Community Highlights: Meet Wild Embodiment Dance Community

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wild Embodiment Dance Community. They and their team shared their story with us below:

More than 10 years ago Rachel Phillipe started an organization called Soul Kitchen Dance (SKD). SKD provided conscious dance in Fort Collins. Over many years, a community came together centered around this freeform music and movement dance meditation practice. However, in 2021, Rachel had to close the business.

While this was something she needed to do, the rest of us in the community still needed this dance practice. So a core group of us decided to see what it would take to have a fully volunteer and consensus-driven group, managing and serving our desire to create a safe place to dance and emote in an accepting environment. We came together, danced through our grief, and found our strength in our togetherness.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been challenging to figure out how we were going to make this work. One great decision we made at the beginning was to go slowly and allow ourselves time to share diverse ideas and think through them.

We have worked through a wide range of COVID procedures. We have worked through the challenges of how we create playlists. We have worked through deciding what we include in our emails and Facebook posts. Through it all, we have done it slowly (against the norms of a society that often values moving quickly). We don’t always decide on a topic in one meeting. Working together takes time and patience.

Another example of when we struggled was at the very beginning and we were trying to figure out a name. We tried to brainstorm and vote on a name, but that didn’t work out well. We decided to bag the whole idea and take our time. Then someone suggested that we utilize the strengths of one of our core members who does branding as her own business. She helped us through the whole branding process and she discovered our name.

It “dropped in” one day. Wild Embodiment Dance Community is our official full name, but we refer to ourselves as W.E. Dance, because we are really all about community and not any one leader. We learned from the past and decided that we needed to share the burden of leadership. We have supported each other through it all.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Wild Embodiment Dance Community provides an opportunity to move in whatever way feels natural. There are no steps to follow–we listen to the music, our bodies, and our hearts.

The music progresses through different rhythms, textures, and emotional expressions; while your body stretches, skips, stomps, dances, and sits in full presence. All of this with no formal steps to follow–just a safe, welcoming space to become present and express, in whatever ways you feel called in the moment. That’s conscious dance.

Our conscious dance practice is a powerful healing modality for the body, mind, and soul. It has the potential to transform and empower.

Our business practice: Decisions are made by consensus and by going slowly. Our meetings are open to anyone who feels they are a member of our community and wants to do the work of being present at a meeting on a Thursday evening. Those who are present make the decisions. Everyone is encouraged to share their honest perspectives which can vary widely. We listen to one another and we often disagree, but it is always with respect and love. We keep our minds and hearts open. We have a vast amount of wisdom within this group.

In the end, we come to a consensus about most things. If we can’t come to a consensus, we either table the topic for another time (going slowly and allowing people time to think and feel through a topic) or if time is pressing, we take a vote. We have rarely needed to vote about anything. This practice allows us to utilize all the wisdom within our community.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
We are all mentors for each other and that is the benefit of being a collective and consensus-driven organization. We each bring our unique gifts, life experiences, and wisdom channeled into a common goal.

We have mentors for music, spirituality, inclusivity, counseling, communication, entrepreneurship, endurance, perseverance, patience, and enthusiasm. Our ability to deeply listen to one another allows us the capacity to evoke and utilize the gifts that are available to us.

While our collective is truly blessed to have a diversity of gifts, we recommend the practice of deep listening to others to discover and utilize what you already have available.

Pricing:

• Walk-in: sliding scale $10-$15.
• Membership options are available.

Contact Info:

• Website: wildembodimentdance.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3018419555102053/
• Other: https://www.meetup.com/wild-embodiment-dance-community-freeform-movement/

Image Credits
Kent Tompkins