How do local DANCE groups work?
Local community DANCE groups offer an opportunity for people concerned about climate change to regularly meet and reflect, share and process news or stories that they may be finding challenging, difficult or disturbing, and for those feelings to be held and listened to without being judged or ‘fixed’. Usually framed with a period of stillness and silence, the group itself decides how they want to work together, and belong to all. As well as acknowledging the inner response the groups may also choose to work together on outward actions such as local campaigns to bring about positive change.
Previous/ongoing projects include:
Earth vigils: all night meditations to raise funds for local community projects
iPledge bike rides: pilgrimage across the Southwest UK to express deep care and connection with land and each other
Divestment campaigns: launching local fossil-free campaigns to target city councils to disinvest from fossil fuels
Arts activism: bringing meditation and silent protest against oil sponsorship of arts and culture institutions
Finding a local group
DANCE groups in the UK
Bristol
We came together after a film screening of 350.org’s “Do the Math” in autumn 2013. We have organized several actions locally and some members of our group co-founded Fossil Free Bristol. We are a small group of people drawn from diverse meditation traditions, including the Western Insight tradition linked with Gaia House, the White Cloud Sangha which follows Thich Naht Han’s tradition, several Yoga traditions, and some of us also have a Quaker and Christian background. We enjoy exploring how inner process and outer action mutually support each other, and we are currently meeting every month or two to practice meditation and share and plan actions.
Events we have organized so far include an all night vigil to raise awareness of global issues and support the charity Tree Aid, a ‘pop up’ meditation with a banner drop during the Somerset levels flooding in 2014, a film screening of ‘Wisdom to Survive’ as part of Bristol’s Big Green Week last year, and a multi faith “Light for Lima” vigil outside Bristol council house and cathedral. We also enjoy collaborating with other DANCE groups and national actions.
Please feel welcome to come along and join us in our core group or at our events!
Contact:
Richard Lawrence, richardlawrence5@gmail.com
Julia Wallond, julia.wallond@yahoo.com
If you ask Richard to join our Google Group list you can then email the group on bristol-dance@googlegroups.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bristoldharmaaction
Cambridge
Cambridge DANCE are made up of a mixture of friends from Triratna, Insight and Soto Zen groups who have all have similar interests and been involved with the Work That Reconnects. Interested in music and poetry as a means of communicating an alternative way of life which does less harm and cherishes mindfulness, the group commenced with a season of busking on the theme of “care for the environment” throughout Buddhist Action Month in June 2014. The group will be hosting a screening of Wisdom to Survive on the 26th February.
For anyone interested in joining or taking part in future events contact Kate at dunctonhoney@gmail.com or Oscar at oscar.e.gillespie@gmail.com to find out more.
London
London DANCE has been holding regular actions in London since 2014. The group has been targeting Barclays bank for the last 3 years or so, holding meditation vigils outside and inside the bank. The group meets for discussion after the action and at a local cafe.
DANCE London recently formed XR Buddhists UK and has been actively contributing to the regenerative culture of Extinction Rebellion as well as engaging in street actions with XR rebels.
For details please drop Joe a line at: joseph.mishan@phonecoop.coop.
Sheffield
DANCE Sheffield formed in March 2018 as loose core group who meet (and eat together) occasionally to discuss and explore action and support each other. We are steadily growing and have a valuable role in supporting activists in and bridging between the various Buddhist groups. DANCE Sheffield provides a focus for Dharma informed climate activism. The actions provide an accessible way for Buddhist group members to express their climate concerns, a gateway to activism.
In 2018, we ran a Yatra (meditative walk in the Peak District), ran a creative writing workshop around climate, engaged with local MPs (supported by Hope for the Future), explored climate cafe (like death cafe)
In 2019, we ran pop-up meditations supporting Youth Strike for Climate and Extinction Rebellion actions. A broad range of Sheffield Buddhist groups are involved: Amida, Insight, Triratna, Tibetan, Zen. The pop-up meditations have helped catalyse climate groups within Sheffield Buddhist group. We ran Active Hope (Work That Reconnects) workshops. We have an Eco Sattva Training f2f group.
In 2020, we will continue to support YS4C and XR actions with pop-up meditations and run Active Hope workshops. We are considering further pop-up meditations.
We have a Facebook group and Website.
No contact in Sheffield: contact Joe at joseph.mishan@phonecoop.coop
DANCE groups in the US
DANCE Atlantic
I am a resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, associated with Triratna Buddhist Community in the US and UK. I am also a dual citizen with US and Canada. I’m setting up an extension of DANCE in the Northeast US called DANCE Atlantic. It is a DANCE affiliated group that will cover New England, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, until separate groups are started in those locations.
Contact details:
DANCE Atlantic c/o Shaun Bartone 26 Berwick St. Worcester, MA 01602 508-410-8389
Starting a local group
A DANCE group is a wonderful way to build community, find inspiration, offer and receive encouragement, and catalyse compassionate action in response to climate change. In doing so, we grow our hearts in compassion and deepen our practice as Dharma practitioners.
If you would like to start a group, please email joseph.mishan@phonecoop.coop for advice and support.
Here are some suggestions and basic guidelines about running a successful group:
Decide together at the start of the meeting how long it will last. Appoint a chairperson to make sure you stick to time. Agree an agenda together; the chairperson makes sure all the agenda items are covered. It can be de-motivating if meetings run on too long and don’t cover all the bases.
Ask a person to make notes/minutes, and record any actions agreed. Ask this person to send the notes to everyone. It doesn’t have to be too onorous – recording the actions is most important as it keeps the ball rolling and motivates. Revisit the actions from a previous meeting at the next meeting so that people can update, share their good work, offer and receive appreciation, and keep ongoing actions alive.
Take it in turns to chair and make notes (unless of course someone really wants to take on a role).
The first meeting is a good time to discuss how you want to run the group. You might discuss the format – do you want to sit in meditation for a while at the start and end? Do you want a person to bring a short reading to each meeting to motivate and inspire? The first meeting is a good time to get all the ideas about possible actions on the table, to brainstorm and let the heart speak. It might not necessarily be the best time to work out the hows and whens, or even to decide if something is possible. But feel your way. Most important is that some motivation and inspiration is built up.
If you have a lot of ideas, the next stage might be to work out which ones to prioritise, which ones have juice, which ones light your fires. This might happen at the second meeting. Depending on the size of your group, you may decide to split into sub-groups who take responsibility for a specific project, or allocate specific projects to individuals. The idea is to match people with things that interest them, or for which they have skills.
Agree to meet on a regular basis at a frequency that suits everybody, ideally often enough to keep momentum going, but not so that people feel over-extended. Agree a date for the next meeting at the end of a meeting, or ask a volunteer to run a Doodle Poll, an online and very easy way to work out when people are free for a meeting.
Actions or events are essential to grow a group!
See below for holding a screening as a way to do this. Or you could decide on a street action such as a meditation in public outside a company HQ. Have a look at the DANCE FB pages for ideas via the UK DANCE Groups section on this site.
Social media is an essential way to keep in touch with each other, and a Facebook Page is easy to set up and a great way to tell the community what you are doing and to attract participants.
Launching A Local Group With A Community Screening Of ‘Wisdom To Survive’ or 'Planetary'
Showing a screening is a good way of opening up the topic of climate change to wider discussion, and can be the starting point to find others who’d like to set up a local DANCE group. Following on from the screening a period of reflection and discussion can liberate energy and ideas for a group.
Two good films are:
Wisdom to Survive: The makers of the documentary address both the spiritual and practical implications of climate change, and offer thoughtful reflections on the ecological and economic state of the planet from academics and activists. Amongst those interviewed in the film are Buddhist author and activist Joanna Macy and environmentalist and campaigner Bill McKibben. The film takes viewers on a journey which explores the reality of sustainability and interdependence, and how our very breath connects us to the earth and to one another. More information on the film can be found on Bullfrog’s website. Watch a trailer for the film here: https://youtu.be/7QLIOuRS1n4
Planetary: This rather long film is nevertheless very powerful. It is a montage of commentary about the climate crisis and its causes from notable figures from across the spectrum including Buddhists, Scientists and even astronauts. Hauntingly beautiful imagery conveying the reality of the interdependence of all things. See here for a preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6X_VFOGwas
Council – Bringing an ancient ritual to explore feelings as a community
Council is an ancient form of meeting which allows people to be supported in listening and speaking from the heart, and offers a way for people to share and process, whilst being held in awareness and supported and witnessed by the group. It allows for difficult feelings which may arise from the film to be acknowledged in a space of safety and acceptance. Read a personal account of a previous Council here. DANCE works with a specially trained Council facilitator and can help support your screening.