Fridays from 5:00 to 6:30
(no dance on December 27)

A safe supportive improvisational dance space for women who want to connect more deeply with others and themselves.

We welcome a wide range of authentic self-expression through free and ecstatic styles of dance. Each woman flows with her own rhythm, in and out of duets and group connections in this kind and safe environment.

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY. There are no wrong ways to move. You can always dance by yourself or take time to witness others. Some women want to learn contact improvisation skills and explore dancing with others, while others are simply looking for a safe place to connect with their body and inner experience. We warm-up with explorations into slower movements gradually segueing into faster tempos for ecstatic release. Connected dance is a natural high that can be incredibly healing. Your body and heart will thank you for it!

This is a free event but donations are welcome. The money collected will be used to buy speakers, support the library, and expand dance opportunities in the local community. We hope to gradually grow into larger dances that include everyone and are not just for women.

Bring music and speakers if you have them. We want to accommodate music preferences, and also we don’t yet have our own speakers and are reliant on someone bringing one.

The library closes at 5:00 and the main door is locked soon after. If you come late, there is a door in the back that you can knock on, to get into the lower level room where we dance.

If you would like to be put on the email list for this group, go to the subscribe page and check the box for the dance group email list. Thanks!

About Arena Heidi

Arena is a spiritual name that was given to me when I was born. (It’s pronounced Ah-ren-na with a soft ‘e’). Heidi is my legal first name. I am the organizer of this group but I welcome collaboration and hope to evolve in that direction. I’ve facilitated various dances (usually as part of a group) in Brattleboro and Putney since the late 1980s. Many of those earlier dances would feature some kind of optional group exercise in “the middle.” My goal back then was to create as many fun and captivating “middles” that would inspire even the most reluctant folks to join in. Perhaps I may resuscitate a few of those exercises!

In the 1990s, I led a women’s drum group for many years. (However, drumming is not like dance and I’ve since lost much of my knowledge and skill, but I would like to occasionally incorporate a bit of conga or shamanic drumming into the dance.) When I was in college, I watched a film that showed Janet Adler bonding with children with autism by mirroring their movements. (See a brief excerpt here.) The film left a lasting imprint on me, and years later I ended up doing similar work with a young woman who had no verbal language. I’ve taken and facilitated improvisational dance classes that do not have music, but focus on presence and inner exploration instead. Around 2010, I started dancing with a hula hoop and have since taught hooping to people ages 3 to 93!

In more recent years, I’ve explored simple and yet deeply healing “listening to the body” practices which I’ve written a little bit about on this website. These embodiment practices continue to deepen and evolve for me. Each one of us has the ability to tap into inner wisdom. Open-ended exploratory practices offer pathways into our subconscious, the great unknown, and other forms of mystical wisdom.

Recently, I have been helping my friend Maieshe organize a meditation circle that also meets at the Pawlet Public Library. Meditation can free energy pathways in the body in ways that feel similar to dance but on subtler levels. I love the feeling of more fully inhabiting my body. Both meditation and dance support embodiment but in different ways. I hope that you may feel inspired to attend one or even both of these groups!