Ecstatic Dance

Being a historically self-​conscious dancer, it took me a long time to finally come here but now that I have, I look forward every week. There’s a meditation researcher (sorry, I can’t remember who at the moment) who said that it’s important for people (and their brains) to hang out for a little while in «directionless» time (no thoughts about future or past). Everything about this place helps me do just that. Ecstatic Dance is a moving meditation where I am so grateful to drop in and listen to how my body wants to move while drinking in the beauty of all the people around me doing the same. The safety of the community, the pleasure of moving my body in new creative ways, the amazing music, wordless connection to others… all this feels incredibly healing. A really sweet, satisfying way to spend your Wed night. It’s a really wide open space to move which is great. Thank you to those who make this space possible.

I LOVE Ecstatic Dance! It’s my favorite dance experience/​venue. Better than any night club or ballroom dance hall in the Bay Area, almost every time I go.
Warning: Not the safest ‘hood. Cars get broken into at night. A bit too loud for me, but there are free foam earplugs.
Guidelines from the website help you know what to (not) expect:
1. Move however you wish
2. No talking on the dance floor
3. Respect yourself and one another
Ecstatic Dance is a Drug & Alcohol Free Space
Please also refrain from photos, video, and shoes & scents.

I had a lot more fun then I anticipated. Worked up quite a sweat too. Fun times =)

Ecstatic Dance is a beautiful container where you are fully supported and encouraged to express yourself… wherever you are at in your life. The community gathers in a glorious venue with nice wood flooring. low lights on Wed nights, well-​lit with Sun rays on Sunday mornings. Community of all ages and walks of life come together to dance pray and sweat. Play! Dance! Connect! Let Go & Surrender!

As a straight guy, I’ve always been a bit out of the mainstream, loving dance the way that I do. But I tired of the club scene years ago, and lost interest in taking conventional dance classes as well. For years I could not scratch the itch. Now, through Ecstatic Dance, the people, the music and the venue I am yet again able to enjoy my passion without all the game playing and attitude of popular venues.
Speaking of attitude, it’s wonderful how everyone is able to mix at Sweets. There are some truly terrific dancers, some not very good, some young, some old, but everyone gets along and supports each other. There’s no being judgemental, no standards to meet.
It’s worth mentioning that Ecstatic Dance occurs at different venues, and each has it’s own vibe. The Berkeley one is a bit old and hippy-​dippy for my taste. The Sweets one starts slow, but ends up very dynamic.

Wonderful space for a whole community to gather and create community around dance! Feel very safe and open — no judgement, all welcome, and everyone counted!

I’m a skeptic anti-​patchouli lawyer-​in-​my-​regular-​life type, but I loved ecstatic dance because it’s FUN.
You go and dance however the hell you want to for a few hours. Some people wear loose, flowing clothes and move like they’re trying to swirl smoke into their eyes in appreciation of Pacha Mamma. Others do yoga poses or contact improv. One topless hetero white couple whipped around like dervishes.
**** PRO-​TIP: DO NOT COME if you aren’t prepared for the sweat off a white woman’s dreads to flick into your mouth. ******
You’ll be somewhat shy and reserved for the first fifteen minutes but after a while you realize that nobody gives a f*k and then you just dance like your inner five year old. For me this looked like step aerobics from the 1980s.
My friends brought their 6 month-​old in a bjorn (and ear muffs to protect the baby’s hearing! it gets loud) and she seemed to be enjoying the scene.
Clean, substance-​free, lots of space, fun music, liberating, $ 15 every Weds and Sunday. I’ll be back!

Ecstatic dance moves my soul.

Dancing is my favorite form of exercise.
It’s freeing.
It feels good.
It’s social.
It’s creative.
It just feels right.
Ecstatic dance is a great way to get your dance fix during the bustle of the week.
With complimentary tea by Omshan Tea, delicious vegan bites, pay-​by-​the-​minute massages, hula-​hoops to use, and a room full of moving-​barefoot-​ecstatic dancers — it’s just a good olé hippie time.
Trust.

So good ~ each and every time!!!

If you love to dance to great music with lovely warm-​hearted people in a supportive environment with positive vibes and a focus on community-​cultivation through ecstatic dance (and what sane person doesn’t?), then this is the place for you. It certainly is for me. Love it!

Blissful union of body movement, heart soul connections, groovin’ tunes, tea time, yoga, dance, meditation, and bliss joy love!
Divine nectar!

Ecstatic dance has lots of heart
If you want to dance, don’t want people to pick up on you (or think you’re picking up on them), like Yoga, appreciate sobriety, and like it when DJs don’t play a prepackaged genre the entire time, you’ll like this.
move with true intention

Individual expression through movement without any judgments or limitations. Dance hard, move slow, glide, sway, twirl, roll, jump, or maybe you just want to sit still and breathe. This open space ballroom has beautiful natural light and friendly faces. Go for the full time or just for a bit. It will get your energies flowing.
At the risk of sounding hokey, what a magical experience this can be if you embrace what is being offered to you on the most basic levels. Music, Space and Time can be a very cathartic combination in this environment. Do with it what you will. The DJ there is quite good at ever so slowly raising the tempo and the noise level in the ballroom and his music is well chosen.
It was my first experience at Sweets in Oakland and it wont be my last. I went with two girlfriends and one of them brought her 4 year old son. We all had a blast. There is an area upstairs where children can play and are watched and they are always welcome on the dance floor.
Bring a hand towel for sweat and water to quench your thirst. They provide a small (healthy!) vending table for you as well. There is plenty of street parking and on Sunday its free! $ 15 for admission.

Had heard about Ecstatic Dance & wanted to stop by during Oaklavia. Walked in & checked out the scene — it was pretty chill, and we were checking out the dancing, dj, meals — and then along came the «bouncer» «Are you gonna dance» he asked. «No, just checking the scene out» our response. He told us in no uncertain terms — «two minutes and then you gotta leave». Really? Talk about a prime chance to share with people all the good things everyone has written about ecstatic dance & just now ruined by some guy that has an authority complex. Too bad. Oak La Via was the perfect opportunity to share with the community the wondrous fun of group dance — and the one person they chose to interact with the community ruined it.
*** review edited to remove my inappropriate comments re: the bouncer. bouncer. T

What is not to love about a huge stunning historical ballroom taken over by hundreds of happy and otherwise feeling bodies expressing themselves every Sunday morning, Wednesday night and now Saturday night.
I have been coming here since it first started. We had all crossed our fingers that it would survive and now EBED thrives!
Live DJ’s affordable massage therapists in the corner, and yummy raw and vegan healthy treats available. Beautiful altars with tarot decks available for anyone to use. And now an upstairs kiddie area with hoola hoops, twister games and supervised crafts.
East Bay Ecstatic Dance marked a huge transformation of my personal experience of Oakland, having lived in Downtown Oakland since 1997.
Thank you Tyler, Thank you Donna-​I hope you get what an impact you have had for Oakland community building. I am extremely grateful.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take the dancing you do in front of the mirror and do it in front of a bunch of people?
Have you ever just wanted to let your weird out?!
Have you ever wondered what would happen if after your yoga class everyone started dancing to the music from class?
Well, this is the place for you. It was like an experience from another world, or dimension. I felt like I was in a people zoo, watching a bunch of different people doing different things in the same environment. It was fantastic. From the topless groups dancing in what appeared as a pile, to the hula hoopers in the corner this place is where you can come to let it all hang loose.
I highly suggest that everyone attend this at least once in their life. But you’ll probably end up going again.

I’m sooooo disappointed that Ecstatic Dance is no longer at Yoga Tree in the Castro! What happened?
It was really convenient to have it at this venue… and really fun and great.
I hope they come back!

Ecstatic Dance is my weekly gift of play, expression and ceremony all wrapped into one amazing community.
The yoga with David Schlussel at 9:30 on Sunday morning is the perfect way to begin, then opening with a circle, then dance dance dance for three hours.
We all go to the park afterwards and have a picnic! Every Sunday!
I am so grateful for Ecstatic Dance :)

I don’t know what I would do without Ecstatic Dance in my life, nor do I know what I ever did without it before! This is exactly what I have been looking for for years!
I love being able to go somewhere where I can dress however I want, dance however I like and listen to great DJs without a bunch of drunk people falling all over me. Plus the vibe of the crowd is great, very diverse, but just an overall open, accepting, harmonious group.