Ecstatic Contact (ecstatic dance + contact improv)

Name: Ecstatic Contact (ecstatic dance + contact improv)
Start: 2026-01-17T18:00:00-06:00
End: 2026-01-17T21:00:00-06:00
Location: Voler: Thieves Of Flight

Schedule

Sat Jan 17 2026 at 06:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

Voler: Thieves Of Flight | Kansas City, KS

Welcome to Kansas City’s first ever Ecstatic Contact! Ecstatic Contact merges the elements of ecstatic dance, contact improvisation, and live music together to create an experience of authentic movement, liberating expression, and a newfound somatic awareness that arises when you move from alignment.
Making his Ecstatic Dance debut, Ivan Ortiz is honored to guide dancers into their own inter-connectedness and to create a safe space to relentlessly & passionately emote. Currently curating immersive sound journeys for Ecstatic Yoga at Maya Yoga KC, Ivan masterfully blends technique and soul to create a container like no other. Highly attuned to the energy of the room, he intuitively crafts experiences that invite participants to journey inward—into presence, emotion, and the depths of their own soul. Expect an experimental, psychedelic, tribal bass experience rooted in atmospheric and spiritual soundscapes—music that unfolds like a story, allowing you to organically reveal the rhythm, texture, and frequency of your inner world.
After falling in love with contact improvisation while traveling in Hawaii, Neva Swartzendruber has been sharing this embodied practice through classes in Kansas City and is deeply excited to bring her version of it to the ecstatic dance community. Neva will gently guide participants through solo, partnered, and group explorations, inviting you to step beyond your comfort zone and discover new ways of connecting with yourself and others through organic, natural movement. This practice offers a safe, playful space to deepen your intuition and experience how connection can feel easy, joyful, and beautiful—even without rules, steps to memorize, or routines to perfect.

Schedule
6:00 ~ Opening
6:15 ~ Contact Improvisation // Neva
7:00 ~ Ecstatic Dance // Ivan
8:15 ~ Bass Bath // Ivan
8:30 ~ Closing

Our guidelines:
🦋 No photos or videos. A no-phone policy really helps us to be more present and engaged, so we ask that you keep the phone away during the event. *Staff may occasionally capture a few moments (with consent), for the purpose of growing this community through promotional content.
🦋 The dance floor is a talking-free zone, but bring your sighs, cries, and howls!
🦋 Please receive consent before dancing with someone. Eye contact and a "yes" (nod, open gesture, offered touch) means permission to dance. Looking away or moving away is a clear "no".
🦋 This is an adult-only event.
🦋 Please arrive showered and clean! Avoid any strong scented perfumes, colognes or fragrances on the body, as some are very sensitive to these scents.
Thank you!

Payment: $20 Venmo: @ivanortiz
*other payment methods available upon request
Included: contact improv, dance, closing, and tea bar. Specialty drinks/treats and bodywork are paid separately.

Our intention with this offering:
To cultivate a community rooted in health, empowerment, and authenticity. Through music and embodied dance, we create a space where each person is invited to move exactly as they feel in the present moment— honoring both the individual and collective experience. As we dance together, we weave our unique expressions into something greater than ourselves. In the simple yet courageous act of moving from truth, we co-create a living experience of connection, freedom, and the capacity to be present with what is.