The Berlin Movement Dose of Pleasure is bringing back the Joy of Dancing together

Finally, Berlin is back on its open-air dance floors this weekend. Still, there was a peculiar dance move that brought people together with electronic music even during the lockdown. If you haven’t heard of it yet, now is the time to check out Dose of Pleasure, because once you try it you’ll be hooked. I promise.

Basically, Dose of Pleasure is a group dance meditation that usually starts out quite slowly, gets energetic over time, and lets you groove to electronic music in a completely different way than you would on a “normal” party. ” in a club. The method behind the Dose of Pleasure movement was created in March 2020, when the first lockdown hit Berlin and the world. Based on his experience with Berlin Night Live, dance teacher Alvin Collantes created a way to move with yourself and get deep into the groove.

Last summer, the movement held regular raves in different places in the city. This Saturday 19 there will again be the first public dance demonstration at Tempelhofer Feld. You can read more about the event and the program here.

But how do people who do Dose of Pleasure really feel? The next part of the article is a series of interviews conducted by Rita Couto. Rita documented Alvin’s process of making Dose of Pleasure a movement over the course of a year as part of his “IRL Stories” editorial series – a project focused on depicting the stories of entertainers throughout the show. of the pandemic.

Dose of Pleasure spoke through the dosers

Rita Couto: Describe the dosing experience in one sentence.

Cristina: Sensuality and spirituality through the heart.

Nicoló: Massage me with the groove.

Greta: Reconnect to myself, my power and my inner freedom.

Rita Couto: How has Dose of Pleasure changed you?

Greta: I’ve always loved dancing, but with Dose of Pleasure I felt so much more invited than ever to be really myself, not to be fitting. Two years ago, I started exploring the sexological processes of bodywork until I discovered gaga through Alvin’s lessons. Quickly, I was already able to appreciate his work, feeling like I was making love with the room, with the air or something like that… In the spring 2020 confinement, I realized that the most awful was that I couldn’t dance anymore, but that changed when Alvin started Dose of Pleasure and was then able to run his IRL sessions, in the parks of Berlin. For me, these sessions have become a medicine, because they are more than dance; Alvin’s advice and use of words connects me directly with the sexual flow in the body, the flow of life, my laughter… It awakens all the unsaid layers within ourselves, our thoughts and our emotions.

Cristina: Meeting Alvin and Dose of Pleasure literally changed my life in so many ways. I discovered my groove, I connected to my inner power, I learned to let go, I learned to let my animal out. Then, of course, the connection to my body, which now becomes a main tool of expression for me as an artist and the connection to my spirituality. Through DOP I connected with my mind and from there I started a beautiful healing journey. These are just a few highlights on a personal level, but also on a social level, I feel like I belong to a big family, a fun tribe, a community of people who are ready to wake up, who believe in soul ties. That feeling when we all groove as one, when we feel the heart-to-heart connection, when we feel like screaming for joy as the sweat runs down our body – now is the time!

Nicoló: By practicing Dose of Pleasure, I imprint in my body the concept of going towards what feels good. Due to low self-esteem, I too often ended up making big compromises that left me behind. In the process of shamelessly embracing my intuition, Dose of Pleasure helps me embody this shift in perspective. By going 100% for MY groove I tell myself that I have the right to choose what makes me feel good and that I know how to do it. Additionally, I have found in Dose of Pleasure a community that shares the same open-minded approach and where my energy is not only accepted but also celebrated.

Rita Couto: Tell me a story about taking ownership of your groove.

Greta: I moved to Berlin from a small German town in my early twenties in the nineties so that I could dance and party when I wanted and for as long as I wanted. With my lifestyle at the time, I developed a problem with medication and an eating disorder, which prompted me to undertake numerous therapies over the following years. Over time I realized that what really brought me into ecstasy was the music, the experience of dancing and not the drugs, so I changed my mind and started exploring. my groove through dance, like a drug in its own right. I started to implement dance as a natural energy boost during the day and instead of having coffee or taking a nap, I would schedule regular dance sessions throughout the week. This is my best self-care treatment so far.

Nicoló: Where I’m from in Italy, I have the impression that people go to clubs mainly to show off, get high, or flirt for potential mates. I have always loved to dance. When I attended parties I was often the sweatiest person on the dance floor, sometimes people were disturbed by my movements and made fun of me. I amused myself the most, but often I did not feel cherished or understood. Since living in Berlin, I have explored the power of movement over a broad spectrum, and embodied practices such as dancing and singing have become an integral part of my life. Here I am no longer afraid of judgment, I have learned to trust my flow and to go for it. I love to groove at full force and am constantly witnessing how my energy can influence others around me.

Cristina: For me, “groove” is the rhythm of his life, the frequency we are on, so I could say that “who grooves together, stays together”. Appropriating my groove was a long process which included various experiences, life decisions, encounters… A big moment was when I finished high school and decided that I wanted to be a “full time artist” , go to college on an interim basis and start living in this beautiful bubble of fantasy, imagination and sensitivity, which I can never get enough of. Then, of course, one point that changed my life was the decision to move to Berlin: alone, without really knowing anyone, with little savings in my pocket, just by following my intuition screaming at me that this is what I had to do. I went there without regret. Last but not least, encountering the healing powers of herbal medicine certainly played a big role in the process of making my groove home. It allowed me to let go of the old grief stored in my system and I was finally able to feel my heart open. I discovered the sweetness of my feminine energy, which I am harnessing now and which brings so much fulfillment and harmony to my life. Right now I am riding the groove of my life with love and passion and I feel present, aligned, secure and full of energy, which I am ready to share.