Dance Party
All are welcome to our weekly freestyle dance party!
Come experience the joy and exhilaration that comes from dancing with no “right or wrong”.
After bit of warming up and stretching to gentle music, we play a variety of fun, funky, enticing music from around the world and let the music move our bodies. We end with some gentle stretching and winding down.
Absolutely no experience necessary.
We offer a relaxed, judgement-free zone, with the emphasis on FUN. Lights will be dimmed and no one will be watching. People enjoy feeling a mixture of calm and exhilaration after each dance.
"The fastest way to still the mind is to move the body."
- Gabrielle Roth
Comments from participants
“This class is pure joy, as much freedom as you like. “
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the dance parties. You are such a joy!”
“Ridiculously fun!”
“This is such a treat, it is like nothing else offered around this area. It keeps me warm this fall and winter. I plan on attending as much as possible to keep my body moving this winter and in shape! It is great fun and great exercise. You have such a great way of lifting our spirits and allowing us to be ourselves and enjoy the hour.”
“Mieke's joyful presence and huge array of world music make this a fun and rhythmic work-out. I especially appreciate the beauty of her studio that reflects fine craftsmanship and attention to detail from floor to ceiling.”
“It puts a smile on my face no matter what is going on for me. If you can't remember the last time you smiled, SOMA is for you!”
“Mieke is a great motivator! Imagine a 50-something and a tween-ager, each equally thrilled and looking forward to going to a dance party! Mieke makes us each so comfortable and so excited to be there that we shimmy, wiggle, dance and leap with un-selfconscious abandon.”
“Thank you Mieke. :-) I had a smile the whole time.”
“This is awesome. We get our heart rates up while having fun!”
Mieke’s Dance Background
Mieke's interest is less in teaching people "how" to dance but rather in helping them access their own source of creativity and expression. Mieke studied ballet and jazz in childhood, she holds a minor in Modern Dance and creative movement, and she has choreographed and performed her own and others' work.
She has taken numerous classes and workshops for over 30 years in improvisation, modern dance, 5 Rhythm work, African dance, and Authentic Movement/Contemplative Dance, as well as other inner-directed body based work such as Body-Mind Centering. She has studied with many inspiring dance teachers, including Gabrielle Roth, Meredith Monk, Steve Paxton, and Kei Takei. Mieke has taught dance and creative movement to children, adolescents, and adults, and has assisted weekend-long DansKinetics workshops at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.
She knows how blissful it is to feel like you are "being moved" by the music from within, rather than trying to look like someone or follow a pattern, so she is naturally attracted to creating a space for others to access this way of moving. Mieke is deeply committed to exploring the healing and transformational power of dance and movement, as well as having fun!