NYC Mettā Dance Party
Imagine you are dancing your booty off with other people, radiating love towards yourself, each other, and all beings everywhere, with music that’s specifically created for this purpose. You can feel the room pulsing with love, and you feel happy. Welcome to a Mettā Dance Party.
This event brings together loving-kindness meditation (mettā) and dance. Loving kindness, or mettā, is a meditation technique where you intentionally cultivate positive, happy, loving thoughts and feelings: thoughts of good will towards yourself and others, feelings of happiness, unconditional love, joy, and care.
“The metta dance party was freakin’ wonderful. I found it so fun, and so powerful to come together with the shared intention to both dance and be more loving.”
While you can practice loving kindness in formal seated meditation, you can also practice it while moving your body, dancing to excellent music, in the company of friends, loved ones, and friendly strangers.
The event will begin with an introduction to loving-kindness practice, with a talk and seated guided meditation. From there, we’ll transition into practicing loving kindness while dancing to trance, deep house, and other dance music that’s specifically created for practicing loving-kindness dancing.
Start with Seated Loving-Kindness Practice
Transition to A Rockin’ Metta Dance Party
The Service Guild has hosted several Mettā dance parties in locations including Washington, DC, the Bay Area, and Asheville, North Carolina. To listen to playlists from prior Metta Dance Parties, click here. For more information and background on Metta Dance Parties, check out this blogpost.
Schedule
7:45pm - 8:00pm: Arrival & Settling In
8:00pm - 8:30pm: Talk
8:30pm - 9:00pm: Guided Meditation
9:00pm - 11:00pm: Mettā Dance Party
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I’ve never practiced loving kindness before? No problem! This event will introduce you to the formal practice of loving-kindness, with a talk and guided meditation.
Is this an Ecstatic Dance? No, this is not. While many people outwardly dance similarly to an Ecstatic dance, everyone at a Mettā Dance Party is holding the intention to practice love while they dance. Inwardly, we are sending love to ourselves, our loved ones, and all beings.
What does it cost? This event is offered in the spirit of generosity. It is a pay-what-you-can, by donation event. The suggested donation is $25.
What should I know about this practice space? This event is a devoted time to joyfully cultivate love together. Talking and conversation can be distracting for those that are practicing mettā and cultivating love. If you would like to have a conversation with someone at the event, we ask you to move to a different room, away from the dancing. There will be a dedicated space for doing so and we invite you to cultivate love through connection and conversation there if that feels good!
What should I wear? There are no dress code requirements. We want you to be comfortable, so wear clothes you will be comfortable moving and dancing in!
Who’s hosting this event? This event is led and organized by Tasshin, Bee Eye, and the Love Department of The Service Guild.
What’s the drug and alcohol policy? This will be a drug and alcohol-free event.
Who can come to this event? There are no age requirements or restrictions.
Do I have to sit on meditation cushions? No, we will have chairs available for those that would like to use a chair for the seated portion of the event.
Ticket Price: This event is offered in the spirit of generosity. It is a pay-what-you-can, by donation event. The suggested donation is $25.
Location: Gaia NoMaya, 510 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225