This one is all about community and taking the time and patience to allow your Ecstatic Dance family to grow...sometimes over years. It takes a special sort of dedication to stick with a community as it grows from humble beginnings and Jazzy Be has got to be one of the most community centred and inspiring people I've met. From humble beginnings with a handful of friends dragging a generator and sound system into the Welsh woodlands and valleys for a sober dance, to the awesome ED community of South Wales that has become well established 5 years later - this podcast is a real inspiration for us all.

Jazzy Be is the founder and one of the resident DJ's behind Ecstatic Dance Wales, creating wild, joyful and compassionate spaces for people to reconnect with their bodies, each other, and the land.

Having grown up raving and travelling to festivals, Jazzy fell deeply in love with the transformative power of music, the way a beat can shift something in us, bring people together, and create a sense of freedom and belonging. Through her own experiences of grief and healing, she came to understand even more deeply how powerful it can be to have a space where you don’t have to explain, fix or find the right words, you can simply be, feel, move and let the body speak.

This became a big part of Jazzy’s inspiration for bringing Ecstatic Dance to her hometown of Swansea and across South Wales. She wanted to create more compassionate, sober spaces where people could come together, feel whatever they needed to feel, and experience connection through something deeper than words: music, movement and the body.

Having witnessed the impact of alcohol and drug use within her local community, Jazzy felt passionate about offering an alternative kind of dance floor—one where people could experience freedom, euphoria, release and connection without needing substances to get there.

For the past five years, Jazzy has been taking Ecstatic Dance Wales into beaches, forests, cliffs and wild landscapes across Cymru. Deeply rooted in the Welsh spirit of hiraeth, that longing for home, belonging and connection, her gatherings celebrate the relationship between people, place, music and embodied expression.

As a DJ and facilitator, Jazzy creates musical journeys that move between the sensual, earthy, playful and deeply emotive. Her sets might take you from a spicy, cheeky banger that gets everyone grinning and booty shaking, into a soulful, emotional dive that opens the door to something much more sacred.

"Bridging the sacred and the silly" is her favourite flavour in ecstatic dance.

At the heart of Jazzy’s work is a belief that we don’t always need words to process, connect or heal. Sometimes we need music. Sometimes we need movement. Sometimes we simply need a safe space to be exactly as we are, and let the body lead the way.

Links:

Ticket Links: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/ecstatic-dance-wales-73090798033?aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecstaticdancewales_/

It was my total honour and pleasure to chew the cud and go deeeeeeeeeppp with Pixi Pete, a total legend of the UK ecstatic dance scene. We started talking in daylight and were so carried away that we found ourselves talking in the dark at one point, thats how good the conversation was. In this episode we go deep into dance as therapy - how the Ecstatic Dance space can be a therapeutic one and what that means when it comes to establishing intention and holding it safely and with integrity.

Pixi Pete is a DJ, musician and somatic and embodiment facilitator with over a decade immersed in embodiment, movement, meditation and performance. His work lives at the meeting point of music and movement — creating spaces where people can move from thinking to presence, from their heads, into their bodies and explore connection, expression and what it means to be fully present.

At the heart of Pete's work is a love of music that refuses to sit neatly in one box. His multi-genre, open-format style moves fluidly between deep, soulful grooves, playful rhythms, unexpected turns and dynamic peaks. Weaving electronic sound with live percussion to create immersive dancefloors.

Alongside his music, his training as an Embodied Resilience Practitioner, Authentic Relating Lv1 and the Dancing Heart Path informs the way he reads a room and responds to the people in it — creating experiences that feel both alive and grounded.

Whether behind the decks, playing live percussion or facilitating, Pete brings his heart, playfulness and a strong care for the energy of a group. His aim is simple: create spaces where people feel welcome, connected and free to move, express and be themselves.

Insta @djpixipete

www.linktr.ee/pixipete

Continuing my fascinating chats with people at all stages of their ecstatic dance adventure this time I talk to the effervescent and endlessly enthusiastic Yasmin - the founder of Ecstatica UK and one of the many people that helps to keep the Dance the Medicine world turning.

We chat about so many topics, finding the perfect space for an ecstatic dance; compiling sets and when it all goes wrong, how enough enthusiasm will see you transporting a sound system to every dance using just taxis and some willing friends, what to have ready and so much more.

She is a passionate Ecstatic Dance facilitator and DJ whose journey has taken her across the globe. From living in intentional, land-connected communities in Colombia to training with world-class mentors like Dance the Medicine, she has gathered a rich tapestry of practices in movement, meditation, and energy. Her introduction to ecstatic dance was so powerful it left her high on joy - and it’s been a deeply healing and liberating force in her life ever since. Through Ecstatica, Yasmin creates spaces where others can fully let go, explore, and come home to themselves - reclaiming their power, potential and innate freedom through dance.

Website: https://www.ecstatica.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecstatica.uk/

Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/Ecstatica_Yasmin/

BERNICE RAABIS • Founder of Dance The Medicine

In this episode I chat to the inspiring, funny and warm hearted Bernice Raabis. We laugh a lot, discuss masses of content and unravel her journey. Her ecstatic dance story is a fascinating one, from a Gabrielle Roth VHS video replayed many, many times through to spontaneously embarking on a journey to facilitate dance for others after training with Soul Motion at Esalen. All leading, in a very perfect and unplanned way, to her current work with Dance the Medicine. We talk about the challenges and successes of training, empathy in our space management and facilitation. Bernice is on a mission to spread conscious dance communities across the globe. In 2011, she founded Dance Church, a long-running and wildly successful conscious dance in the vibrant mountain town of Nelson, BC, Canada. There, she DJed and facilitated weekly, weaving epic soundscapes into transformative dance experiences that support freedom through connection to self, community, and humanity. In 2019, she set out to gather an epic team of conscious dance professionals, and the Dance The Medicine Team was born, dedicated to providing embodied conscious dance education. Bernice is a certified Soul Motion facilitator, a student of the Tamalpa Institute, and a relational somatic therapist. Her work is deeply grounded in embodiment, community building, and supporting her students to deliver the specific type of dance medicine they feel called to bring into the world.

Links:

Upcoming Leadership Training: https://www.dancethemedicine.com/dance-community-leadership-training-germany-september-2026

Website: https://www.dancethemedicine.com/

This podcast was always meant to be about everyone involved in this wonderful scene.

Not just the main movers and shakers, but those buzzing with passion and energy for dancing, cacao, playing or whatever their involvement.

At The beautiful Avalon Dance Odyssey I had the great fortune of meeting the kindhearted Eddy Spinozzi. He was just so enthusiastic about what the podcast had to offer that it seemed like the perfect fit to have him as a guest. Little did I know how fascinating his story would be!

Having only attended his first dance a year and a half before, and being a self confessed rock and metal fan with no taste for dance music he was instantly converted and before long was putting together his own dance - learning to facilitate, DJ and everything else involved on the job...thats the sort of passion and energy that is contagious and so valuable!

I know youll love listening to this as much as I enjoyed recording it!

If you're in Bristol, get along to a dance with Eddy, I am certain you'll be swept away by a lot of heartfelt love in that room!

• Terra Ecstatic Dance info page and events: https://dandelion.events/o/terra

• Terra ED whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbCNXYF6GcGNCb20tM0I

• my IG: https://www.instagram.com/dj.duoz/

I love these chats so much!! Today was no exception, Anahata Grant is a total gem of a human and is currently to be found at dances all over the UK and beyond. With a past life as a music producer working with artists like the legendary Tricky and more, this chat has so much to listen to and learn from especially musically. If you like to nerd out on the tunes this is one for you. Its a total pleasure to play into this chat with a snippet and to play out with the entirety of a brand new and totally magical tune that he has recently completed 'Mitakuye Oyasin'. Ive had the joy to play it out at two recent dances and the response spoke for itself - sublime! So if you haven't heard it wait until the end for the full experience and if you play then hit him up for the file! You can find more on Grant via insta on https://www.instagram.com/anahatagrant108/ go catch him at EDUK in Hackney WIck or at a dance near you soon !!

It was my total pleasure today to chat with Sophie Bolton. Sophie has been involved in this scene from the early days and before that was running her own events in Frome.

Now a regular DJ at dances all around the UK she always brings the good energy, great tunes and loving vibe to her sets. This chat was by mutual agreement totally unprepared, we had no plan, no preprepared questions, we thought wed just see where it went and it went to some fascinating and funny places. Full of tips for other dance facilitators the chat turned out to be both fascinating and educational. Enjoy!!

For events with Sophie and to talk mentoring....

https://www.sophiebolton.co.uk/events

In Flow Retreats https://inflowretreats.co.uk/

A Psychonautical Night of Pioneers. Twisted Records in London. https://troxy.co.uk/event/a-psychonautical-night-of-pioneers-feat-shpongle-more/

On a mission to create a global movement of ecstatic dance! Join Dan and Renée Lacroix, the original founder of Ecstatic Dance UK (EDUK), one of the key movers in Ecstatic Dance Lisboa and the founder of Ecstatic Experiences, as they dive into the rapidly growing world of conscious dance. Renée shares the origins of EDUK as the UK’s only morning ecstatic dance at the time, highlighting its accessibility as an unguided, free-form practice open to all walks of life. Renée talks about how she came to Ecstatic Dance via a somewhat unusual path and how she is now dedicated to growing the publics connection with it.

They also dive into…

• All things naming your dance and whether the very term "Ecstatic Dance" can be misleading, despite its established status.
• EDUK’s commitment to inclusivity through tiered pricing, concession rates, and volunteer opportunities and how we forge real communities in a world that is financially driven
• The difference in dance culture between the UK and Portugal.
• Training to be an ecstatic dance facilitator and why it involves wearing so many different hats
• The importance of maintaining strict "no phones" and "no talking" rules on the dance floor.
• Advice for terrified newcomers who are anxious about dancing!

You can check Renée and her offerings at:

https://www.instagram.com/ecstatic.experiences

Or find out more about here inspiring retreats in Devon and Portugal via

https://linktr.ee/ecstatic.experiences