Rites of Dance
Contents
About
Rites of Dance is a pretty saucy-conscious dance event with tribal music mixed with life guitar and ending with sound healing, hosted by DJ Mark Sankhara on the order of once a month down on the Gold Coast and sometimes Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast - usually on a Friday or Saturday. Unlike other events, which are pretty consistent, it's a little harder to predict the frequency of Rites of Dance events, but if you follow their Facebook page for upcoming events you are more likely to catch one.
What:Ecstatic dance-like dance event paired with sound healing at the end ...(and once-a-month Cacao starting 4:30pm usually). When:About once a month in various locations ... follow the Facebook group to see when. Where:Tugun Village Community Centre (Gold Coast) ... or ... Bulimba Community Centre (Brisbane) ... (map) ... and the Gold Coast one. Cost:~$60 online ... a bit less for early bird. What to wear:Suitable dance attire, you'll be bear foot ... see more here. Website:instagram ... (and facebook
What is Rites of Dance
Rites of Dance is Mark's creation. It's slightly similar to Ecstatic Dance but with the unusual variation that he'll encourage photos, as posting is how he promotes his events. People might have mixed feelings about that, but Mark sometimes does do a great little consent piece at the start of his events that warms people up before the dance begins. Mark is also an incredibly talented musician and DJ who knows how to build up anticipation at the start of his events. It's a rare skill in this community, but it speaks to his training as a performer. I also like his raw honesty, like in 2024 when he took an 8-month break from Australia to travel to NZ and recharge his batteries.
What's Different About This Event and Venue
The energy of this event is a little sexier than most of the Brisbane events - he once even suggested that if you fancy someone you should tell them - I suspect this is the Gold Coast influence. Many of my female friends have decided these events are more conscious clubbing than inward journey, and he certainly polarizes people with his unapologetic brash humour - some of them refuse to go anymore - but others love it and he usually has great people who do the sound healing at the end. I like going because I get to let my hair down, as it's not my event!
Sincerely,
Andrew Noske
See Also
- Ecstatic Dance - Brisbane... Adrian's incredible event which is ~every 2 weeks in Brisbane.
- Ecstatic Dance... lots of info about this genre of dance.
- Brisbane Conscious Dance Calendar... should have all the dates for this event (ping me if outdated).
- 5Rhythms Dance - Brisbane... another great dance event, this one on select Fridays.
Links
- Ecstatic Dance Australia (Brisbane)... all the info for the Brisbane event.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Susanna for being the first person to tell me about this event... and to Mark for wearing his heart on his sleeve... for being refreshingly blunt/honest about what works well and not in his performances. |
