Dancing Ground Take 2

Communal space - where we all ate and generally hung out!

After the Welcoming Circle we danced on the green towards Five Rhythms.

My humble abode for the night. This time I remembered a rake to clear the ground and a hammer to get the tent pegs in! Yay me!

You might remember that last year around this time I took my first foray into the festival that was Dancing Ground. Inspired by an online friend I convinced my sister to join me in a weekend of camping, yoga, dance and communal living in the Dandenong Ranges. 

Both of us found Dancing Ground to be a little confronting last year - she more so than me. For me it was about being comfortable in my own skin, shaking this obviously different body around in front if a whole lot of strangers. In spite of this I did enjoy my time at Dancing Ground last year and even though we left early I was glad I went.

I'm here again this year. I write this from the comfort of a beanbag in the Communal Space. I'm glad I've come...and I'm comfortable being on my own. This time I've met people, talked with them, watched over a baby as his mother went to wash their plates. People are friendly. I've been hugged by strangers, made contact through dance.

I've danced.

This year I determined I would make sure I participated from the start. I was present in the Welcoming Circle. I went to 5 Rhythms straight afterwards. This morning I stretched my body in Satyananda Yoga. I went to Kundilini Dance and listened as Leyola spoke about the Divine Mother and connecting to the divine masculine and feminine. I still don't know my own personal thoughts about all that, but I listened with an open mind and danced with a open heart. I cannot deny something happened to me as I danced - the release of tension, the feeling of intense responsibility, as though I was carrying not only my own anxieties but the collective anxieties of the many people who mean the most to me. If you're family and you're reading this, I carried yours too. The sense of responsibility was overwhelming...and I felt that the harder I danced the better it would be for you. My explanation of how I felt doesn't do it justice...but I felt it. I hope you did too.

I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad I challenged my own sense of hesitancy. I'm glad I pushed through everything about me that screamed and begged to stay in my safe place. I'm going to the Sound Healing workshop this afternoon. Who knows what awaits?

I wish you were here.