Info from Transcendentaldance.com by Poisoned Spoon

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

The Short Answer:
Ecstasia is a connective system of transcendental dance that draws from historic techniques used at different points in time in the Mediterranean. 

Begging the Question: What is trance dancing? 
To put it simply, trance dancing is rhythmic hypnosis. It is very real, and has very real effects on the human mind and body. 

What is trance dancing used for?
It depends on the type of trance dancing we're talking about. There are four types of trance dances in Ecstasia; each one is used for something different. 

How is this different than anything else out there right now?
Ecstasia is the Rosetta Stone of trance; it bridges the gap between scholastic studies of the transcendental arts as well as the folkloric/practical study of them. Ecstasia uses universal terms and guides readers into truly understanding the thorough mechanics of trance. It is not simply a manual on how to "trance out" while dancing; it encompasses formerly untouched subjects like what observers should pay attention to when watching a trance session, how musicians can guide the dancers along and pay attention to visual cues to see how the dancers are doing. Ecstasia discusses all aspects of trance from a full 360° revolution. The vast majority of Ecstasia is completely untouched content, there is nothing like it out there. 

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The Long Answer:
Ecstasia is the combined might of all that is and was trance in the bosom of Mediterranean civilization over the last three thousand years. It is composed of many moving forces, many forms of dance and exultant music, all of which create a path of transcendental possibility. It is a discipline with direction and yet it is filled with personal choices. A student of Ecstasia (an ecstacene) begins his or her journey by simply learning to trance; learning to relinquish consciousness in a rhythmic, moving, hypnotic meditation. But unlike many modern schools of trance, Ecstasia is a neo-classical tradition which takes the art to a deeper level. Experiencing basic trance (alpha ecstasis) is just the beginning; Ecstasia teaches a mastery of the self (evocare) and, for those who have greater needs, it extends deeper into the truly ecstatic.

The transcendental arts of vocal music, instrumental music and dance are an over arcing collection of disciplines. The ability to trance is a natural occurrence in the human condition which means that the basics of trance (alpha ecstasis) can be created by anyone under the right conditions. All it takes is an act of release, a purposeful relaxation of consciousness; much like sleep walking. But there is more to the techniques of the transcendental arts than simple relaxation; that will only take a student so far and there is so much more that is possible to achieve. Ecstasy is not the simple action of basic trance (alpha ecstasis), it is not the warm euphoria that falls over a dancer or a musician while under rhythmic hypnosis. Ecstasy is something much greater.

Ecstasia is a path to that ecstasy.

 

 

Here is a more proper explanation of what Ecstasia is with all of it's moving parts.

Ecstasia is a common ground exploration of all the possible rites and effects found in the transcendental systems of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean has the largest wealth of documentation for transcendental studies in the world as it also is the birth place of so many unique and interesting traditions. Classical and Pre-Hellenic Greek dance offers us a considerable amount of information about the sophistication of dance as a religious practice as well as a people's pastime. From works of art to descriptions of dances performed for public spectacle we have the potential to gain a great understanding of these practices without ever leaving a single region. But the coast of North Africa is home to a large number transcendental traditions both modern and antiquated as well. Travel the coasts of Mother Mediterranea and you will find that all her surrounding cultures are steeped in heady traditions of transcendental music and dance. But like so much of the folk music and native arts of these places these practices are dying out. Possibly the most beautiful and most misunderstood piece of this entire tapestry is how the mythologies of all these cultures, separated by an ocean and even vast swells of time, share a common thread.

Many of the modern traditions that Ecstasia was built upon still exist and in this way there already are ecstacenes... practitioners of the mother and father forms. But so many of these traditions are reincarnating and losing touch with the threads that once connected them. They are losing what once made them truly ecstatic traditions. If that is lost then a major chunk of history goes with it. Ecstasia binds them together again and gives a common language back to the practices of the transcendental arts so that the transcendental dark age of misinformation can be lifted. It is a common language that will allow you to understand and interpret all other transcendental traditions from that region.

Ecstasia is very strange... it contains a lot of practices that have largely gone out of fashion a long time ago. Some people wrinkle their noses up at things that disturb their fragile sensibilities or might somehow involve actual work. Really the most difficult part of Ecstasia is learning to dance or learning to play an instrument. Once you have that down... you are ready to do some good trancing. Ecstasia hasn't been watered down so that is largely left to the reader. (If there is some little detail that you just can't abide then find a way to work around it.) As it is the process of Ecstasia streamlines the most idyllic methods for engaging in a trance session.

Ecstasia gives you the tools to not only perform trance but also to understand the nature of trance. It brings all the effects and purposes of trance within reach and reasonable understanding. It will help you to be able to understand trance in a multicultural way. That is what Ecstasia is and does.

Now here is what Ecstasia is not. Ecstasia is not a religion and it does not require one particular belief system over another. Actually alpha ecstasis does not require any form of religion or spirituality at all to function.

Ecstasia is not a science or even a philosophy; it is an art. It is composed of skill, movement and inspiration; as such it can be focused and enhanced. It can be considered a lifestyle or even a spirituality perhaps but it does not behave like a science nor does it propose a question like philosophy.

Ecstasia is not alone. There are many styles and schools of trance that can likely lead to the basics of alpha ecstasis. Ecstasia is one amongst that many.

 

 

Understanding Ecstasia is something that is very hard to do without experiencing it. That is what the transcendental arts are; an experiential collection of musical and dance traditions. It is not a performance art like ballet or concert orchestra but watching it can be a very moving experience. It is not a participatory art like ballroom dancing or Christmas caroling but it does involve a group of people coming together to create music and dance. The reason that it is an experiential art, and not a performance or participatory art, is because the purpose of it is not mere showmanship or socialization. The purpose is to experience a hypnotic relaxation of consciousness and the sensations that creates are very distinct; quite different from anything that can be perceived with eyes and ears alone.

That being said... there are a few essential concepts that can be communicated fairly well here to give you a better idea of what type of things Ecstasia encompasses. The path is laid out as smoothly as possible because learning to do this should not be an impossible process. Ecstasia has four main types of rituals, each of these has various smaller branches of its own. These rituals are defined by their purpose; each one, at its core, will lead to a different goal. A student of Ecstasia need never learn or proceed further than they desire to. It should be noted that these four categories that we are about to discuss are not unique to Ecstasia; Ecstasia merely organized them into groups and gave them names. Basic trance is found everywhere but how do you define it? And once you do... what do you call it? That is what happened here. We took the folk rituals from across the Med and categorized them based upon effect, method of practice, type of music used and other considerations and sorted them into family groups. These are not regional groups! These are groups of commonality.

The first ritual of Ecstasia is the previously mentioned alpha ecstasis. This is basic trance and it can be done for fun or practice, celebrations and light spirited gatherings. Usually when someone "trances out" on accident they are describing this.

The second ritual of Ecstasia is evocare (eh-voh-ka-ray). Evocare is the act of achieving personal mastery through the transcendental arts. This is the type of trance that is customarily associated with lycanthropy, shamanism, and certain types of ritual magic. This does not require a specific belief system or spiritual practice but some interest in spirituality is helpful.

The third ritual of Ecstasia is actually the dividing line between transcendental and ecstatic art, this is ritual possession, which we call fogue (foe-g). There are several different types of fogue rituals but it should be noted that trance is not considered ecstatic unless it involves contact with a foreign spirit. This functions well with most religions born of the Mediterranean but obviously we are beginning to get into the area where we start to see more spirituality and less basic mechanism in the transcendental arts.

The fourth and final ritual is one that not many people achieve, we call it invocare (in-voh-ka-ray). This is the ultimate expression of ecstasy; a union with divinity. It is very difficult to do because it requires a considerable amount of self mastery as well as clear ability in the ecstatic arts. At this level it does not matter what religion you belong to but it is something that only the deeply religious seem to commit to.

 

 

What makes an experiential activity so difficult to understand and explain?

A: Let's draw a comparison to another experience... say childbirth. A person can medically follow the process of labor and childbirth in mechanical terms but still not be able to describe the sensations, difficulties and details from an insiders perspective. This understanding is very generalist in its approach because it cannot factor in the variables that range from person to person. Previous experiences, preconditioned responses based upon anecdotes from other people and folklore, known and unforeseen medical problems, pain tolerance, psychological condition, mood and a multitude of other things make it a very personalized experience. It cannot and will not be the same for every person but there is a spectrum of experiences and behaviors that are shared by the people who go through labor and childbirth so that we can gauge a rough idea of what is common and what is an uncommon experience.

Trance works like this, only we don't have nearly the same amount of information on the mechanics of trance as we do on the mechanics of childbirth. What we have is a vast amount of personal experiences from various people, descriptions of historical trance rituals and a small number of PhD level analysis of the social implications of trance in different cultures. We do not have an agreed upon vocabulary which would definitely impede proper communication of ideas. This means that knowledge of trance comes from either external observational sources, which are incomplete and cannot provide descriptions or practical insights into the practices, or from anecdote which, due to the hypnotic nature of trance, is likewise incomplete because it is shaped by hypnotic suggestion and external doctrine. The historical resources of trance are often ignored because in order to search out and read the history you must first be acquainted with the terms. But without an agreed upon vocabulary, or at least one that connects to historical sources, the aspiring reader will not find much.

And so it becomes very difficult to educate or communicate on this particular experiential art because at every turn there is a road block that has to be torn down. The solution to this is to acquaint yourself with the terms of trance so that when you read historical sources you can understand more thoroughly what is being said. Also it is essential to experience it yourself so that you can describe it in insightful detail. A knowledgeable person in the field of trance should acquaint themselves with the similarities and know the differences between different trance cultures, should attempt to unravel the mysteries of trance theory, should examine the basic mechanics of trance without a doctrine beside it to determine what works and why it works. Again and again it all comes back to the importance of language and the establishment of both an internal and external understanding of the transcendental arts. This is why the experiential is so difficult to explain or understand.

 

 

Some people are afraid of what they have never done before. Some people are afraid of what they don't understand. There is no reason to be afraid. The transcendental arts are a piece of human history. This is something that has been nestled into the societies of the world for a very long time. Over the years it has become watered down or steeped in too much superstition. The trance ceremonies and sessions that we find in more urban areas today are shadows of what these things once were. Ecstasia revives the past and breathes new life into the force that is trance. It shakes the dust from the techniques and trappings of one of the most active transcendental regions in recorded history. All of this it is designed to do safely and gently so that these incredible experiential arts can be felt and lived again.