DANCES OF ECSTASY
Directed by: Michelle Mahrer & Nicole Ma.
Produced by: Nicole Ma. Director of Photography: Paul Elliott & Michelle Mahrer.
Edited by: Sioux Currie & Sonia Cook.
Music by: James Asher, et al.
Released by: Naxos of America.
Country of Origin: Australian. 240 min (Two-disc set total). Not Rated.
DVD Features: Directors commentary. Fourteen Power Wave workouts.

The calming and visually beautiful Dances of Ecstasy offers a mesmerizing journey. Rather than your typical dance film with recognizable Western forms and patterns, it is an exploration of how ritual dance and music are used by a variety of global cultures to attain spiritual enlightenment. The documentary is not only perfect for dance enthusiasts, but it is also for those who want to learn how to reach an altered state of consciousness through repetitive motion to hypnotic music.

Starting in a loft in contemporary Manhattan where men and women of all ages are led through a dance by New York urban shaman Gabrielle Roth, we next travel to meet the healers of the deserts of Nigeria, the whirling Dervishes in Turkey, the shaman of Korea, and the young rockers of the Rainbow Festival of Australia. Through detailed dance sequences and personal interviews, the Australian creative team, Michelle Mahrer and Nicole Ma, have captured the spiritual intensity and joy of each culture with great care. I particularly enjoyed the variety of music that inspired the dancers. The musical range includes drums, chanting, clapping and a heavy, electronic beat.

In the second DVD, Gabrielle Roth leads the viewer through a Power Wave workout. You can follow along and create your own dance to the "global groove tracks with psychedelic visuals by D-Fuse." Even if you have never danced before, you could easily try this safe, fun and inspiring introduction to movement.

Haila Strauss, choreographer of over 100 musical theatre productions, associate professor of theatre and dance, Marymount Manhattan College
August 25, 2004