I haven't been to Ecstatic Dance in Oakland in years, but I miss it. I miss the hip rolling beats. I miss the genuine smiles. I miss the sway. I miss the colorful outfits. I miss being transported away by Ecstatic Dance. If you are looking for a way to move your body each week - be sure to check out virtual Ecstatic Dance each Wednesday from 8 - 9:30pm. There's virtual yoga beforehand at 7pm - to help you get relaxed and loosened up - and then promptly at 8:00pm - the dancing begins. You can find out more info here - https://ecstaticdance.org/dance/oakland-ecstatic-dance/ . Dancing is a powerful medicine. If you're ever feeling low energy or a little out of sorts - try putting on some quality music and lose yourself to the music. It's hard not to feel better. Trust. read more

Blissful union of body movement, heart soul connections, groovin' tunes, tea time, yoga, dance, meditation, and bliss joy love! Divine nectar! read more

I LOVE Ecstatic Dance! It's my favorite dance experience/venue. Better than any night club or ballroom dance hall in the Bay Area, almost every time I go. Warning: Not the safest 'hood. Cars get broken into at night. A bit too loud for me, but there are free foam earplugs. Guidelines from the website help you know what to (not) expect: 1. Move however you wish 2. No talking on the dance floor 3. Respect yourself and one another Ecstatic Dance is a Drug & Alcohol Free Space Please also refrain from photos, video, and shoes & scents. read more

Ecstatic Dance - Feel safer thanks to these Guidelines, which can be found on the site, at http://ecstaticdance.org/guidelines/ - Dance Studios Near Me - Oakland, California

I'm a skeptic anti-patchouli lawyer-in-my-regular-life type, but I loved ecstatic dance because it's FUN. You go and dance however the hell you want to for a few hours. Some people wear loose, flowing clothes and move like they're trying to swirl smoke into their eyes in appreciation of Pacha Mamma. Others do yoga poses or contact improv. One topless hetero white couple whipped around like dervishes. **** PRO-TIP: DO NOT COME if you aren't prepared for the sweat off a white woman's dreads to flick into your mouth. ****** You'll be somewhat shy and reserved for the first fifteen minutes but after a while you realize that nobody gives a f*k and then you just dance like your inner five year old. For me this looked like step aerobics from the 1980s. My friends brought their 6 month-old in a bjorn (and ear muffs to protect the baby's hearing! it gets loud) and she seemed to be enjoying the scene. Clean, substance-free, lots of space, fun music, liberating, $15 every Weds and Sunday. I'll be back! read more

Had heard about Ecstatic Dance & wanted to stop by during Oaklavia. Walked in & checked out the scene - it was pretty chill, and we were checking out the dancing, dj, meals - and then along came the "bouncer" "Are you gonna dance" he asked. "No, just checking the scene out" our response. He told us in no uncertain terms - "two minutes and then you gotta leave". Really? Talk about a prime chance to share with people all the good things everyone has written about ecstatic dance & just now ruined by some guy that has an authority complex. Too bad. Oak La Via was the perfect opportunity to share with the community the wondrous fun of group dance - and the one person they chose to interact with the community ruined it. *** review edited to remove my inappropriate comments re: the bouncer. bouncer. T read more

Ecstatic dance has lots of heart If you want to dance, don't want people to pick up on you (or think you're picking up on them), like Yoga, appreciate sobriety, and like it when DJs don't play a prepackaged genre the entire time, you'll like this. move with true intention read more

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take the dancing you do in front of the mirror and do it in front of a bunch of people? Have you ever just wanted to let your weird out?! Have you ever wondered what would happen if after your yoga class everyone started dancing to the music from class? Well, this is the place for you. It was like an experience from another world, or dimension. I felt like I was in a people zoo, watching a bunch of different people doing different things in the same environment. It was fantastic. From the topless groups dancing in what appeared as a pile, to the hula hoopers in the corner this place is where you can come to let it all hang loose. I highly suggest that everyone attend this at least once in their life. But you'll probably end up going again. read more

I love this scene. All ages, all abilities, all inclusive, having a zowie good time. I get inspired to kick a little higher, stretch a bit more, move, move, move. Sometimes I get lost in my own dance and trance a bit, sometimes I find myself adoring the other dancers, and bond with them. Some contact when you are looking for it, mostly not. No ability required- just listening. A bit tecno heavy at times. The space is wonderful. Come as you are, enjoy! (I'm 54- average age looks to be about 30) read more

What is not to love about a huge stunning historical ballroom taken over by hundreds of happy and otherwise feeling bodies expressing themselves every Sunday morning, Wednesday night and now Saturday night. I have been coming here since it first started. We had all crossed our fingers that it would survive and now EBED thrives! Live DJ's affordable massage therapists in the corner, and yummy raw and vegan healthy treats available. Beautiful altars with tarot decks available for anyone to use. And now an upstairs kiddie area with hoola hoops, twister games and supervised crafts. East Bay Ecstatic Dance marked a huge transformation of my personal experience of Oakland, having lived in Downtown Oakland since 1997. Thank you Tyler, Thank you Donna-I hope you get what an impact you have had for Oakland community building. I am extremely grateful. read more

Individual expression through movement without any judgments or limitations. Dance hard, move slow, glide, sway, twirl, roll, jump, or maybe you just want to sit still and breathe. This open space ballroom has beautiful natural light and friendly faces. Go for the full time or just for a bit. It will get your energies flowing. At the risk of sounding hokey, what a magical experience this can be if you embrace what is being offered to you on the most basic levels. Music, Space and Time can be a very cathartic combination in this environment. Do with it what you will. The DJ there is quite good at ever so slowly raising the tempo and the noise level in the ballroom and his music is well chosen. It was my first experience at Sweets in Oakland and it wont be my last. I went with two girlfriends and one of them brought her 4 year old son. We all had a blast. There is an area upstairs where children can play and are watched and they are always welcome on the dance floor. Bring a hand towel for sweat and water to quench your thirst. They provide a small (healthy!) vending table for you as well. There is plenty of street parking and on Sunday its free! $15 for admission. read more

This is my favorite place to dance solo or with people. It's amazing to just let it all out with amazing DJ sets that aren't just playlists! This is dance in the best way! read more

Ecstatic Dance is my weekly gift of play, expression and ceremony all wrapped into one amazing community. The yoga with David Schlussel at 9:30 on Sunday morning is the perfect way to begin, then opening with a circle, then dance dance dance for three hours. We all go to the park afterwards and have a picnic! Every Sunday! I am so grateful for Ecstatic Dance :) read more

Ecstatic Dance is a beautiful container where you are fully supported and encouraged to express yourself through movement. The community gathers in a historic ballroom where music and dance has steeped into the wooden floors. Community of all ages and walks of life come together to dance pray and celebrate life. Come as you are. Always be honoring and consensual by paying close attention to non-verbal cues if someone wants to dance with you or not. read more

It's difficult not to have a good time at Ecstatic Dance. I've only been three times, and each time, I seem to discover something new about myself, and those around me, through free form movement. The prayer and very brief chanting at the end (in a powerful circle) just puts the icing on the cake. It is one vibrant, moving organism on that dance floor--that shifts organically, and I've found myself dancing around, next to, and with people like me, wanting real freedom, and experiencing THAT, without doubt or reservation. I'm hooked. read more

I don't know what I would do without Ecstatic Dance in my life, nor do I know what I ever did without it before! This is exactly what I have been looking for for years! I love being able to go somewhere where I can dress however I want, dance however I like and listen to great DJs without a bunch of drunk people falling all over me. Plus the vibe of the crowd is great, very diverse, but just an overall open, accepting, harmonious group. read more

Walked in for the first time and got yelled at for not signing a release form fast enough. We left.

I'm sooooo disappointed that Ecstatic Dance is no longer at Yoga Tree in the Castro! What happened? It was really convenient to have it at this venue...and really fun and great. I hope they come back! read more

ECSTATIC WALKING ON THE SPOT Dancing is walking on the spot. Joint dancing is like walking that moved human communities all over the planet. Walking and dancing have been essential parts of our existence. In their silence we calm down our rattling minds. It's in that silence that we enter layers of wider contact that we lost in the evolution and while growing into adulthood. Silent walking and silent dancing are returning to the cradle of humanity and the womb of our mothers who walked and danced us into existence. Jointly moving in silence is returning home, the place where we first felt the magic and the divinity of life's inspiration in this world. Magic and divinity are not in heaven, they are heaven - not down here, but up here. That is what we recreate in Ecstatic Dance, home in the essence of life. ~ Peter van der Werff, Amsterdam read more

If you love to dance to great music with lovely warm-hearted people in a supportive environment with positive vibes and a focus on community-cultivation through ecstatic dance (and what sane person doesn't?), then this is the place for you. It certainly is for me. Love it! read more

If you have never been to this place, to dance and move, you have no, NO, idea what ur missing out on....dont worry- it's not a rave, is't not 1015 Folsom....the people are very nice, very authentic....come as you are, do as you wish....plenty of people to connect with, make new friends. beautiful.... read more

Atmosphere is full of open, diverse people. There's places to stretch and sit. It starts out a lot more chill and slowly becomes more packed and more high energy. If you like/love dancing, this place will blow your socks off read more

My favorite Wednesday night groovalicious dance venue and yummy community, with inspiring, rotating djs and dancers of all backgrounds, styles and skill levels. It's a place to sweat, stretch, smile, flirt (with out talking), be healthy ( substance-free), and do moving meditations. I love it! read more

Wonderful space for a whole community to gather and create community around dance! Feel very safe and open - no judgement, all welcome, and everyone counted! read more

I had a lot more fun then I anticipated. Worked up quite a sweat too. Fun times =)

Every night at Ecstatic Dance has a different feel to it. A different dj, a different vibe, a couple new faces... what you can always expect is a warm community of people who come to express themselves through movement and dance. I go to connect with others as well as myself and let loose dancing. It's become a meditation on the dance floor for me and I look forward to my dose every week. Yes please. read more

Awesome venue for dance improv, all styles and abilities...live music, happy people.....3 hours of the best of life

Went there for New Years Celebration and yuck! The doorman was rude and coarse, couldn't find my on-line payment and admitted that he hadn't even been to the website. BTW the site is pretty lame. The venue was closer to a rave than ecstatic dance and the place was seedy. The music was loud and un-inspired. I'm a 5-Rhythms aficionado and I was simply branching out. Oops. I'm staying with 5Rs: it's more refined and organized, the dancers are kinder and the experience is more wholesome. It's a real community. John read more

This is a great place to dance any which way that you want to. It's a highly variable experience. If the dj is really good and the gathering is really into the music, the energy can be really awesome. If the dj or crowd just aren't vibing, then it's okay. It's close to BART which is probably nice for a lot of people. read more

Ecstatic Dance has been my pilgrimage and worship for Sunday mornings and I sometimes dudge another beloved group to make it on Wednesday evenings as well! I love the DJ's, the ball room that never gets too crowded to move at full range, and the altar contributes to the container that feels -uhum ecstatic and sacred, and very inclusive. There is space to go inward and check in with yourself, work out the kinks, and there is opportunity to interact and explore with other fabulous dancers. This is family, this is home! Thanks Donna and Tyler for creating the opportunity for such a wonderful community! read more

As a straight guy, I've always been a bit out of the mainstream, loving dance the way that I do. But I tired of the club scene years ago, and lost interest in taking conventional dance classes as well. For years I could not scratch the itch. Now, through Ecstatic Dance, the people, the music and the venue I am yet again able to enjoy my passion without all the game playing and attitude of popular venues. Speaking of attitude, it's wonderful how everyone is able to mix at Sweets. There are some truly terrific dancers, some not very good, some young, some old, but everyone gets along and supports each other. There's no being judgemental, no standards to meet. It's worth mentioning that Ecstatic Dance occurs at different venues, and each has it's own vibe. The Berkeley one is a bit old and hippy-dippy for my taste. The Sweets one starts slow, but ends up very dynamic. read more

This place rocks!!!!!!!! Great guest DJs and a friendly crowd. The drinks aren't too expensive and I appreciate that! I am definitely a fan.

I've been going to Ecstatic Dance since soon after it began. It's been an event that has provided a beautiful space for reaching in and finding the story going on inside of me. The altars are always breathtaking. The crowd friendly and the dance floor a safe place for expression. I have to admit that in 6 months to a year, I have gone less and less and less. There's a need to return to the "ecstatic" part of ecstatic dance - to return to no talking on the dance floor, to re-enliven the community sharing, to provide truly "ecstatic" music, and to expand on the variety in the pool of djs. Please??!? read more

Being a historically self-conscious dancer, it took me a long time to finally come here but now that I have, I look forward every week. There's a meditation researcher (sorry, I can't remember who at the moment) who said that it's important for people (and their brains) to hang out for a little while in "directionless" time (no thoughts about future or past). Everything about this place helps me do just that. Ecstatic Dance is a moving meditation where I am so grateful to drop in and listen to how my body wants to move while drinking in the beauty of all the people around me doing the same. The safety of the community, the pleasure of moving my body in new creative ways, the amazing music, wordless connection to others...all this feels incredibly healing. A really sweet, satisfying way to spend your Wed night. It's a really wide open space to move which is great. Thank you to those who make this space possible. read more

For me this is the best dance in the area. "the sweat" and "endless waves" (5 rhythms) are a little too structured for me. There are only two rules at ecstatic dance: move how you want and no talking on the dance floor. In other words, "shut up and dance". the Sunday dance is bright, fun, clean and sober. Coming on Wednesday nights it might smell a little more like a party. People can be bold with their 420. I've been coming since the start and it is great to see what Tyler and Donna have been able to create. Sometimes there's live music and at others, really good DJs. But not always. Nothing is perfect and this is close enough for me to keep coming back. Buying a pack of tickets can bring the price down to 10 bucks, or even less. read more

If sensing positive earth vibrations and channeling them into joyous dancing sounds great to you, this may be a good fit. Otherwise, look elsewhere. Also, the DJ's here don't feel the need to make your eardrums bleed. read more