about conscious dance
On a personal note..
Léon Beckx is a dancer, psychologist, and group facilitator. He became a 5Rhythms teacher in 2008 under the guidance of Gabrielle Roth. He further trained in dance improvisation, somatics, contact improvisation, martial arts and theatre. Currently, Léon is a Ceremony Leader and DJ at Ecstatic Dance Amsterdam. He is also co-founder of the Heart of The Dance, where he educates (ecstatic) dance facilitators. Next to movement, Léon also facilitates programs on community building, community arts, conflict resolution, and cultural sensitivity.
For an abbreviated version, see my resume.
SPACE TO MOVE
Much of my work revolves around creating spaces where people can open up, play, connect, and transform. Spaces, in other words, where people feel safe enough to move outside their comfort zone and discover anew what it means to be alive right now. During my life, I have discovered this brave space several times over. As a teenager, I first found this brave space on the dance floor.
FIGHTING FOR APPROVAL
Throughout my youth and adolescence, I spend many weekends on the Judo mat competing. Competitive Judo left quite a mark on me. On the one hand it gave me confidence in my physicality and gave me an intuitive grasp of balance and sharing weight (which came in handy when I later discovered Contact Impro). On the other hand, I also learned to see the body as a means to succeed or to fail.
SPIRIT OF UBUNTU
For most of my working life I had one foot on the dancefloor and one foot rooted in working with less privileged communities. As a psychologist, I initially worked with individuals, first in psychiatry and later in business. In the West, we have the tendency to separate the parts from the whole (mind vs body vs spirit, individual vs community). This separating has its merits, but we can also lose sight of our fundamental connectedness. Other parts of the world, like Africa and the East, know a more holistic approach to health and well-being. I found my way to working with communities through an unexpected African connection. Below you can read how that work entered my life.