Community In Movement
Dear reader, do not worry if you are unfamiliar with the cards of the Tarot. Their use is purely a stylistic choice to encompass the symbolic depth of one personal story that is the reflection of collective consciousness, the Fool that sets out into the World guided by the Stars. It is a story of our shared human experience for union and the fight against a system of separation. I write this as an open call to connect and to encourage local initiatives the same way I was inspired by other communities and collectives.
Chapter I: The Star
A star is born. It is late summer 2021 and heavy rain pours down as we dance together. In this chaos I am at ease. The water feels calming and I receive it joyfully as a messenger. It is a sign of hope from the universe, recovery after a period of darkness.
A particularly anarchic festival community that summer had deeply moved me to share my passion for dance improvisation and hold a space of love and care as others in that community had radically and spontaneously shared all kinds of experiences, whether a meal, a workshop, a music set, an interactive art piece. This experience had been particularly healing and inspiring after a dark period of isolation and introspection during the lockdown, where I could not dance and share with others. In this time, I had spent so many hours dancing alone, trying to make sense of the changes going on inside me after the Tower had fallen and with it the old foundations of what my life had been. Now I was being welcomed into a community of artists, the performer in me finally finding a stage in which they could give birth to a dream, offering this gift to the world with an open heart. It was the beginning of a journey in which I needed to navigate and find my place among the stars.
Chapter II: The Fool
Looking over the horizon I set out on my journey for adventure, like the Fool at the edge of the cliff looking at the world beyond, optimistic that they will find guidance along the way. With the skills of an amateur, ‘le Mat’ carries on, rather naïve in their intentions, but with a willingness so strong and promising that propels them forward where others would have backed down. Friends embark in this dance of madness, knowing the start but not the ending point of our travels.
I began a series of movement sessions in late 2021 with both friends and members of the festival community. After the first session I received so much energy and support from the group that I decide to continue organizing this space and it became a series of monthly gatherings called ‘collective dance’ that went on for over a year. The group began to grow after a couple of months as friends invited other friends to the events by word of mouth.
First collective dance session on Nov. 21 2021 at Studio 4 Tanzfabrik
‘Collective dance’ was about creating an informal, friendly, inclusive environment where group dynamics and improvisation were guided intuitively without the need of any previous formal training. It was an alternative to conventionally individualist dynamics rampant throughout the performative dance scene. To reexamine the way we relate with each other, and to widen participation by minimizing economic and accessibility barriers and encouraging all ages, body types and backgrounds. With these gatherings I wanted to provide a safe, non-judgmental space where all participants could be seen and appreciated as unique dancers in a collective experience. To connect into our authentic expressions through interactions with each other. To flip the script of life in capitalist realism by focusing on interrelation rather than individual achievement. And to have a lot of fun together and play around.
Chapter III: Knight of Fire
Charging forward, the Knight’s fire is one to watch out for. They are not afraid to challenge the current orders at power, even if they also burn in the flames.
Parallel to the beginning of my journey as a facilitator I began to venture into the somatic and free movement scene of Berlin. In this wonderful world thriving in a diversity of schools, traditions, and spaces I met amazing dancers and teachers and experienced dance in a new way that moved me profoundly. In these classes, workshops, and jam spaces I learned to become aware of the sensations in my body and develop an authentic relation through movement, breath, and sound.
Creating a non-commercial and affordable space was my rebellion against steeply priced dance events that perpetuate exclusivity and classism. It was possible to offer ‘collective dance’ on a donation basis thanks to a wonderful studio with a very affordable rent. Spaces like this have become a rarity as landlords in this city are terminating contracts or ramping up rent prices, forcing facilitators to compete for studio space or offer classes at higher prices to make ends meet. The lack of support for artists, facilitators and healing practitioners ultimately leads to the reproduction of a system based on commercializing these spaces. Ironically, we need the arts to help us escape the very system that is replicating, congealing itself into the art world.
‘Collective dance’ was also a return to roots, bringing back the essence of dance as playful co-creative interactions. I grew up in the Caribbean coast of Colombia where dance represents an integral part of our culture and is a set of social relations bringing different generations together to celebrate life through movement and music. This was very different to how dance was framed in Europe as an individual practice with movement sequences performed and optimized in front of a mirror. Dance had been separated from the social sphere into a professional and commercial field, aesthetics and forms on trained abled bodies competing against each other. By overemphasizing the individual and the ideal, we were reducing the body to a product and forgetting the emergent beauty in the process of interacting with each other. I understood how people could feel judged or intimidated, preferring to avoid these dance environments that had no sensitivity towards different bodies and learning rhythms.
Tempelhofer Feld outdoor movement sessions
Chapter IV: The Chariot
Sitting on the chariot, the gaze of the warrior is towards their destination. With enormous willpower, they are determined to ride the spiritual path to succeed. But careful they must be, as willpower alone cannot lead to victory. The passenger has no control over the reins but can only determine their course by dancing through the tension between consciousness and ego. To let go of identity means to advance.
After a year of facilitating, I began to reflect on my motives for creating dance spaces and what I wanted to move towards. My initial dream had been to create a unique dance space and to prove to myself that I could take on the role of a leader in this context. I believed that there was something special in this approach that would attract and benefit people. But as the project developed further it began to intertwine with my spiritual journey, which was unveiling the dream of a life path that went beyond my professional aspirations. There was this incredible need and desire to live a life different to the one I had grown to know, one with meaning that would allow me to live under peace, harmony as well as equanimity with a group of others in nature. It was about finding a community that could allow me to heal, grow and create, to share common goods and reconnect with the Earth. My own practice in dance and yoga had allowed me to find a connection with my essence and gather the strength to begin this journey. I wanted to share this gift and expand the range of practices that could allow us to return to the ritual of collective healing, which has been a core foundation of community spirit that we have lost in our current social dynamics.
This fierce determination gave birth to ‘healing circle’ at the beginning of 2023, which I conceived as a weekly community space to discuss and explore different topics of inner and interpersonal growth from a wide range of healing and mindfulness practices. It was important for me to redirect the focus of the space. I didn’t want healing circle to depend solely on me, but instead I wanted to co-create and co-organize the space with others who believed in the spirit of the project. It was a chance to empower each other to share our personal wisdom to enrich the space with different energies and insight.
Things fell into place when I was able to secure a weekly slot in the workshop room at HeileHaus e.V., which is an amazing social project that supports non-commercial decentralized health initiatives. The HeileHaus mission is to make natural therapeutic practices accessible to the most marginalized groups in our society, who have been discriminated and excluded from our health care system. This radically opposes the idea of health as a privatized and commodified industry and challenges exclusive notions of therapy as a set of hierarchical, transactional, impersonal and pathologizing practices. Regaining our resources to heal and grow is the motor for social change against the cyclical consequences of poverty, unemployment, and hard living conditions in the metropole. ‘Healing circle’ was one more group initiative supporting the belief in the self-healing capacity of every individual in a collective experience.
We began hosting sessions in January. Fortunately, all the experience and support from ‘collective dance’ enabled the project to start off with a core group of friends and enthusiastic movers eager to explore this new space and share their practices. It was exciting to meet more regularly and co-create the gatherings, but I was also conscious that this was very different from my previous movement sessions and that it would not resonate with everyone. ‘Healing circle’ felt more connected to me personally as a project and in a way, I felt more vulnerable when teaching and sharing the topics in a group, since they were highly intertwined with my own inner exploration journey. The therapeutic aspects of the practices also meant more responsibility and awareness in holding the space as well as trying to remain sensitive to people’s experience within the limited amount of time per session. As the winter passed, I hoped for the space to grow into an organic and proactive community.
Chapter V: The Devil
The Devil stands with a torch on one hand. A man and woman in between are chained at the Devil’s feet. A fire faintly building, self-destruction lurks in this dark scenery. Under the illusion of being trapped, the couple awaits the fire, but they can escape once they realize that the chains around their necks are actually loose. To become aware of the patterns that hold us back is the necessary insight to break the cycle: To descend into the darkness of our soul and transcend in this depth is our true power to transform. It is the howl of the heart.
After the first two months, I began to wonder about how to make the project grow and started to concentrate on putting more effort into the topics to engage as many people as possible. The response from the group was vague and after sessions with a small number of people I began to question if ‘healing circle’ would continue. Self-doubt started to eat me up inside; I had the feeling that I was the only one pushing the space and that without my individual effort, it would fall apart.
This pushed me to reflect about the systemic realities fundamentally at odds with community development. They were the chains of a capitalistic society that did not allow us to regenerate, heal and give ourselves time and space for the things we love and need. I did perceive a strong need to connect and heal, but I saw as well a general pattern of getting stuck in a short-term fix that is convenient, low effort and sold to us as a product. Many people around me seemed lost in a game of hedonism and consumption and I would hear stories about the search for genuine connection in the night life and on dating apps, endlessly hooked despite continued disappointment with superficial and shallow interactions. It was hard to find genuine spaces to truly connect and even spiritual practices in yoga and meditation had been framed as part of a wellness industry.
It also seemed hard to commit in a big city like Berlin which can overwhelm and exhaust. Without integration of healing practices and community spaces into our regular lives, the cycle of lack and pain will persist. Creating a sustainable community based on group openness and regularity is key amidst the life rhythms of extreme individuation in the capitalist modern city.
I also realized how hard it was for many to open up on topics related to mental and physical health with strangers and even with close friends or partners. There was an unspoken sense of shame in expressing our personal struggles and burdens to others, the stigma of a society that proclaimed that you alone were responsible for your mental health, when in fact our struggles unite us against the disease of a system that will not hold because it goes against our true nature as collective, creative and free beings.
Becoming aware of the mental barriers that were limiting others, I turned to reflect on my own patterns that were holding me back. The desire to see ‘healing circle’ grow had become into attachment, the ego taking over as I felt the fear of the project failing and being alone in this struggle, telling myself that people didn’t genuinely care about this collective initiative. I was waiting for someone to save me and break the chains. To free myself I had to let go of expectations and let love come through. This is a lesson I have kept coming back and forth as I have experienced that my offerings only come to life when I’m fully present with an open heart and mind. Even if the purpose was to create community it could not depend on exterior approval. I needed to come back to the energy of the Star, the faith and hope in the dream and that this was the right path, even if it meant Death. For this was an opportunity of transformation and rebirth by letting go of self-serving desires and expectations and instead focusing on the practices as well as finding the courage to call others for help. It was about being gentle, kind, and self-compassionate, to learn to accept as well as to trust in the process.
Chapter VI: IX of Fire
Wounded after a long battle, the warrior stands supporting their body on one of the wands while the other eight surround them. They appear injured and tired. It is time to set boundaries and call for support to allow the wounds to heal before the burden is too heavy to carry.
In the process of letting go, I was able to open up and let the universe decide which direction to follow. The call was answered as another opportunity came into my life that collided with me being able to facilitate ‘healing circle’ for the next two months. I saw this as the opportunity to let the group decide together on the future of our community space and was very moved by people’s enthusiasm to participate and support it. Over a dinner gathering we sat down together and began to plan how to organize sessions so that both facilitators and participants could guarantee that the gatherings would continue to happen on a weekly basis. More initiatives to facilitate and share started to arise with participants being encouraged to step into this role as well.
With the coming of spring, I have seen ‘healing circle’ bloom into a weekly collective ritual. The dream that I had given birth to was now a child being taken care of by its family. The next months will definitely bring change, new people, and other formats. Sometimes it can be scary to let go of control, but it is a necessary step for this to become a collective endeavor. I definitely do not feel alone in this dream anymore because I see the project growing into a meaningful experience to every person in the space.
While there are many moments where I feel powerless and small against the structures of capitalism, I am filled with renewed strength and comfort when I learn about local efforts across this city and elsewhere that are fighting against the system by offering alternatives to our current lifestyles and rhythms. I have started to contact some of these communities in the hope that we can spread information, best practices and support each other. It is through creating strong networks that we can stand tall and continue to grow, our spores flowing and dancing into the world.
Chapter VII: The Lovers
Lovers find each other in a garden of abundance as they rejoice over the harmonious relations between every single part of this landscape. For every part reflects the imminent beauty in this alignment of a dream that is the expression of pure and unconditional love.
I am extremely grateful to my family, partners, friends, fellow movers, teachers, and supporters that have shared their beautiful creative energy and offered their unconditional support in and beyond this project. Thank you for teaching me the power of love to heal and connect. In the gratitude and resonance during the sessions I recognize the common desire to build something together greater than the individual parts – a world where we can value, care, and be loved for who we uniquely are.
-Last edited version written on 23.04.2023
