Rising Stars: Meet Gino Lerebours

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gino Lerebours.

Hi Gino, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Raleigh Ecstatic Dance (RED) was originally started by a group of six individuals that (primarily) met through the “Dancewaves” that were being held on Friday nights and Sunday mornings at the Living Arts Collective in Durham.

These “Dancewaves” operate as a form of conscious dance, where people are welcome to engage in “free expression” and authentic movement to music, without shoes or talking. There are no steps to follow: the rhythm of the music becomes one’s only guidance, with the intention of opening the individual to the purest form of ecstasy: life.

Every week, many of us were driving 45 minutes each way from the Raleigh area to Durham to attend these “Dancewaves” that served as a form of cathartic release and a basis for genuine connection and community.

Soon, the six of us as friends began to envision a dance founded on a similar vision and principles that would be accessible to people that live in Raleigh, and to our growing community of friends that were oriented towards this kind of creative activity.

With the support of the general ecstatic dance community of the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill), we had our first dance in January 2019, and have been scheduling dances that (usually) occur weekly (typically on Thursdays or Fridays) ever since.

Our typical “ecstatic dances” follow a similar structure to Living Arts Collective’s dance (no talking, no shoes, music follows a wave pattern, informed by Gabrielle Roth’s 5rhythms), and we have recently expanded to larger special events (ex: special dances that open with qi gong meditation and end in a sound bath, a paint dance where attendees dip their bodies in paint and dance on a blank canvas, etc.)

Currently, I run the dance with Lauren Bartek, along with the frequent support in facilitation and decision making from two of the original founding members (Briana and Gabrielle Morell).

Our dance community in many respects is continuing to evolve, with an established group of longstanding regular attendees, as well as a frequent influx of first-time “ecstatic dancers” and newcomers.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Although starting Raleigh Ecstatic Dance (RED) has been an incredible experience, it has had its bumps in the road and its hardships.

The biggest hardship that our group experienced was during the pandemic. For well over a year, the public gathering restrictions and the desire to slow the spread of COVID limited our events to weekly indoor dances at our respective houses over Zoom.

During that time, the dozens of regular attendees dwindled to 3-6 people that would join the dance virtually on Zoom. Although it was difficult, it felt important to continue to hold our dances, so that the momentum would not be lost once we were able to dance in person again.

Once we were able to dance again in person, finding the best way to prioritize the safety of the dancers, while also balancing differing gathering preferences was another challenging experience (ex: masking during the indoor mask mandate, canceling dances during the Omicron surge, deciding not to require proof of vaccination to attend indoor dances, etc.)

RED was started primarily as a passion project, and our group resolved to be an accessible dance grounded in an “organic community”. Although we have a suggested donation for each dance, we explicitly state that no individual will be turned away due to a lack of funds, and our dance is not oriented around “making or maximizing profits”.

This means that none of the organizers and facilitators of Raleigh Ecstatic Dance are getting paid; all of the money that is donated is invested back into the Dance itself (typically, money is used to rent indoor spaces to dance during the Fall and Winter months, and to make purchases and compensate collaborators for special events).

Deciding to not have a proto-typical “financial incentive” to run our Dance has resulted in many positives; mainly that the “Integrity” of the dance is maintained, but it also means that we as organizers run the dance in our “free time” outside of our normal working hours. This means that it takes extra effort to run RED, and we have to use the donated money very judiciously. Fortunately, we have found a process that keeps the hosting of events sustainable and fun for the organizers.

Most recently, we have been focusing on feedback from a few attendees that asked for a greater emphasis to be put on building “safer spaces”, and cultivating a “Culture of Consent” at our Dances. Although the majority of attendees have had positive experiences at our dances, it was challenging to hear that we could be doing more to ensure that certain individuals felt welcomed, comfortable, and safe.

Thanks to the constructive criticism, we have put more effort into prioritizing and explaining that our dances are centered around being a safe space for people of all walks of life (through workshops on consent, one-on-one discussions, updated opening guidelines, etc).

Making the promotion of “a welcoming Consent Culture” a primary focus of our dances is one of our greatest accomplishments.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Professionally, I work as a biostatistician at Duke University, where I help faculty members publish their research at every stage of the scientific process.

Raleigh Ecstatic Dance is viewed as more of an “Artistic/Creative passion project”.

Although it would be lovely to run Raleigh Ecstatic Dance full time, there is a certain beauty and joy that comes with running the Dance and it not being “work”.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love the most about Raleigh is that the city is full of individuals that are interested in creative expression. Raleigh Ecstatic Dance has always had a pretty steady flow of new individuals that end up falling in love with the Dance, which then feeds into a larger community network that includes other unique forms of creative expression.

There is never a shortage of interesting activities to experience or take part in!

One of the things that I lament about Raleigh is that much of the development and commercialization occurring is being done with little input and involvement of everyday people living in communities in the city. It would be ideal to see that these projects have more substantial “Community Benefits Agreements” (ex: grocery stores, low-income housing, community gathering places, parks, environmentally conscious building, etc.).

Pricing:

• Suggested donation: $7-15
• No one is turned away due to a lack of funds.

Contact Info:

• Website: TBD!
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raleighecstaticdance/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/304728450228914

Image Credits
Steven, Paul Whitsitt Photography, and Morgan Fleming https://www.instagram.com/rhettlesnake/