Ecstatic Experiences

We’re pleased to announce the dates for our 2026 retreats! 🤩 They all offer unique experiences, so if you’re wondering which one to choose from, here’s a snippet of each: 🐰 Easter Retreat 🗓️ 3-6 April (3 nights) 📍 @embercombeuk This one if for the initiated. We dive deep, explore our shadows and come out transformed —may we even dare say resurrected?! 🪷 Spring Retreat 🗓️ 20-24 May (4 nights) 📍 @quintasaojosedosmontes Our biggest gathering: 60 like-minded souls congregating from all over Europe (and beyond) for epic & expansive experience. 🌞 Summer Retreat 🗓️ 28-31 August (3 nights) 📍 @embercombeuk Our signature retreat. An annual favourite amongst regulars and a superb initiation for first-timers. Magic awaits! 💃 Women’s Retreat 🗓️ 21-25 Oct (4 nights) 📍 @quintasaojosedosmontes Words can’t truly describe the alchemy that arises when women come together in a retreat setting. You’ve simply got to experience it for yourself! Super Early Bird prices available to the first 5 signups 🐥 🔗 Click link in bio for full details & bookings Any questions? Send us a DM via @ecstatic.experiences  📮

After 3 consecutive years of unusually wet and cold springs, we’ve moved this retreat in late May to pretty much guarantee warmer days and finally a proper use of the on-site pool! 🌞👙 Unveiling the program and team for this year’s Spring Retreat (and let me tell you, you’re in for a real treat!) 👌 🔹 @renee.lacroix • Retreat leader, Ecstatic Dance DJ & Authentic Relating facilitator 🔹 @b_filemusic • Ecstatic Dance DJ 🔹 @seagypsee • Ecstatic Dance DJ 🔹 @5rhythms_with_ajayrajani • 5Rhythms teacher 🔹 @ricardo.munay • Musician, singing circle leader & sound healer 🔹 @susanatorrinha.yoga • Yoga teacher This is our most international gathering of the year, with like-minded souls congregating from all over Europe (and beyond). Join us for an epic & expansive experience! 🐣 Last Early Bird places 🔗 Details & bookings in bio Send us a DM if you have any questions! 💌

Just a few days to go before we embark on our annual Spring Retreat (which, according to weather forecast, will very much feel like summer!) ☀️ As some of you might be aware, the dome of our retreat centre was very tragically destroyed during the storms that affected most of Portugal this winter 🌪️ The silver lining is that we will be dancing in their bigger (and gorgeous!) space, the Alpendre, truly immersed in nature 🌿 Last call for bookings!❣️ 🔗 Click in bio for full details 🎥 Ecstatic Life Gathering by @ecstaticdanceandvoiceportugal

Or shall we call it dancercise?! Either way, you’ll find us on the dance floor 💃❤️‍🔥 🔁 Repost @ecstaticdancela

We have the pleasure of announcing DJ Renée Lacroix @renee.lacroix , founder of Ecstatic Dance UK @ecstaticdance.uk and organizer of Ecstatic Dance Lisboa @ecstaticdancelisboa preparing an epic wave for our next event on the 1st of May ❤️ 🌿 @ecstatic.experiences is also a creation of Renée providing the most amazing retreats! The next one is from the 20th to the 24th of May, coming soon! And you can check all the details on its IG bio 🩵 Renée’s journey on the spiritual path started with meditation and Buddhism before leading her to conscious dance. She first started her practice as a 5Rhythms dancer, and eventually found her ikigai (reason for being) as an Ecstatic Dance organiser, facilitator and DJ. As an avid traveller and a classically trained pianist, her sets will make you travel around the globe with a sophisticated tapestry of world electronica and neoclassical. Everyone can start warming up ☺️ cause it’s going to be 🔥❤️ Still a few tickets left 🎟️ here: https://bit.ly/Tickets0105 See you on the dance floor

À primeira vista, isto pode facilmente parecer uma festa incrível numa das melhores discotecas. Mas, olhando com mais atenção, começas a reparar: não há ninguém com bebidas na mão, não há telemóveis, ninguém está de lado só a observar. Cada pessoa está no seu próprio processo — seja a dançar com entrega total, a libertar bloqueios ou até a atravessar emoções intensas. Alguns de fora podem nem acreditar que este é um espaço completamente sóbrio. Mas quem vem regularmente sabe que há aqui algo especial, algo sagrado. Algo que simplesmente não conseguimos pôr em palavras. Isto não é (só) uma festa. Isto é Ecstatic Dance. Junta-te ao movimento este sábado! Inscrições na bio ✨ ———🇬🇧——— At first sight, this could easily look like a particularly great party in the best nightclub. But when you look closer, you start to notice: there are no one holding drinks, no mobile phones, no one standing on the side just observing. Everyone is doing their thing, whether it’s dancing with abandon, releasing blockages or even having a full-on emotional process. Some outsiders might not even believe that this is a completely sober space. But the regulars know they are on to something special, something sacred. Something we quite can’t put into words. This not (just) a party. This is Ecstatic Dance. Join the movement this Saturday! Tickets in bio ✨

Gorgeous memories of Easter weekend 2026 @embercombeuk with @ecstatic.experiences retreat 🥰💚🙏🌷 What a beautiful weekend, incredible group of people and amazing team of facilitators!! 😍 The only downside was it just wasn’t long enough!!! 😂🙏 Loved every minute of it. @djpixipete @gaiaharveyjackson #ecstaticdance #retreatlife #community

🌕The Evening Sessions - 1st April Full Moon dance with @renee.lacroix , who birthed EDUK in Nov 2018 after falling in love with conscious dance practices and pursuing her dream to earn a living doing something she truly loved and to further develop her musical prowess, following a more classically trained beginning 🎧🎹🎶... She left the UK back in 2020 and co-founder Richard began steering the ship, but Renée has remained a solid rock of support ever since, whilst concurrently running the amazing @ecstatic.experiences retreats 3-4 times a year. ✨ It's her first dance here since Dec 2024 and she's been giving birth to other things since then (an adorable daughter for one!), whilst still playing regularly at @ecstaticdancelisboa of which she's also a partner / organiser. We love Renée's sets and often they can be considered a masterclass in ecstatic dance journeys. So come join the fun, if you feel the call! In case it's not clear, we absolutely love Renée! 💞 Cacao shall be served warm from 6:30pm by @cacaosol.uk 😋 See you on the dancefloor 🪩

How to spot an Ecstatic Dancer in the room... What, we just can’t help it! 🤷‍♀️ #sorrynotsorry 🎥 Reshare @djtazrashid

With the current climate seemingly filled with hate and violence, we feel call to spread messages of love and kindness 💌 First, we wanted to write a love letter to our long-standing retreat centre @embercombeuk We’ve now held 16 retreats on their gorgeous grounds, so it definitely feels like home each time we return 🏡 As we’re getting ready to go back for the 7th consecutive year, here are 7 reasons why we love Embercombe: 1️⃣ The hospitality: Their team is filled with the most friendly, kind and welcoming bunch of humans. Every single time, we are greeted with arms wide open and genuine care. 2️⃣ The land: Nestled in luxuriant nature, its rolling hills and wild edges create an immediate sense of space and perspective. The valley feels alive, inviting us to slow down and reconnect with the natural rhythm of the seasons. 3️⃣ The food: Out-of-this-world good. Wholesome, abundant and made with love, every meal is as yummy as it’s nourishing. No wonder everyone’s been raving about it in our reviews! 4️⃣ The yurts: Unpretentious and comfortable, these beautiful pods offer a proper forest bath. Picture this: falling asleep to the sounds of the land after a stargazing session. 5️⃣ The Fire Centre: The main space and heart of our retreats. Super cosy with large couches, blankets, sheepskins and 2 big wood burners, it keeps us warm in winter and fresh in summer. 6️⃣ The dance floor: Spacious and solid beneath our feet, the large wooden floor is a non-negotiable for us, enabling us to move freely, fully, without inhibition. 7️⃣ The Stone Circle: Hidden in nature, this quiet sacred place holds a palpable sense of reverence. A space for ceremony, intention-setting and remembering our place within something far greater. This year, we’ve got 2 opportunities for you to discover (or rediscover!) Embercombe: 🐰 Easter Retreat (3-6 April) 🌞 Summer Retreat (28-31 August) Click link in bio for full details & bookings 🔗 Got a question? Send us a DM! 📮 📸 @claudia_gschwend

As if you needed another incentive to join our Easter Retreat: we’re hiring a wood-fired sauna! 🧖‍♀️ Nothing beats the euphoric calm feeling and deep relaxation of a post-dance sweat session. IYKYK 💦 Only 5 weeks to go before we come together in our gorgeous Devon refuge. Join us for the most regenerative, uplifting and meaningful digital detox in nature! 🌿 🐰 Easter Retreat 🗓️ 3-6 April 📍 @embercombeuk 🔗 Click link in bio for full details & bookings 📮 Any questions? Send us a DM!

A podcast for all things ecstatic dance! First guest is the wonderful Renèe Lacroix, co founder of @ecstaticdance.uk & @ecstaticdancelisboa ; collaborator on @dancethemedicine & founder of @ecstatic.experiences retreats. We talk all things ED, philosophy, the future of ED, her own story and so much more. So many more great guests to come - if you are intrigued by the ecstatic dance world or what to know what’s going on around the uk and beyond then take a listen. On all podcast platforms or via link in comments and bio #ecstaticdance #podcast #ritualrhythms #ecstaticexperiences