Full Catastrophe Dancing

What do you do after everything you’ve been working on falls apart? 

Do you dance?

At the end of movie Zorba the Greek, Zorba and his uptight scholarly friend have just seen their business venture literally go up in flames. As he has throughout the story, Zorba copes with his losses through celebration and dance. 

The scholarly one has resisted dancing the whole time. But with this defeat, and the temptation to fall into utter despair, he finally asks Zorba how to dance.  

Their iconic dance at the end of the movie represents dancing with life. 

Zorba models dancing in the eye of the storm, never weighed down for long, never ultimately beaten down by the world or his own mistakes. 

Famously Zorba describes his life as the “full catastrophe.”

As Jon Kabat-Zinn writes in his book, Full Catastrophe Living,

"Catastrophe here does not mean disaster. Rather it means the poignant enormity of our life experience. It includes crises and disaster but also all the little things that go wrong and that add up. The phrase reminds us that life is always in flux, that everything we think is permanent is actually only temporary and constantly changing. This includes our ideas, our opinions, our relationships, our jobs, our possessions, our creations, our bodies, everything.”

Do you need a little help dancing with the catastrophes around you?

Affirming life in the midst of hardship is a theme running through many of the dances from the Balkans, Greece, and Asia Minor.

This March, I’m shaking things up by also teaching Zorba’s dance.  

I always say, if you can dance it, you can live it.

Let’s dance Zorba’s ease with the full catastrophe of life and may you live it, too!

Big love,

Emily

Earth Day Celebration

A one-of-a-kind dance experience with live music traveling along the Mississippi River to bless the beginning of the growing season, honor the water, pray for peace and spread joy.

No experience necessary. All genders and cultures interested in this tradition are welcome.

Sunday, April 27, 1:00 - 4:00 PM

Free (please register for weather related updates and planning purposes)