What we do in the Desert

Every summer I lead a group of courageous dancers in a week-long retreat. What do we do out there?

It is difficult to contain with words. We retreat from ourselves, into ourselves. We fall in love with each other, as messy humans, as dancers, as artists. We laugh, a lot. Sometimes there are tears of faith, tears of joy, tears of recognition. We explore our creativity, our movement; we eat really delicious food. We dance and dance in all it’s forms, from drills to play to cathartic release. We leave it in the desert for the dirt to hold it, for the sun to clean it, for the wind to carry it away.

 

From a recent attendee:

“When I think of my teacher many things come to mind: creativity, depth, artistry, technique, humanity, compassion, challenge, joy, knowledge, wisdom. But the main one and biggest one is simply LOVE. She embraces us with love, and everything she does and says for us is done with love.

I started bellydancing in 2010 and have been studying with Mira Betz since 2015. I am almost sure that if I hadn’t found her, I would have probably given up on dance. Even though she is considered a tribal fusion dancer, and I am more of a weird mix between Am Cab and Egyptian, and even though I didn’t start bellydancing with her, I consider her my teacher and mentor because of everything she has given me so far. Through my first performance intensive with her and the subsequent ones, she set me on a path of self-discovery, knowledge and acceptance. I began doing earnest research about the history of our dance, its roots and influences, and to truly question where it is headed. She made my path through dance a thousand times more complicated, but infinitely deeper and more interesting.

She is now empowering both dancers and non-dancers with neuroplasticity training that she has spent the last three or so years studying, opening up new doors out of pain and physical limitations through nervous system-based performance enhancement.

I have seen eyes light up as ever-present pain fades away and backbends deepen through these neuroplasticity drills. Above all, I have seen the transformations that are possible when those who are hurt and feel small and unseen are given a space to have a voice, a voice that starts very small and gets louder and more beautiful with each passing year.” – E. Figueroa

If you need a different approach to your dance, if you feel frustrated or stuck, unseen. If you just ache for something more… come find us.

2022 Mira Betz NM Retreat

August 20-27, 2022

Registration open 9/12/21  WAITLIST AVAILABLE! It works. Many things change in a year and more often than not everyone on the waitlist gets an offer, eventually.

(p.s. it sold out in 3 hours!)