadn’t been.”
“Powerful journey & positive, deeply connective, experience”
Arrival, Onsite Check-In, Opening Circle, and Departures.
- Arrival/Check-In: Friday, May 2nd from 4-7pm front of the Farmhouse. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
- Opening Circle: Friday, May 2nd at 7pm after dinner.
- Final Clean: Sunday, May 4th at 2-3pm. Lunch 1-2pm.
- Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Sunday, May 4th.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance is a Public Charity that relies greatly on ticketing income to fulfill its Artistic, Cultural and Educational mission. We want to make our work available to folks with varying economic realities and offer a sliding scale payment for participation in most of our events. Please take a moment to reflect where you best fit on that scale. We ask everyone to stretch where they are able so that those who cannot may still have access to our events.
As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
- Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership(s), past, present and future.
- The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other marginalized intersections for you and your family.
- The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
PRICING: Sliding Scale
GRATITUDE LODGE
Financially Strained $375.00 to Financially Abundant $925.00
CAMPING
Financially Strained $350.00 to Financially Abundant $900.00
COMMUTER
Financially Strained $325 to Financially Abundant $875.00
INTERNATIONAL DISCOUNT
Earthdance is happy to announce a 20% discount for international travelers wanting to attend an Earthdance run event. We hope this gesture helps to keep our events accessible for those from different cultures that are traveling from afar. We also realize that given the current political situation coming to the US might be more expensive or challenging and hope this discount is a way of keeping Earthdance in your hearts.
Equity & Access Tickets
We are excited to offer up to 3 FULL JAM Equity & Access Discounts to individuals who have a financial need. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge and prioritize such individuals when granting these discounted tickets.
APPLY HERE!
Earthdance makes efforts to support Equity & Access at all its events, this event offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
- Reduced pricing offered to people with a financial need and self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized.
- Classes and discussions that aim to presence awareness and inclusion at the event as a whole.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, event offerings, and food.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base event cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, event offerings, and food.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the event offerings and food.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other event participants.
Nine Mountain
Nine Mountain is not available.
Cancellation Policy
Refund available up to 14 days (April 18th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days (After April 18th) from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors. We do not offer refunds if you catch a cold, the flu or COVID after the cancellation date.
Health Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Earthdance’s buildings are ADA accessible. More info here.
HOST BIO
Valerie Green
Valerie Green is a Certified Practitioner in Core Energetics, CCEP, and Body/Mind Fitness and is a Movement Healing Coach who has traveled the world as a performer, choreographer and teacher. Combining more than 30 years of movement and healing work, she has developed a new modality for stress relief and transformation called Skimming the Surface. She also leads a series of movement workshops for non-dance populations rooted in the philosophy that all bodies can benefit from movement. Whether it’s working with the professional or aspiring dancer or leading workshop and performance residencies for trauma survivors, older adults, persons with differing abilities or at-risk youth, Green fosters creativity, physicality, and healing beyond the stage.
She is the Artistic Director of the professional dance company Valerie Green/Dance Entropy and founder of Green Space Studio, an unparalleled dance hub in Queens. She has been an active dancer, choreographer, and movement educator in the New York City dance community since 1995.
ContaKids: Teacher Training
ContaKids Teacher Training – Coming to the USA for the First Time!
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!
If you have any questions regarding this offering, please email contakids.worldwide@gmail.com or click the link below for more information.
Earthdance Gala and Online Auction
The Gala and Online Auction
The Gala is Saturday, December 14th, 2024, 5:00 – midnight
The Online Auction
Earthdance’s first ever online auction is officially open! With almost ONE-HUNDRED items donated from community members, this is a wonderful way to discover the unique gifts and resources our community has to offer. Thank you soooo much for your generous and creative donations! Let’s support each other by bidding often and generously to express how much we love and value Earthdance. The auction will be active until the night of the Gala. Bid on items anytime over the next month, and then please do join us in person for an evening of delicious food, entertainment, and dancing!
The Gala
Join us for a night of swanky celebration to honor our beloved Earthdance community and raise funds for its growth. This holiday season, let’s show some love to the space that nurtures connection, exploration, healing, and creativity.
Funds raised will focus on improving housing options for our work exchangers, staff and workshop participants by building a large yurt, revamping our dorms, and building simple A-frame cabins.
You will get to enjoy the silent auction, a decadent multi-course meal created by chefs extraordinaire Captain Kale and Falcon, group singing and blessing of our shared feast, piano serenades, photo options, awards and of course DANCING! It will be an evening that promises a full heart and belly. Dress to impress, and let’s end the year with community, charm, and goodwill!
Evening Schedule
- Arrival: 5pm
- Peruse Silent Auction and Photo Option: 5:30-6:15
- Singing and Blessing of the Meal: 6:15-6:30
- Feast of Recognition & Achievement: 6:30pm-8:00pm
- DJ Showdown and Dance Off: 8:00 – till we can’t twirl anymore
Pricing
- Financially Wealthy – $1000
- Financially Abundant – $500
- Financially Stable – $300
- Financially Coping – $160
- Financially Strained – $85
- Pay from the heart – $25 or your hearts desire
Stay Overnight – Add $75
If you wish to continue the celebration or you are traveling from far away, consider staying overnight for Bruce’s famous sourdough pancake brunch (Sunday). Stay at the Gratitude Lodge in a dorm bed (sheets and towels included) or bring your tent and camp. Includes access to the sauna.
The Grand Gala Guides
Earthdance is not just a place for Michael Princess —it’s home and family, and he is dedicated to helping it flourish. Though she loves to travel far and wide, Princess always finds her way back here. What draws her is the vibrant community, boundless creativity, and the meaningful connections that resonate with her deeply. Michael embraces life as a lover, player, cuddler, and occasional dancer, with a profound appreciation for intimate connections. Now more than ever, in a world filled with uncertainty and chaos, he cherishes Earthdance as a sanctuary and a safer space💗.
Chandra is a dancer, yoga teacher, life coach, mom and master of snacks. She has come to Earthdance as often as possible since her first jam 15 years ago. She helped organize the children’s program for the Summer Jam for many years and now supports ED through her role in CICo. She has a deep love for Earthdance and a personal mission to help everyone feel welcome here. Chandra lives just down the road in Florence, and is the proud mom of 3 beautiful boys. For more info you can check out her website.
DJs of the Night’s Pulse
Xuxa Bluet (Ashley Berry) is absolutely thrilled to bring her irresistible West Coast vibes to our East Coast dance floor! If you’ve been lucky enough to catch this powerhouse DJ in action at Pleasure Palace, Primal Disco, or Earthshake, then you already know what’s in store. Prepare to be seduced by her delicious mix of house, indie dance, and sultry, dreamy remixes of your favorite tracks. Let’s dive in and dance the night away!
DJ HipSocket (Brando) started by crafting funk-infused mixes on cassette tapes and quickly leveled up to spinning vinyl in the underground electronic scene. Now, he’s the mastermind behind a global blend of soulful, heart-opening, and downright badass beats, bumps, and baselines that hit you straight to your core. Get ready for rhythms that’ll move you from the marrow of your bones and ignite your soul to dance!
Masters of the Feast
Caelum, aka Captain Kale, loves to nourish people! He draws on his background in cooking from his family, restaurants, hotels, co-ops, and his Master’s in Human Nutrition to empower guests to deepen their connection with healthy and sustainable food. Kale specializes in meeting the needs of special diets with organic, traditional, and seasonal foods. He cooks at many intentional community gatherings in the area and was formerly the kitchen manager at Earthdance.“Food is love! How we source our food can help nourish our connection to the Earth, each other, and ourselves.”
Falcon, a culinary adventurer, has been traveling the lands, savoring life while cooking at Earthdance and various dance events, collecting recipes, spices, and stories along the way. A devoted father of two in Winsted, CT, Falcon brings his passion for music, art, and vibrant living into every dish he prepares. With a heart full of love, he pours his energy into creating flavorful, nourishing meals, delighting in the joy of serving this beloved community.
Earthdance Summer BBQ Fundraiser
Summer is with us! What better way to celebrate community and the bounty of sun-season than to gather together for BBQ, games, dance and song!
As our mid-year fundraiser, we invite everyone to join us for a play-day and to just revel in the joy of being alive, and being together. Feel free to bring frisbees, balls, games of all kinds — whatever brings out Summer in you.
Humans of all ages welcome, kids under thirteen are free. For everyone else, we ask for a minimum donation of $25 per person, and invite you to give generously towards the future health and viability of our beloved Earthdance.
Children under 13 are free!
Schedule
Noon Arrival
12:00 – 3:00pm BBQ and Lunch
3:00 – 5:00pm Games!
5:00 – 7:00pm Dinner
7:00 – 9:00pm Jam
9:00 – Late Campfire & Songs
Sauna and towel rental: $10
***If you find that you are struggling financially or there are other circumstances that are making it difficult to join this special workshop, please email programming@earthdance.net with your situation so that we can create a way to have you join us.***
If you wish to extend your visit and stay overnight: A dorm bed in our Gratitude Lodge is $40. (Rental of sheets and towel is $15) * Includes access to the sauna and kitchen use but does not provide food.
Health Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other Summer Jam participants.
Earthdance’s buildings are ADA accessible. More info here.
Nomadic College! October 1st – 14th
ABOUT THE NOMADIC COLLEGE
OVER-PREPARED,UNDER-STRUCTURED
The NC is an itinerant school for the principle study and application of The Axis Syllabusⓒ. Rather than a festival, or celebration, The NC is what it’s title suggests, an intensive study context. The study of the AS is meant to empower the individual to defend and promote their own health and the health of those they might be responsible for, in other words to sponsor responsible autonomy.
Our Philosophy is:
Conscientiousness towards commitments, self organization and voluntary participation. As below, so above.
As organizers, we seek to adapt and integrate the NC into the local conditions we find at the venue. The living and working conditions we search for are as low cost as possible, to permit as many people as possible to participate for as long as possible. These options usually entail communal living, which offers an opportunity to practice practical coordination/collaboration, mutual respect and the mature maintenance of hygiene. Participants arrive with the awareness that they are expected to take initiative to alter their circumstances if unsatisfactory, to conserve their health and strength for the intensive demands of the study of The Axis Syllabusⓒ and adapt to the challenges inherent in sharing spaces and resources. If people have the means, they are always welcome to organize living spaces for themselves.
At the NC, we organize a few pre-scheduled extra curricular events. Our idea is to leave time open for spontaneous initiatives. Alternative meetings, conferences, jams or performances can be organized on a consent basis with/among the participants during the NC.
True to our ethic of sponsoring responsible community behavior, as well as maintaining the NC prices low, all participants will be expected to participate in general clean up and maintenance of the common areas. We generally choose our team members from participants who are the most helpful and responsible.
Class time (and possibly meals) are the ONLY organized obligatory time, giving the participant full license to organize social moments, offer each other their healing expertise or practical counsel, hang out or exchange with whomever they choose.
The 2-week curricular arc of the NC usually starts with details and micro moments, gradually becoming longer and more demanding motifs and phrases, and ending with a renewed look at detail, and a creative laboratory meant to give time and space for the guided development of a personal practice or performative ideas.
BREAKDOWN OF FEES:
COST PER CLASS
Tuesday to Sunday, 2 hours / day (12 hours total)
$140 per class selected
ROOM & BOARD COST
Dormitory bed in shared bedroom (no private rooms available)
Sliding scale rates per day: $85/105/135/165/195
Camping/ Trailer /Van
Sliding scale rates per day: $75/95/125/155/185
Commuting
Sliding scale rates per day: $60/80/110/140/170
OUR FEES EXPLAINED
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit. Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
- Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future
- The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances
- Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income