Berkshire Conscious Dance Collective is a freestyle dance journey — a practice for somatic release, embodiment, and joy in motion.
Dances are set to an eclectic and curated playlist with music from all genres and parts of the world.
Join us for a deep and lively community movement practice where you can dance, stretch, laugh, cry, sweat, and still yourself all within the hour.
What to expect
Each session is guided by a movement facilitator and a curated 1-hour playlist. You will be taken on a journey from slow stretches and gentle movement to high-energy cardio, ending with a meditative wind-down back to stillness. Every session is an opportunity to connect with yourself, to move at your own pace, to release stagnant energy, and to embody the fullness of being you!
No dance experience is necessary— just bring an open heart and a willingness to move as freely as you feel comfortable.
Schedule
SUNDAY DANCES 9:30am – 11am
Dewey Hall, Sheffield, MA
- Sept 13 — Jess
- Sept 27 — Nina
- Oct 4 — Laura
- Oct 18 — Nina
- Nov 1 — Nina
- Nov 15 — Jess
- Dec 6 — Laura
- Dec 20 — Nina
Sign Up
Tickets are $20 or as much as you can afford.
To sign up, please send payment to the facilitator Venmo linked here. Purchase your ticket by noon on the Saturday or Tuesday before your class. Cash and walk-ins are always welcome, but early sign ups help us to assure a solid gathering.
No refunds will be administered; we will accept any no-shows as generous donations.
Venmo: @Laura-Garnett-2
Venmo: @jessmahaney
Venmo: @Nina-Gallant
“I feel endlessly grateful that Berkshire Conscious Dance is a part of my life! It has been life-changing to reconnect to my body and soul through dance! It is utterly delicious! The facilitators hold the space with so much love and awareness, and the space feels so safe and cozy to fully express yourself in every way! What a soulful gift!!”
— Sarah
Meet the facilitators
Jessica Mahaney is a Jungian counselor, certified in Psychodynamic Shadow Work through the Ford Institute for Integrative Coaching. Her work is intuitive, trauma-informed, and deeply transformational. She brings a nuanced understanding to couples therapy, trained at the Relational Life Institute with Terry Real and mentored in Imago Therapy. A longtime meditation practitioner certified in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, Jessica infuses her work with deep stillness and presence.
Laura Garnett is a performance strategist, mother, TEDx speaker, and author of “The Genius Habit” and “Find Your Zone of Genius.” She helps CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, and teams fast-track their path to greatness in half the time they expect. She does this by teaching them the habit of being who they are, transforming the way they work and live.
Laura is also the co-founder of the Berkshire Conscious Dance collective, where she hosts The Movement Class. She has consulted for organizations such as Google, Pandora, LinkedIn, and Splunk. Prior to launching her own company, New York City-based Garnett Consulting, she honed her marketing, strategy, and career skills at companies like Capital One, American Express, IAC, and Google.
Nina Gallant has been hosting conscious dance for twenty years, leading twice-weekly dances in Annapolis, Maryland, and serving for many years as a Movement Facilitator at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. She views dance as a gateway to embodied release, integration, and joy that nurtures wellness in mind, body, and spirit, and which is accessible to all.
She recently retired as a licensed massage therapist, yoga instructor, Reiki master, and practitioner of the Trager Approach to Mind/Body Integration, and moved to the Berkshires, where she continues her involvement in the conscious dance community and in the visual arts of painting, collage, and mosaics.
FAQS
Bring a water bottle and wear clothes that allow you to move freely. Dancers’ outfits vary from yoga pants, workout shirts, and sports bras to flowy pants, dresses, or clothes that don’t restrict movement. Dewey Hall can get warm and participants sweat, so be prepared to wear layers.
We encourage people to take care of themselves and do what their body calls them to do. Resting, sitting, or lying down is all okay.
All beings are welcome!
We appreciate that there will be last-minute no-shows and understand that circumstances can change, however, due to our humble beginnings, we will not be able to refund day-of cancellations and will accept your ticket as a generous contribution. Thank you so much for understanding!
Each host has their own particular style for beginning and ending the dance, but all practices begin with an intention setting or guided meditation, and end in stillness. After the dance, there is often a circle of sharing, which is optional.
Yes, please invite anyone who would benefit from this practice. We would like to grow and the space will expand with more participants. Invite as many people as you’d like!
“Conscious dance provides a safe, joyous space for my body to reveal its emotions that would otherwise go unrecognized.”
— Meli
“Everyone is welcome to this sacred sanctuary on a Sunday to move. Move as you’re moved and leave feeling more of yourSELF.”
— Rosalind
“Berkshire Conscious Dance offers me a chance to reconnect with my body and spirit, to give myself space to move and simply BE, in whatever way I might show up that morning. Knowing that I can do this among others with kindness and acceptance is a true gift.”
— Kristin
“Sunday Dance is my church. Here, I can welcome my body to listen more deeply, held by carefully curated playlists and the presence of skillful facilitation. I’m always pleased and leave happy!”
— Mary
“This practice provides a safe space for me to explore what’s going on throughout all of the layers. It allows you freedom to move however you’d like. The atmosphere is safe, humble, and positive.”
— Joy
“I have been so grateful to have found Berkshire Conscious Dance. It allows me to connect with my inner knowing and reset my energy by releasing pent-up or stuck frequencies in my body for the week ahead.”
— Tessa
Stay Connected
“Berkshire Conscious Dance has helped me wake my body up after years of being shutting down from single parenting, working two physical labor jobs, and other stressors. It motivates me to open up more to life and to find ways to enjoy being in my body. I love the freedom of my own expression and exploring the shapes and movements my being wants to make.”
— Ashley
“Berkshire Conscious Dance is church for the deeply soulful. Jess, Nina, and Laura have created the only container in Berkshire county that can hold and midwife the space that healers need to purify, unwind, untangle, recharge, and renew and integrate what is beyond words in the deepest of our souls and process.”
— Antonia
“I love this practice. It feels like a very sacred and safe place to just be, come as I am, move, dance, release, emote, discover what’s going on for me and what wants to move, or surface. I love being able to be in my own personal space, yet in a room full of other people in their own space. It’s like we’re all creating a giant painting together, with the movement that comes from the intersection of the music. It feels like a healing session; a prayer. A solid, sacred, very conscious step toward peace on earth. ”
— Sarah
©2025 Berkshire Conscious Dance Collective