Manarva ∞§∞ Dance

Manarva Fundraiser Dance
DJ Manarva

here you can buy tickets and/or donate to help fund the completion of the debut Manarva album
 

SCHUDLE

19:00: doors open: cacao, tea, warmup on the dance floor with gentle music

19:30: circle, ecstatic dance

21:15: closing circle, tea, chill

Lucy will be serving her delicious cacao as usual!

MANARVA ALBUM

this dance is to raise funds to complete  an album of original music that I have been working on for 2 years (listen to first track here): 

the sound  journeys I have made in this time have been instrumental in influencing and shaping my original music, so it feels fitting to hold this dance before going underground to finish the album

if you've enjoyed and appreciated the dances and sound journeys I have made over the past 2 years and would like to donate to help finish this project, any contribution is most welcome and appreciated

a lot of work has gone into each sound journey and I'm humbled that these dances have been a part of keeping me  afloat during this endeavour!

if the ticket price  is unaffordable please get in touch, we can often use an extra hand setting up or packing down

to read more about the album creation visit here

ECSTATIC DANCE

ecstasy (from Ancient Greek ἔκστασις ékstasis) is a subjective experience of total involvement of the subject, with an object of his or her awareness

in classical Greek literature it meant the removal of the mind or body "from its normal place of function"

ecstatic dance is a liberating, alcohol-free experience where there are no expectations—only pure, unbridled self-expression

come as you are, move as you feel

as the DJ weaves a tapestry of eclectic beats, soulful melodies and deep  bass, we let the dance emerge as it may...

no shoes

no alcohol

event image: Nikhil Kirsh

if enough contact improv folks want to come we could have a CI jam before the dance, contact me if you're interested

PREVIOUS MIXES

Manarva
mixcloud 1 (journeys 1-10)
mixcloud 2 (journeys 11-20)

my sound journeys tend to be a more edgy flavour than your typical ecstatic dance so do have a listen to previous mixes to see if they are for you or not

VENUE

blackbird/redrose studios / mark bruce company
unit g, vallis mills trading estate, robins ln,  ba11 3dt

frome

this event will be filmed from a zoomed-out time-lapse of the whole space
some photos may be taken of the DJ during the performance 

we will burn some frankincense - if you have sensitivity to this please let us know before the event if possible

​venue capacity: 40

refunds: refunds can be made up until the event sells out, in which case tickets can be directly sold to other people if you can't make it

STAY IN TOUCH

frome dance WhatsApp (announcements only of various frome dances in one place): https://chat.whatsapp.com/Jzpd9FWUwMhCTmb4yhXfxF

manarva WhatsApp (monthly announcements, admin only): https://chat.whatsapp.com/FBEcESXzaQkEwiPtqqgdPr

email list (monthly announcements): https://mailchi.mp/7f84e185aa97/manarva

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manarvamusic/

DJ: Manarva

I have been a musician my whole life and see the infusing of sound into a space as an alchemical practice.

Since I was a child I have spent an inordinary amount of time making mixtapes and sound journeys.

Most of my life has been dedicated to music, whether producing as a singer-songwriter, playing live music for Contact Improv and Ecstatic Dance, or travelling and busking around the UK with a guitar on my back.

That latter journey eventually landed me in Brighton in the late 00's where I discovered dance while living in a building with an empty swimming pool as my own personal dancehall. This new practice unlocked a whole path of liberation in and through my body. I then discovered 5 Rhythms Dance which I became dedicated to as a  practice around Sussex, London and the South-West.

Through hundreds of hours dancing at weekly events and weekend workshops I developed more and more of an intuitive connection to the nature of the 5 rhythms and refined my sense of what creates a sound journey in flow. 

While living in Bristol  years later I became  immersed in the practice of Contact Improvisation and began  playing improvised music for jams. This further informed my attunement to how music creates and affects atmosphere in a roomful of dancers. Whereas live music is improvised note by note, in DJing each song is like a note itself, and I continue to be fascinated by the process of honing a live set toward the sequence of songs and silence that will be the perfect recipe to what a space and its dancers need to be held by at any given time. 

The seasonal time of year  influences what I am drawn to play. Whatever tones or themes are in the air, the events that are impacting our culture also influence the music I choose. I am drawn often to music that is deep and meticulous in its nature. I advocate for having a wild bop and letting it all hang loose, and also encourage the possibility of immersing yourself deeply in the sonic landscape being offered through deep listening to both the body and the music itself. I see music as an alchemical spell, and deep things can happen when we bring our full awareness and attention to the nuance and detail in the music being played.

I am drawn to a wide variety of music. I tend toward deep bass and grit perhaps more than your average Ecstatic Dance. I love the idea of transferring the wild abandon of dance into a space that is infused with a deep conscious intention and cup of hot cocoa in place of the alcohol. I see every aspect of an event as something that can tune us into deeper aspects of ourselves that are ready to come out and play. Sometimes this is a deep prayerful meditation, sometimes a strange and unkempt being that rises up from the swamp. All are welcome. Together we create a space to welcome and explore whatever parts of us are ready to come out and play, and be held by the music that is called in through the curator in service to the dancers in the space.

​

ψυχή + δῆλος

psukhḗ + dêlos

“mind, soul” + “manifest, visible”