Small-group and individual ritual dance sessions

Attention: Please, read this description till the end before you come to a session. This a private event occurring in a private location. If you truly are interested, please, send me (Regina LoMío: [email protected]) a message for or about a session request. Sessions can be booked for Saturdays. Either 16:00-18-00 or 19:00-21:00. The subject of the session is crucial and defines what sort of input and interactions would be needed in a given case. The sessions can also serve to celebrate particular life events (or persons) such as birthdays, wedding vows, friendship’s anniversaries, promotions, migrations, achieving social maturity, or becoming parents or new friends. Otherwise the final subject of the session would always emerge through a video chat conversation with me (Regina LoMío, same person as in the event’s picture) and would relate to your initial idea(s) as well as my suggestions. You are welcome to ask through e-mail ([email protected]) for this (whole) description in German or Spanish if necessary.

Dance is not just the art form in which movement is provoked by and/or synchronized with music and sounds, it is also a (very human) way to express feelings, mental states, identities in a way akin to (social) body language, for instance. To dance well you need technical prowess, confidence, imagination, and sense of context. The last three are psychologically relevant categories which define aspects of the personality and also are constantly affected by the person's mental/emotional health.

Dancing is not just dancing. Dancing can be much more than just movements.

In these sessions we will approach the act of dancing as deliberately ritual, transcendental, mindful, indeed a psychoactive tool and a proven route towards emotional balance and spiritual awareness. In a ritualized setup, like in the traditional rites associated to ancient cults and cultures, dancing can be a healing medium when coupled with conscious cultural learning, somatic awareness, role-assuming (rather than just playing), and mindful techniques. There is the possibility to work on dance and movement patterns that would be suitable to anyone willing to improve their body-mind connection (embodiment) and their overall psychological/neurological well-being. We intend to do so through promoting self-expression, a healthy balance between non-inhibition and self-control, body positivism, rhythmical prowess, movement coordination, movement synchronization and movement independence (distinguishing from body parts, e.g., arms, legs, head) when dancing to polyrhythmic music, breathing exercises, conscious psychological and/or cultural identification with the subject and imagery of the music and the context (dance rite); and, whenever possible, we will aim at reaching transcendental and spiritually relevant states of the mind beyond the actual dance.

Each session is appropriate for either only one client or up to a maximum of five (5) persons at the time. I will offer three different styles based on music, (standard) dance steps, and culture:

•Afro Cuban dances (ritual afrodescended dances, rumba, popular dances, eg., son, mambo, congas, etc.)

•Dances from the clubbing culture around electronic music (house, electro, techno, industrial, ambient, etc.)

•Free-style dance to diverse popular music of choice

It is totally up to you (one to five people) which style you would like in your session, and in fact, you can experience all in the same single session or alternate between the styles through more than one session. Just notify in advance per e-mail about your preferred event settings. The ritual dance sessions would allow us not just to work on the appropriate dance/movement patterns but also verbal feedback and conversations on the topics of emotional/mental health relevant to you. Water, tea, and eventually self-made non-alcoholic fermented beverages will be served and free of any charge.

Session plan (persons, pricing, and inscription): The event is designed in a flexible manner allowing sessions involving from one to five persons per session. There will be four (three which are standard and an alternative for working associates) different kinds of session plans regarding the number of attendees, degree of social relation between the attendees, payment method, inscription deadlines, an whether the session is booked by private persons or a firm (also if it is a subset of coworkers) to have it in their own preferred place. Sessions in private places (eg., homes) other than the one I provide are not possible.

- Plan A: for just one individual who would pay 40 EUR per hour session and you can request 1 hour (40 EUR), 1 hour 30 minutes (60 EUR), or 2 hours (80 EUR) of dance session. Only cash will be accepted when you pay on arrival or during a session. You can book a session up to a week (6 days) prior to your desired date, and you can cancel anytime via e-mail or phone should you not make it. The video chat should take place at least 3 days before the intended session date. If you pay in advance 75 EUR via PayPal or bank transfer at least 4 days before the session, your price will be 75 EUR (instead of 80 EUR). Refund will always be possible in case I have to cancel for serious reasons. If you have to cancel your session, please, do so at least a day before the planned session date to obtain a full reimbursement. In case of last-minute or last-hour cancelling on your side refund would not be possible, but a rescheduling of a session would always be possible and unproblematic.

- Plan B: for a maximum of five (5) people (2 to 5 persons), who would possibly be befriended/acquainted (eg., close friends, job colleagues) in advance and would whenever possible request the 2-hours session and transfer the payment of 75 EUR via PayPal or bank transfer jointly as a group. You can also split the transfers (for instance, 15 EUR per person if you are 5 people taking a 2-hour session) specifying the date and time of the session in your transfer. It is also possible to request a 1-hour (37,5 EUR) or 1.5-hour (56,25 EUR) session. In any case you (as a group) need to do so at least ten (10) days ahead of your desired date, so that the transfer would be confirmed by me at least one week before the session. Refund only possible until five (5) days before the session and then if any of you have to cancel and request refund the session would be cancelled unless the remaining attendees want to pay the remaining difference to round off 40 EUR per hour jointly. The video chat should take place at least 3 days before the intended session date and it should ideally involve all the potential attendees in a joint video conference (eg., using the Zoom app). If this is for whatever reason not appropriate (for instance, it is a surprise for some of the attendees), then I should talk at the very least with the person who initially booked the session and I would expect that this person knows all of the attendees reasonably well. Finally if on the day of the session some cannot attend the event would still go ahead even if it is with only one client.

- Plan C: for two (2) to five (5) not necessarily related persons who book a session and notify attendance a week (6 days) in advance and pay 40 EUR per hour jointly on arrival but take the risk that if any of the attendees cannot attend the event is cancelled, unless the remaining attendees want to pay 40 EUR per hour jointly on arrival. This means that if I receive a request for a date where someone else already booked a Plan C session, I would add persons to that date until there are enough potential attendees wanting to pay the 40 EUR per hour jointly. All of you will receive a notification from me about the planned session and how many attendees people are enrolled and whether the session would last 1 hour, 1 hour 30 minutes, or 2 hours; which in turn will determine what the final price for each attendee would be. The video chats should take place at least 3 days before the intended session date but in the Plan C there is no need for a joint video conference. Instead individual conversations with each of the attendees would be preferred and sufficient. I will also make a choice of music, dance style, and emotional/spiritual themes after talking to all the attendees and getting a feel of what best would suit the whole group, i.e. a sort of conscious addition and/or common denominator result of all of your interests together.

Plan X: private dance sessions for firms, associations, NGOs, and/or a group of already acquainted people who already could afford or make free use of an appropriate dancing room. In this case the price would be discussable depending on session duration, number of attendees, and the distance between the suggested location and my headquarters on Kreuzberg, 10965 Berlin. Requests should be made at least one week before the intended session date, and a previous conversation through video chat would also be required before confirming the booking.

Hygienic measures: Available sanitary conditions will be provided so you can wash hands, and windows will be open several times to ensure the room is well aired. Please, beware it may not be suitable for you if you are allergic to cat hair.

Level: Level-independent

Inscription and dates: Just send an e-mail to Regina LoMio: [email protected]. Provide a phone number through which I could contact you through smartphone's apps like Signal or Telegram. Once we are in contact through phone we would have a video chat (in Telegram or Zoom, preferably) and later I would share the address with you and we can arrange a dance date and a payment method according to your prospected plan (see above, A, B, C, or X). Available dates are Saturdays between 16:00 and 21:00, which means you can arrange a dance date either 16:00-18:00 or 19:00-21:00 on any Saturday, including national holidays.

Outfits: Just anything you would comfortably dance in.

Language: English (German or Spanish on request).

Address (for Plans A, B, or C): Indoors, somewhere in the Viktoriapark neighborhood. You will get the exact address after contacting me.

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