Alixir Dance

A message from Donna Carroll: I have big news to share! Starting November 1st, the Wednesday night Oakland dance will be moving back to its original home at Sweet’s Ballroom.

After a lot of soul searching, I’ve made the decision to let go of leading the Oakland dance and allow others to continue (the team at ecstaticdance org, led by Tyler Blank will take over at Sweet’s Ballroom on both Wednesdays and Sundays). *If you currently attend Alixir Dance in Oakland and want to know the details of this transition, head to the bottom of this message.

I’ve been on such an incredible journey with you all over the years. I’m so grateful for the ways in which you’ve shown up, pumping so much love into the dance, supporting the dance and creating so much magic week after week in Oakland! I am truly humbled to have been a part of it—dancing with you all and leading the ecstatic dances have shaped who I am as a person, how I’ve grown and healed, and who I’m becoming. At the same time, I’ve witnessed so many of you grow and heal over the years, too!

Have you ever had a turning point in your life where what you’ve always done somehow doesn’t fit into who you are becoming? This is the turning point for me. After 15 years of leading ecstatic dances, I’m moving in a different direction. Deeply inspired by Tamalpa cofounder Anna Halprin and the way she wove the thread of dance into her life in different ways as she grew, dance is my life’s throughline as well. I’m excited to share where I’m moving now with Alixir Dance.

For the past six months, I’ve been working with adults facing addiction and mental health challenges as a certified trauma-sensitive HeartMath practitioner at Embodied Recovery. The team is committed to creating lasting healing through embodiment. Their innovative programming includes Sundo (a Taoist form of yoga), Empowered Living Teaching Series, Healing through Creativity, Inner Child Inner Voice and EcoTherapy along with 1 on 1 and group therapy. I’m working with Wren LaFeet (of Cocrea) there to develop a healing dance therapy program based on the Tamalpa Life/Art Process where I’m training to become a somatic movement therapist, as well as our combined 35 years as dance leaders. If you or your loved ones are struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues and could use support, this program is an outstanding resource and truly life-changing.

In working to create lasting healing through the principles of becoming, belonging, and beyond, I’m building Alixir Dance to be a hub of embodied transformation through guided facilitation. I’m currently teaching Alixir Embodiment Lab on Monday nights in Mountain View, informed by my work with my teachers Andrea Juhan of Open Floor International, Daria Halpbern of Tamalpa Institute, and Jenny Sauer Klein of AcroYoga. An essential element in Alixir Dance is expert guidance, and I’m proud to bring master teachers to Mountain View, including Andrea Juhan of Open Floor, Rachel Jordana of 5Rhythms, and Wren LaFeet of Cocrea partner dance. Starting in the new year, I’ll be bringing even more to Mountain View with a monthly Saturday morning dance and picnic. I’m also working on bringing you more in-depth workshops in the Bay Area in 2024!

Feel free to reach out with any questions, thoughts, ideas, or for any other reason you feel called!

With all my love and dedication,
Donna

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*If you’re an attendee of Alixir Dance in Oakland, here’s what you can expect in the next two months:

---We continue dancing every Wednesday night at 200 Grand Avenue. The last dance at that location will be October 25th, which will be a going away party for me as a way of saying goodbye. I hope to see you there!
---We have stopped selling passes online. If you still have unused passes, you will be given physical passes you can use at Sweet’s Ballroom. You can collect them in person any Wednesday night on or before October 25th. If you do not collect your passes, we will send the hard copies to you in the mail.
---In person drop-in at the door is still available (cash, card, venmo, apple pay, android pay all accepted).