Do you want to become an Embodied Dance Facilitator? Learn the art of embodiment and develop somatically based skills to confidently guide others into a deeper connection with their bodies, experiences, and communities through the transformative power of dance.

Have you ever attended a conscious dance event and wondered how such a powerful and cohesive feeling of community is created? This potent group field is, in large part, due to the somatic skills of an embodied facilitator. Whether called a "Ceremony Leader," "Space Holder," or "Dance Facilitator," the role is the same: guide dancers, in an embodied way, into a dance journey, stay present with them throughout, and help guide them back out by grounding and integrating the experience.

 Why take the DTM Dance Facilitator Training? This training is a journey of self-embodiment and skill development, designed to help you step confidently into the role of a dance facilitator. In our vibrant learning community, you’ll integrate proven somatic tools and embodiment techniques with your existing skill set, all in an atmosphere of fun, support, and collaboration. Your team will include facilitators from diverse modalities and backgrounds—whether you’re a dancer, DJ, psychologist, yoga teacher, breathwork instructor, or wellness professional, you’ll leave with the tools to guide transformative dance experiences. Our goal is for you to feel confident incorporating dance into your offerings in a way that liberates and connects people through movement.

This Training is ideal for...

• Passionate dancers eager to deepen their involvement in conscious/ecstatic dance.
• Conscious/ecstatic dance event organizers seeking to enhance participants' experiences.
• Conscious/ecstatic DJs who want to facilitate their own DJ sets.
• Therapists & psychologists looking to integrate movement-based practices with clients.
• Leaders & professionals who want to confidently guide others through dance.
• Wellness professionals looking to deepen their connection to embodiment & dance.
• Experienced dance facilitators seeking to expand their skills & find fresh inspiration.

If the above does not describe you or your situation but you want to train with DTM as a Dance Facilitator consider either our Self-Led Dance Facilitator Training or our Online Dance Facilitator Training

If you are a graduate and want to continue your education with our Level 02 Dance Facilitator Training, you can find the application here. Please contact info@dancethemedicine.com if you have any questions.
 

PRE-RECORDED TRAINING MODULES (online, at your own pace)

✤ Module 01 • EMBODIMENT

→ Explore the science of dance/movement and its intersection with the body-mind connection 

→ Learn why dance and music are so effective at creating meaningful community experiences and how to harness this potential

→ Uncover your unique leadership skill-set and create a plan to incorporate somatic methods and embodiment techniques.

✤ Module 02 • CONTAINMENT

→ Explore the role of facilitator; from the moment they walk into a venue until they walk back out again 

→ Move from the theoretical into the practical; discussing what is necessary to contain the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual dance space in real, tangible ways

→ No-nonsense methods to deal with the everyday joys and struggles which are common in conscious dances (e.g. how to encourage people to remain non-verbal)

✤ Module 03 • HOMEBASE 

→ Explore the foundational role of facilitation, which is to hold a reverent opening and closing, while steering the collective experience during the dance journey.

→ Tangible skills to stay grounded and present even when things don’t go as planned.

→ Practical ways to prepare your facilitation ideas and create timelines 

7-DAY IN-PERSON TRAINING  (in Ireland, October 12-18) 

✤ Module 04 • BODY EXPLORATION

→ Introduction to DTM's 5 Pathways

→ Diving into Body Exploration, the most straightforward of the pathways

→ Ways to explicitly draw attention to body parts, movements, sensations, and impulses. AKA "getting dancers into the body".

✤ Module 05 • PSYCHO-SOMATIC EXPLORATION

→ Explore the second pathway, integrating body and mind by embodying emotions and key themes through dance.

→ Using shared human experiences to encourage connection, coherence, and community

→ Linking emotions to sensations, postures and movements—the foundation of embodiment

✤ Module 06 • VISUALISATION

→ Tapping into the realm of imagination to move beyond time, space, and abilities 

→ Visualization techniques that encourage dancers to translate their visions into expressive physical movement 

→ Facilitation that ignites imagination, while leaving space for dancers to fill in the blanks 

✤ Module 07 • SOCIAL ACTIVATION

→ Explore social activation, its vital role in collective action and the universal need for human connection

→ The comfortable and uncomfortable aspects of social activation, acknowledging the need for both in a healthy community.

→ Facilitators as community leaders to encourage non-political community action

✤ Module 08 • RITUALISATION

→ Demystifying the base meaning of the word "ritual" and applying it to the act of facilitation 

→ Using gestures, words, actions, and/or objects within sequences to create meaningful experiences and connection between community members → Getting real, and learning to ritualize without religious, dogma or cultural appropriation

✤ Module 09 • INTEGRATION 01 

→ Integrate learnings from the six days in Ireland

→ Review in-person experience, extract foundational principles, and receive post-training assignment  

→ Graduation ceremony

POST-TRAINING SESSION (Online via Zoom)

✤ Module 10 • INTEGRATION 02 • Wed, Oct 29, 2025

→ A check in on how your integration process is going

→ Ask any follow-up questions since the end of your training

→ Get a clear overview of what Level 02 involves & decide if it's the next step for you

Time to Celebrate — you’ve completed Level 01! 🎉

✤ BERNICE RAABIS • Founder of Dance The Medicine

Having begun humbly in the Kootenay Mountains of Western Canada, Bernice is now a respected mentor for Conscious Dance Leaders across the globe. Her journey started with hosting Dance Church for over ten years, where she harnessed her expertise from training in various disciplines, including Soul Motion, Movement Based Expressive Therapy (The Life Art Process), and Relational Somatic Therapy. These were brought together to nurture her local multi-generational dance community, which flourished and surpassed even her most ambitious expectations.

In 2016, she stretched her wings co-founding Ecstatic Dance International, facilitating successful leadership trainings in the US, the Netherlands, Guatemala, and Portugal. Driven to incorporate DJ and dance facilitation skills into available trainings, she used the name of her unique practice, and founded Dance The Medicine, a collective of accomplished conscious dance professionals determined to infect the world with dance. 

While Bernice loves DJing and creating transformative events, her deepest fulfilment comes from facilitating deep somatic processes using a combination of dance, art, and ritual; to help dancers find freedom through connection to self, community, and humanity. 

✤ ALEX SEVILLA • Resident DJ @ Ecstatic Dance Madrid & Co-teacher @ DTM DJ Training 

After more than two decades behind the decks as club DJ, Alex stumbled upon conscious dance. This encounter reshaped not only his personal life but also his profession. He soon traded in his career as a computer engineer to become a conscious dance entrepreneur, sharing his passion for dance, music, and consciousness with the world. Stepping into his new life, to become a resident DJ at Templo del Baile, a monthly conscious club in his hometown Madrid, regularly attended by over 200 dancers. Two years later, an invitation to play Ecstatic Dance Madrid, enabled him to take his sets to the next level.

During the pandemic, it became Alex’ mission to help the worldwide Ecstatic Dance community by navigating the technical challenges of live-streaming dance and music events as we all struggled to fulfil our need to dance during lockdown. Post-restrictions, he facilitated in-person dancing again by offering donation-based sessions in the streets of Spain, giving birth to a monthly gathering known as La Plaga del Baile (The Plague of Dance) In May 2020, Dance The Medicine recognized Alex’ talent and generous nature recruiting him as a teacher and tech guru during their first Ecstatic DJ Conference. He has been with us ever since, lucky DTM!

✤ ÉADAOIN NÍ CHALLARÁIN • Dance Facilitator & Conscious DJ

Éadaoin, hailing from the scenic West coast of Ireland, ventured into the realm of DTM, driven by her passion for dance and a desire to enhance the musical experience for dancers in her Open Floor classes, a venture she embarked on in 2017. This journey not only met her initial aspirations but unfolded into much more. Being a part of DTM has enveloped her in an incredibly supportive community, sparking continual inspiration to delve deeper into the art of DJing and nurturing conscious dance spaces, fuelling cycles of learning, loving, and growth

.

Her journey as a movement junkie began at the dawn of the millennium, propelling her to explore various corners of the globe in pursuit of her passion. Her exploration included engaging with 5 Rhythms under the guidance of Gabrielle Roth and Caitriona Nic Ghiollaphadraig, Open Floor with Andrea Juhan among others, Amerta with Suprapto, Move into Life with Sandra Reeve, Ecstatic Dance with Bernice Raabis, and more. These experiences have been her source of medicine, joy, and motivation.

Éadaoin is thrilled to welcome DTM to Ireland, knowing it will not only further ignite the conscious dance community within the country but also attract those from abroad, inspired by the training. She believes Ireland's enchanting landscape plays its own tune, compelling everyone to dance. "The Land sings here...you can't help but dance.” She foresees the transformative impact DTM will have on the dance community. It’s going to be a great time and amazing training experience!

"The Beginners DJ School not only fulfilled my dream of being a DJ, but it allowed me to develop and create my own music/dance medicine flavour for the world to experience. I'm so excited about what is ahead for me, and I know that I am in good hands: the people I met are so incredible, we will forever be connected and follow each other's journey, and that in itself is a gift!"  → Maïté Azarov • San Francisco, USA

"Overall, it went beyond my expectations. I thought I would just learn how to be a DJ. But I found a community, support, and courage to be strong, daring and me! This training gave me balance in my daily life, allowing me to incorporate music, dance and DJ sessions. I improved fast and am shocked at where I am today: having released a first set. Now I am thrilled and scared to be on my own for my DJ journey, even though I feel the support still present from DTM and the whole group. So much advice on “do it your own way” “get inspired by others but remain yourself” “just do it!” “Some might criticize or judge, but they are not doing it, you are!” still resonates and allows me to feel that I can do it and that my music is worth being heard and dancing to! I don’t have to be the perfect expert or the greatest musician to be allowed to create sets and share them with people willing to dance to it. I am thankful for the diversity in our group, of age, gender, race and styles, countries and cultures. It was so great to meet all those people, not even knowing what job they might have, but knowing what music they dance to!"

→ Héloïse Ferber • Bagnolet, France 

“This school was amazingly well-thought-out and put together. A great balance of learning technique, theory, and practicing. The 1-on-1 time with experienced DJs was also extremely helpful. I ended this school experience feeling like my time and money was well-invested!” 

→ Stephen Wieber • USA

Rockfield House, nestled near Kells and just a stone's throw from Dublin, is a breathtaking nine-bay, three-storey mansion that radiates both elegance and tranquillity. Surrounded by charming stone courtyards and a three-acre walled garden, this exquisite estate offers a serene escape just moments from the bustle of city life. Imagine learning to facilitate dance in Downton Abbey!

The enchanting accommodation hosts guests in uniquely themed bedrooms—a cozy haven of rustic elegance, featuring plush beds and large windows that frame the stunning landscape. Here, modern comforts meet historic architecture, with luxurious ensuites that include copper baths and chic rain showers.

This venue is beyond description and full of surprises. Wander through manicured gardens bursting with vibrant flowers and native plants, collect fresh eggs, meet Fred and Ted the resident peacocks, and relax and rejuvenate in the sauna and cold plunge. More than just a place to stay, Rockfield House offers a playful Irish experience where history, comfort, and nature dance together.

We offer a variety of accommodation options—from Private Rooms with Private Bath to Quad Rooms with Shared Bath—so there’s something to suit every budget. 

Address:
Rockfield House, Kells, Co. Meath, A82 V9D5
https://maps.app.goo.gl/yD7v7hsMT7itFDd59

Contact Number: 046 9434 135

Closest Airport

The nearest airport is Dublin Airport, just under an hour’s drive from Rockfield House. Most people arriving from abroad will find this the easiest route.

By Bus (Recommended) 

A fairly straightforward and most affordable option. Kells town is located only 3 km from Rockfield House

• 109x Express – the quickest option from Dublin City
  
  

• 109 Regular – slower, with more stops along the way

• 109a – runs hourly from Dublin Airport to Kells town

If you take the 109x or the 109a you will be dropped in Kells town and will need to take a taxi.

Local Kells Taxi numbers are :

• +353 87 967 4334

• +353 86 876 5917

For bus schedules and fares, visit www.buseireann.ie.

By Car

Driving is very straightforward and gives you the most flexibility.

• From Dublin Airport, it’s about 50 minutes.
  
  

• From Dublin City, take the M3 motorway to Kells. Exit at Kells North (Exit 11).
  
  

  • At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit toward Kells.
    
    

  • Follow the R941 for about 1 km and turn right at the T-junction (R164).
    
    

  • Drive 1.8 km, cross the M3, and you’ll see Rockfield House as the first gateway on the right.
    
    

• From Kells town centre, take the Athboy Road, cross the M3, and again it’s the first gateway on the right.
  
  

By Taxi

If you’d like to take a taxi straight to Rockfield House, it’s best to book 24–48 hours in advance. A reliable local option is Magees Cabs:

• +353 87 967 4334
  
  

• +353 86 876 5917
  
  

If you’re traveling with other trainees, consider coordinating in the DTM WhatsApp group to share rides and split costs.

By Train

There isn’t a direct train to Kells. The closest train stations are Navan or Drogheda, which you can reach from Dublin Heuston or Connolly. From either station, you’ll need to continue by bus or taxi to get to Kells. It’s not the most direct option, but it can work if you prefer trains.

✤ ARRIVAL

On Sunday, October 12th between arrival is between 15:00 and 17:00 to allow time to check in, explore the grounds and settle in before we start. 

✤ DEPARTURE

On Saturday, October 18th check out will be after lunch so we can share one last meal together before we all depart around 13:00. 

✤ WHAT TO BRING

→ Clothing & items

- Headlamp or head torch to walk around at night

- Clothing suitable for dancing (we’ll dance numerous times a day, both inside and outside)

- Clothing suitable to bring outside
- Bring layers. It can get cold at night!

- Comfortable and appropriate outdoor shoes to walk/dance outside (lots of nature to explore)

- Dress up for a fun night; not fancy, just fun. Bring something if you enjoy dressing up.

 → Swimsuit for the pool and the lake 

- Towel!

→ Other

- Toiletries 

- Talisman (or sacred item) for the community altar

- Pens and markers

- Ear plugs (if sharing accommodation)

✤ PAYMENT

A non-refundable deposit is required to book and secure your place. Balance due 15 days before the retreat starts. Please carefully read our Retreat Terms & Conditions as by booking on our retreat, you become legally bound by these terms.

→ I'm coming from abroad. Do we need a visa to enter Ireland? 

No! But to be sure, check with your own government and check your specific requirements. 

→ Can I come on my own? Absolutely! Most of our participants actually come on their own, and many do not know anyone else who is coming. This training is inclusive, and we strive to create a culture of belonging. The program is designed to facilitate connections between one another with ice-breakers, group exercises and a daily sharing circle in small groups.

→ Will I receive a certification? Yes! Those taking the training live via Zoom or in person will be certified as completing our Level 01 Dance Facilitator Training and receive a certificate upon request.  While we offer a Level 02 and 03 these are continuing education opportunities and you have no need to complete them to be certified. 

→ What's your cancellation & refund policy? In case of cancellation from your side, we don't offer any refunds, regardless of the reason. We require a minimum of 15 sign-ups to go ahead with in-person events. We will issue you a full refund if we do not hit this number. Please make sure to insure any travel ticket as DTM can not be responsible for cancellation fees on travel. 

→ If I can no longer make it, can I transfer my booking to someone?

If you transfer your booking to someone else, there's a €50 admin fee. If the training is full, and you want us to sell your spot, we'll keep your deposit and refund the balance only if we find a full-paying replacement. 

→ What are the payment requirements and do you have payment plans?

A non-refundable deposit is required to book and secure your place. Balance due 15 days before the retreat starts.  Please carefully read our Retreat Terms & Conditions, as by booking onto the training, you become legally bound by these terms. We offer flexible payments plans, please inquire with info@dancethemedicine.com

→ I'm not sure which path is right for me. Can you please advise me? 

Absolutely! Simply send us a message here on WeTravel or email us at info@dancethemedicine.com

 We begin each day with a Morning Movement practice, using a blend of multi-genre and slower tracks to gently awaken the body. This practice is designed to teach embodiment techniques, and it forms an integral part of the curriculum. It's a time to embody the principles we aim to teach, allowing you to ground yourself in your body to prepare for the day of learning ahead. 

 You'll enjoy a hearty breakfast to replenish your energy and fuel you for the day ahead. All meals are freshly prepared with organic and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Breakfast will be shared with your small group, providing a chance to connect and start the day together. 

 A 3-hour session divided into three parts: a dance facilitated in the style of one of the 5 Pathways, followed by time for reflection and ending with a small group session to share insights and deepen understanding.  

 We keep the midday meal light and healthy to maintain our energy levels (no food comas!) and ensure we're not too full, so we can stay focused and engaged for the rest of the day. 

 In this 2.5-hour session, we transition from being dance participants to stepping into the role of dance facilitators. We pull back the curtain on the earlier session, making explicit the "why" and "how" behind the practices and activities. You'll also have time to begin working on your module assignment, engaging in discussions with your cohorts and teachers to gain deeper insight and support. 

 We'll enjoy a robust, nourishing, and delicious dinner to refuel after a day full of learning, all while basking in each other's company and the shared sense of accomplishment as we move closer to our goal of becoming skilled dance facilitators. 

 Each evening, a different member of the DTM team will lead a facilitation and dance session. One of the key goals of this training is to expose you to a range of facilitators, each bringing their unique experience and approach from various modalities. We recognize that you're dancing a lot during the day, so these evening sessions are completely optional. If you choose to attend, you can participate in what we call the "tiny dance"—a way of being present in the space, observing, and contributing to the energy, while allowing your body to rest if needed.