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.
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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.
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Each training, retreat, and gathering invites participants to move with intelligence, authenticity, and heart - awakening the body’s natural wisdom and our shared aliveness.
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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
· Level 1 ·
Coming 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
· 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
· 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