Welcome Home: a weekly dance ritual

Dance to Welcome you Home to your body and to your place in the larger human family.

There's a field of wise sensual intelligence that's bigger than each of us. When we make space to be present within this field, we can hear our own wisdom in a way that harmonizes with the wisdom of others and the earth.

This dance ritual has 3 parts:

1. Slow... earth bonding... on the floor the first hour! We warm up our attention and presence as we create spaciousness and aliveness in the body.
2. Choreography at the intersection of modern, west african, and sensual prayer.
3. Dance meditation: From this dance what do you see as you look out onto your life?

This is for dancers who:

• delight in learning modern & west african choreography
• love connecting with community & spirit through dance
• enjoy improvising (solo and with others)
• thrive in sensual expression

About the teacher:

Zahava Griss (aka Z, pronouns: they/them)

When I was a kid, my dream was that one day I would know the dances of all cultures. I wanted to give a performance for the entire world combining these dances so everyone could see themselves in one body…and there would be peace. Every time I fall in love with how someone moves, it feels like the dream is getting closer. From age 2, I was in the dance studio learning how to move my body. I had the honor of dancing with the Joffrey Ballet, Katherine Dunham, Urban Bush Women, Tania Isaac, Wanjiru Kamuyu, Baba Chuck Davis, Ron Brown, and Mana Hashimoto. Training since 1982, I can say that I appreciate the time it takes to truly know a dance form. While I have experienced many flavors of dance the 6 main forms that live in my body are modern, Middle Eastern, Sufi dancemeditation, West African, ballet, and yoga.

Some of these teachings focused on my soul, most focused on a set of values about aesthetic beauty that I would later unlearn to reveal myself. I attended the Juilliard School, Tisch School of the Arts, North Carolina School of the Arts, the Alvin Ailey School, the Princeton Ballet, Sarah Lawrence College, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, and Jacob’s Pillow with Oh!ni Sowa of Ghana. I danced in Senegal with Marie Basse Wiles. I learned how differently cultures define dance, the body, sex, the soul, and our relationship with the Earth. Dance became how I experienced the values and possibilities a community created. Learn more at www.EmbodyMoreLove.com.

photo by Theresa Vargo