Gepubliceerd op maandag 04 mei 2026

Why We Dance - even if you (don’t yet) dance

I remember it so clearly…

My first Ecstatic Dance was on the Odessa, a ship in Amsterdam.
I walked in, looked around and was a bit shocked: wow… What is happening here?

So many people moving so freely. So deeply in their bodies.
And me? I was completely intimidated. I went straight into my head and honestly just wanted to leave right away.

Am I doing this right?
Do I even belong here? - I feel too ‘normal’ for this.
What am I actually supposed to do? - How is this “done”?

At some point, someone approached me with some kind of… elbow dance.
I had no idea what to do or what was expected of me. Complete error.

So I closed my eyes.

And honestly, I did that for the first few times almost the entire time. At the end of the journey I felt amazing, but I always had to go through some resistance first.
Having my eyes open was too much input, too many stimuli, too much happening in my head. Not because I was so deeply in my feelings, but because otherwise I would completely disconnect from my body.

From head to body (through resistance)

What I didn’t know back then:
this is exactly where the dance begins.

Not in that free flow you see in others.
But in the resistance.

Being in your head.
Comparing yourself.
Wondering if you’re doing it “right”.
Not feeling the music.
Or thinking about your grocery list.

…It’s all part of it.

And somewhere, when you allow yourself to move with that, instead of fighting it, something shifts. At least, it did for me…

For me, it came with the realization:
I don’t have to be good at this.

I can just dance with my discomfort.

And when I did that, something softened.
That’s wild alchemy…

You’re really not the only one

At the beginning of an Ecstatic Dance set, there’s often the question:
“Who is here for the first time?”

And there are always hands going up.

There’s a growing desire for a different way of going out.
More sober. More connected. More from within.

Not finding ecstasy through a drink or a pill,
but through your own body.

The elixir is already within you.
Only… sometimes you have to move through that first layer.

The dance floor as a playground

Ecstatic Dance can be incredibly freeing, but also intense.

So much freedom.
So little structure.
A bit like a jungle playground (“apenkooien” for the Dutchies)…

And that’s exactly why the Ecstatic Dance Festival Holland is such a beautiful place to explore it.

Because it’s not just about dancing.

You can join workshops that help you land more in your body, like:

Contact Beyond Contact (perfect to learn the ‘elbow dance’, hihi)
Playfighting
Singing circles and so much more…

The whole festival is designed to support that journey from head to feeling. Not just through the workshops and DJ sets, but also through the wellness and the beautiful community that gathers every winter and summer.

Maybe that’s exactly why

If you’re wondering whether this is for you… I feel you. That’s completely normal.

And maybe that’s exactly the reason to try it.

Because something in you feels like there’s something to discover.

Growth often lives on that edge of resistance. Just outside your comfort zone.
That’s where new colors start to move.

Why We Dance

With Why We Dance, we’re collecting stories from dancers all across the Netherlands.

And yes, some of those stories are beautiful, deep, almost magical.
But let’s keep it real: that’s not how it always starts.

My first time definitely wasn’t.

And maybe reading all those powerful experiences can even feel a bit intimidating… like “I’m not there yet.”

But that’s exactly why this movement exists.
To show how human, messy, unique and different dance really is.
There is no “perfect” dance. Every day, every moment, every body is different.

You don’t have to be “there” to begin.
You just have to be willing to take one step.

And honestly… joining Why We Dance might be the softest way to do that.

Or maybe even the smartest one 😉

Because by joining (for free), you also get the chance to win festival tickets for the summer edition of the biggest Ecstatic Dance Festival in the Netherlands.Then there is no way back!