FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
DANCES OF ECSTASY
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
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