Contact Improvisation
Earthdance
is an arts, dance, & movement organization and retreat center in Western Massachusetts, on unceded, ancestral Nipmuck, Pocumtuc and Wabanaki Confederacy Land. Earthdance welcomes guests from around the world to engage in events that center movement and embodied practice, Contact Improvisation, and collaborative art making.
The staff and board of directors are committed to an organizational culture that values interdisciplinary collaboration, improvisational community building, and ongoing devotion to equity, access and direct response to the realities of a greater socio-cultural landscape.
Earthdance is dedicated to building awareness of sustainable living and community building; in addition to arts-focused programming, the facility is available for partnerships with other organizations, institutions, festivals, and rentals that align with Earthdance’s values and culture.
Classes & Workshops
Contact Improvisation
Artist Residencies & Retreats
Community
Earthdance Events
For more events see the full calendar >
Spring Jam! Guest Facilitator Brandon Gonzalez & hosts Meta Bobbe and Anya Smolnikova – REGISTER NOW!
April 3rd - 6th, 2025
The Weight of our Unfolding New buds in spring are tender, full of potential yet vulnerable, to the elements and to the weight of their own unfolding. They emerge from the stillness of winter, delicate yet determined, stretching toward warmth. Like these buds, we will attune to the delicate rhythm...
Contact Improvisation & Somatic Approaches Applied Therapeutically with Aaron Brandes and Gabrielle Revlock – REGISTER NOW!
April 10th - 13th, 2025
This workshop delves into the therapeutic potential of Contact Improvisation (CI), Authentic Movement (AM), and Restorative Contact (RC), as well as other somatic practices, demonstrating how their principles can enhance somatic intelligence, attunement, and co-regulation.
Skimming the Surface: A Movement Healing Retreat with Valerie Green – REGISTER NOW!
May 2nd - 4th, 2025
“Skimming the Surface” Movement Healing Retreat will support adults that may be overcoming diverse forms of stress and trauma through somatic based expressive movement exercises. These workshops will help participants release blocked and repressed energy causing stress or discomfort in one’s life by integrating movement, feelings, and emotions.
Being With: The Axis Syllabus with Claire Turner Reid and Kerwin Barrington – REGISTER NOW!
May 15th - 19th, 2025
Our movement investigations will bring us through varied terrain of inquiry: bridging instinctive, intuitive, and intellectual ways of being with. How can we orient towards intimacy and interconnectivity for the long-game of our moving lives?
Second Sunday Jam
2nd Sunday of the Month: Potluck at 5pm, Class at 6:15pm, Jam at 7:30pm
Bring your movement gifts to share along with a yummy dish to nom on after class. Let's commune and practice during our sweet jam. And, relax together in the sauna while we rest our bones. Registration not required.
A-Frame Tiny House Design Workshop with Permatours
Thursday, March 20th, 6-8pm & Thursday, March 27th, 6-8pm
Join us for an inspiring journey into tiny house design! In this online design workshop, you’ll learn the entire process—from brainstorming ideas and exploring design alternatives to drawing scaled plans and estimating materials and costs. We’ll also briefly introduce the use of drafting software. Using two simple A-frame structures planned...
For more events see the full calendar >
Independent Events
Grieving Ourselves Whole: Exploration of Grief Through Embodiment, Song, and Ritual with Chaya Leia Aronson and Kaitlyn Cronin
Thursday, February 27th - Sunday, March 2nd, 2025
We invite you to join us for three days and nights of tending the sacred waters of our e-motions, through ritual, movement, and song. We gather at Earthdance, a beloved place to many and has become home to a lineage of ever-evolving grief work.
For more events see the full calendar >
More Ways to be Here
Host Your Event
With a unique combination of mixed-used indoor & outdoor facilities, Earthdance provides an ideal setting for workshops, conferences, weddings, and special events that seek a combination of focus, celebration, and intimate connection.
Private Retreats: Earthdance is a beautiful and inspiring place to rest & retreat.
Mineral Collecting: Visit the old Betts Mine site to look for minerals.
Experiences
The Value of Earthdance
A relaxing and rigorous environment, that values the pace of the body and the richness of the soul.
Lila H.
What I Learned
Inspired by a community of teachers dedicated to seeking the moving and sublime truths of existence I learned to call on my name as Artist and Dancer.
Michelle L.
Why I Donate
Earthdance is a gem in the firmament! It holds space for deep exploration of one’s current investigation and supports our light spirit as well.
Ted J.
I Love
Part of my joy is just knowing that it’s here, even if I don’t use it as much as I would like. It’s like a local home of the larger dance community. A place to meet and re-meet friends. A place to get physical contact in times when that’s missing from my life – a connection. A place to express emotion. A place I’m proud to introduce people to as a physical center for my community of people. It allows people to have a place for the stream of community members that come and go through out lives. A place of nurturing – be it food, touch, talk, dance.
Anonymous.