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SOMATIC DANCE

INTERNATIONAL

· life in motion ·

A global movement school where sound and soma unite and where musical artistry meets the living intelligence of embodiment.

Through dance, we awaken our authentic aliveness and reconnect to the full beauty of being human.

SOMA - the lived, felt experience of the body from within.

WHO WE ARE

Somatic Dance International is a global home for somatic dance, musical artistry, and trauma aware facilitation.

Rooted in the alchemy of sound and soma, our approach weaves together somatic intelligence, musical expression, and community connection.

We guide facilitators and DJs to craft experiences that are not only transformative but also trauma-aware, inclusive, and deeply human.

Our trainings bring together facilitators, DJs, and movers from around the world - cultivating vibrant dance floors that awaken presence, create belonging, and celebrate the fullness of life.

At the heart of Somatic Dance International is a living ecosystem - a global network of practitioners devoted to music as medicine and embodiment as a pathway back to wholeness.

Each training, retreat, and gathering invites participants to move with intelligence, authenticity, and heart - awakening the body’s natural wisdom and our shared aliveness.

TRAININGS

Each training offers a different pace - but all are built to meet you where you are, and move you forward with intention.

From the heart to you

SOMA
NZ$0.00

SOMA

· Level 1 ·
C
oming Home to the Body

Learn to guide dancers through a transformational somatic journey, curate and deliver conscious dance DJ sets, hold trauma-informed dance spaces, and facilitate regular community dance offerings.

PSYCHE
NZ$0.00 every month

PSYCHE

· Level 2 ·
We Came to Remember

Learn to work with beliefs and narratives. Develop skills in facilitating emotionally rich, trauma-aware dance experiences. Expand movement vocabularies for flexibility and resilience in the nervous system. Refine DJing into a nuanced, intuitive art form.

SOUL
NZ$400.00 every month

SOUL

· Level 3 ·
Your Vibrant Thread

Learn how to skillfully hold eros on the dance floor, understand how to create potent ritual space, deepen your understanding of your own energetic blueprint, and evolve how you hold ecosomatic dance spaces.

They came to be danced

OUR TEACHERS

Sarsha Hope

Sarsha Hope is the visionary founder of Somatic Dance International, a global training school devoted to somatic dance, conscious DJing, and trauma aware facilitation.

With over 25 years of experience in facilitation and a lifetime immersed in embodied movement, Sarsha brings a rare blend of depth, clarity, and grounded presence to her work. Somatic Dance International’s teacher training weaves together somatic facilitation, musical artistry, ritual, energetics, and ecosomatics, creating finely tuned dance containers that support safety, expression, and authentic transformation.

At the heart of Sarsha’s work is a deep trust in the body’s innate intelligence. She guides facilitators and DJs to develop embodied confidence, nervous system awareness, and the capacity to skillfully hold spaces that foster belonging, creativity, and resilience.

Drawing from extensive training in embodied flow yoga, somatic trauma therapy, somatic parts work, and energy-based practices, as well as her lived experience as a DJ, dance performer, teacher, and mother, Sarsha weaves diverse lineages into a cohesive, deeply human methodology.

It is a true honour for her to witness Somatic Dance International growing into a vibrant global ecosystem of facilitators, dancers, and communities devoted to embodiment, music as medicine, and life in motion.

Stephen Blase

Blase finds joy in bringing the freedom and expansion of the Somatic Dance space into his performances as a solo Artist and has been touring New Zealand for the summer festival season, playing at festivals such as NZ Spirit Festival, Splore, Earthbeat and Dimension festival. He has also made appearances around the globe playing traditional Ecstatic Dances in the UK and Portugal and is set to continue touring this summer in Europe.

Blase has a wide variety of knowledge that helps to deepen the potency of this dance training including his multiple years of music knowledge, 200 hour Embodied flow yoga training, a certificate in Integrated somatic trauma therapy and over 500+ hours in formal Somatic Dance space.

In this training Blase translates the artistry of his craft into practical lessons of music theory, understanding DJ software and fundamentals and the curation of an Ecstatic dance playlist.


TESTIMONIALS

  • Exceeded my wildest expectations!

    Before finding this training, I thought something like this only existed in my imagination (and I’ve been manifesting this hard!). And then it fully exceded all my wildest expectations.

    To be in a container with so many empowered embodied women, with so much care put into every detail and feel all the wisdom of the teachers - pure magic.

    Thank you so much for all your time & support - I feel like I not only gained so many skills, it felt like a whole upgrade of my system. Plus a whole community of embodied facilitators as a bonus!

    Mia (Portugal 2023)

  • Depth & Power

    “I have witnessed many practices, but I have never experienced the depth and power of conscious movement so attuned and authentically embodied to each individual’s unique gifts. This training was beyond all my expectations.”

    Sarah Campus

  • Embodying Wholeness

    The somatic level one training was unlike anything I’ve experienced. My unequivocal enthusiasm for conscious dance met the incredible facilitation from Sarsha and Blase and every day unravelled another little piece of my spirit, inching closer to remembering who I am when I embody my wholeness.

    Sarsha’s depth of guidance, knowledge of embodiment and beauty throughout is awe inspiring and Blase’s DJ lessons, easy going and gentle spirit as well as his flawless curation of the music throughout are just divinely matched. If you want a true deep dive into your realness, rawness and vulnerability, then these two hold space for all of it. The course was a seamless spirit, dance and sound journey that had the potency to uncover me in ways that nothing else can in quite the same way.

    Since completion, I’ve held regular dances in London and and each on is a rich, incredible experience that draws from the experience of the somatic dance team. I can’t wait to see how it all develops

    Isabell

  • Unknown to new beginnings

    “I arrived [at the training] prepared for the absolute unknown… not realising this would be a new beginning.

    In unity, we sweated, cried, laughed, screamed, moved, and prayed. We entered the universe and exploded into new star beginnings.

    If you are called here, be ready, ready to receive this potent gift of moving love.”

    Riana Evelyn

  • Beyond anything I could have anticipated...

    The Somatic Dance Teacher Training (Portugal ’23) was a transformational immersive journey of both inner and outer landscapes beyond anything I could have anticipated.

    Diving deep into the principles of movement, exploring how to craft a journey of Somatic Dance, trauma informed guidance on holding space plus the technical DJ skills, we left more than equipped with tools to offer deep medicine through movement. Sharing this journey on beautiful land with a group of powerful sisters made the experience even more potent.

    A true embodiment of the magic she offers, Sarsha has been one of the most beautiful, wise and integral teachers of my exploration into somatics both in and outside of the teaching role. With Blase co-facilitating and holding the epitome of divine masculine energy behind the decks, the synergy of the whole team created a watertight container to learn, to feel, to release, to heal within.

    With the imparted wisdom and guidance of integral teachers, experiential learning engrained in the body and connection and sharing of the wider Somatic Dance International community, the journey from the training into the outside world felt integrated and supported and offered the confidence to be able to share my first Somatic Dance offering just a few months later across multiple conscious festivals in New Zealand.

    Helen

  • I have been faciliating dance ever since!

    “In September 2020, I attended the Somatic Dance Teacher Training with Sarsha Hope. It was 10 days of a bunch of amazingly creative, loving people diving deep together, learning, releasing, sharing, and showing up. It was LOVE.

    I have been facilitating dance ever since, and my students leave the space feeling relaxed and their most authentic versions of themselves.”

    Za Idelon

  • Gratitude

    “What a magnificent unfolding I experienced [at the Training] and the beautiful humans that gathered!

    To my delight, this experience was so much more than I expected! It was much more expansive, and there were so many unexpected gifts, including the embodiment of my sexuality, confidence, listening, channelling, and self-connection.

    Sarsha, I highly regard your presence, transmission, and knowledge in the spaces you hold and would recommend your training to all humans who are ready to express more through movement, uncover more of themselves below the surface and be in presence.”

    Whakarongotai Nikora

  • Life changing!

    “The Somatic Dance training changed my life completely. Not only was I given the confidence to lead intelligently crafted embodiment journeys, which I am now doing regularly, but I went through a deep process of healing and awakening myself during the 10 days. It was so powerful that I have now done the training twice and would do it a third time in a heartbeat.

    The training helped me to open my voice, find my own unique expression, cultivate new levels of connection to my body, break through blocks that had been limiting me for a long time and truly celebrate who I am.

    All while surrounded by the most amazing and supportive humans who provided a safe space for me to surrender to the process. Sasha’s body of work is extremely profound, and I highly recommend this training to all.”

    Emily Ruygrok

  • Unfolding the truth of who I am

    “This embodied training experience is a deeply creative transformative journey into the soul…inside out. I am so privileged to have access to such potent teachings that get embedded in my cells every single day since.

    To embody the learnings is the real knowledge of Self, and what bliss to do this with a collective that shares the intention of delving deeper and unfolding the truth of who they are.

    I fully recommend listening to your heart and inner calling to embark on this journey with Sarsha, whom I humbly take as a teacher in this life, with deep gratitude to you and the whole team.” 

    Rana Hamida