Our Story
Earthdance began in 1986, when a group of dancers and artists in Boston joined together to cultivate a place for creative expression. Purchasing 175 acres of land in the glorious Berkshire hills of Western Massachusetts, they planted the seeds of community. Today, Earthdance is an internationally recognized presenter of workshops, contact improvisation jams, performances, and community events, drawing thousands of people to the area each year. People cherish Earthdance as a home, and our volunteer program draws creative individuals from all over the world who are interested in contributing to community, dance, art, and the running of a vibrant nonprofit organization.
Earthdance's facilities include two large and sunny studios with sprung maple floors and radiant heat, an 1812 renovated farmhouse with kitchen, dining, and meeting space, a dormitory space accommodating up to 50 guests, a cabin for quiet, meditative personal retreats, summertime canvas tent cabins, a wood stoked sauna nestled in the woods beside a spring fed quarry, and 125 acres of woods, stream, trails, and flowering meadows.
We would like to acknowledge that Earthdance is situated on the traditional territory of the Agawams, Pocumtuc, Nipmuck, Wabanaki Confederacy, and the Mohican Indians "People of the waters that are never still," specifically, the Stockbridge-Munsee Band, who were forcibly removed Westward and many of whom now live on a reservation in Wisconsin. It is important that we recognize our place within the ongoing process of colonialism and also that we appreciate this sacred land, spaces, and energies present here.
