Ecstatic Dance in a self-experiment Dancing yourself into a trance - but the saboteur is always there
Ecstatic dance is offered every two weeks in Zurich. The evenings are fully booked. Ecstatic dance promises freedom through movement, but does it really succeed in switching off your mind? A self-experiment.
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- In Zurich, an Ecstatic Dance event takes place every two weeks at various locations. The evenings are often sold out, with around 120 fans coming together to dance. More information at ecstaticdance.ch. Admission costs 31 francs.
- Dancing takes place without drugs, words or distractions.
- The self-experiment shows: despite the free atmosphere, I find it difficult to switch off my head and fully immerse myself in the music.
The streetcars glide quietly in front of St. Jakob's Reformed Church on Stauffacher. It's a bitterly cold Thursday evening in February 2025, but an ideal day for this self-experiment in ecstatic dance. Once a month, a dance meeting takes place in the open city church in Zurich's Kreis 4 district.
The idea is simple - to dance yourself into a trance with others in a group, without drugs or alcohol. But there is one big problem for me: my enemy, who is always there, my head. That independent being that compiles to-do lists at the strangest times and occasions and reminds me to send emails or reply to WhatsApp messages.
"Welcome", I am greeted in English with a French accent. I sign in and scurry into the side wing, where around five people are getting ready. Some of them are changing. Away with the day's clothes, over to casual attire - to take the edge off the day, so to speak. Some stand there as if they are going jogging, others are wearing batik pants or flowing dresses. There is no discernible stereotype.
The lights are already dimmed in the front of the church, and those who want to are given a fragrant smoke shower to start off with when they enter. Does it smell of Palo Santo? The kind of wood that is often burned in yoga studios? I can't say for sure. But it smells good.
A handful of visitors are warming up - as if for a dance class at the gym. Others lie on the floor and take in the room and the atmosphere. There is no talking.
The room slowly fills up and the lights dim even more. Johanna Köb does the warm-up. The organizer of the evening and founder of Ecstatic Dance Swiss makes us move and dance through the building - in English. We should simply have fun, let ourselves go and be completely with ourselves. When we collide with others while dancing, smile, move on and stay smooth.
She welcomes us to this experience. The DJ is a well-known name in the scene, which was initially based in Amsterdam in Europe. And Johanna greets her old acquaintance. One visitor is a veteran.
The rules are briefly enumerated and a candle ritual for the beginning of spring is intoned - if I have understood correctly, because it echoes strongly in the church bow. There are more candles at the front of the pulpit, waiting to be lit. As a ritual, simply because of the light? Everyone decides for themselves. Everything can, nothing has to and there is no right or wrong, which is unusual for me in this day and age. I let the message sink in.
My maxim for the experience: absorb everything, don't make any prejudices. The word esoteric flashes briefly in my head.
Johanna wishes us a wonderful experience - and off we go to the now well-filled Reformed City Church.
Dance yourself free - not so easy
The first sounds of DJ Iradi are upbeat and light. I let myself drift, move to the music and keep my socks on. Pretty fresh for a Gfrörli in this large room. At home, I often dance to myself for hours - here, surrounded by other people, I find it difficult to switch off for a while. I look around me and let the dance rhythms and moves around me inspire me. I order my head to switch off. And for the time being, I can't find the off button. I'm too absorbed in observing everything around me.
Just dance - the guidelines:
- Everyone is welcome, no prior knowledge is required. Enjoying dancing and experimenting is an advantage. It is a form-free dance.
- The atmosphere is free of prejudice or judgment.
- Cell phones are not allowed. There is no talking.
- Alcohol and drugs are taboo.
- It is recommended to dance barefoot.
- You can dance alone, in pairs or in a group - whatever feels right for you.
I force myself to keep moving, to let the music guide me - and change position, I am drawn to the center of the room. Different people, different energy, different rhythm.
DJ Iradi's set is sometimes spherical, sometimes whipping, sometimes as light as a summer rain. Sometimes people clap, sometimes Iradi is cheered on with shouts of Zaghrouta - like at an Arab wedding.
After what feels like an hour - it's hard to tell without a cell phone - I start to feel warm. I take off my sweater and socks. It's better to dance barefoot.
The hall has filled up, with around 120 dancers. People dance around each other, cross paths. My comfort zone around me remains intact and respected. At one point, I brush against a dancer with my arm. We look at each other briefly, smile - done.
My head is immobilized, but not completely switched off. It feels unusual not to have to do anything, to be able to do everything. My thoughts wander, carried away by the music. Sometimes far away into the past, then back here again.
I completely lose track of time. Have I been dancing for an hour? Two? I can't tell - and that's a good thing.
Hunger and a spike in my foot drive me home
My stomach keeps growling. I only ate a snack before the start so that I wouldn't have to dance with a full stomach. That's taking its revenge now. I would have liked to stay longer, there is supposed to be a closing circle at the end.
But my hunger and a spike in my foot drive me home, out into the cold. The spike later turns out to be a false alarm.
At the bus stop, I bump into my old boss by chance. I tell him about the Ecstatic Dance. The words gush out of me. I'm feeling tired, in a good mood, satisfied.
Nevertheless, I felt like a satellite in the room - detached, focused on myself and observing, but also introverted. I felt at ease, like a molecule that docks and attaches itself, but doesn't fully immerse itself in the substance.
Another attempt?
Too cerebral to glide through the evening completely detached? Perhaps. I didn't experience the ecstatic climax today. It wasn't too esoteric for me - as I feared at the beginning. Would I be able to get completely into the flow if I tried again?
A difficult, hypothetical question. I was able to calm my number one enemy, my head, for the most part. My body feels light, my head hasn't made a to-do list today. That's a promising start.
Will I go to another evening to be intoxicated by the music? That's very likely. But next time I'll strip off my day clothes - and leave the office and everyday life in the changing room.
