Over the past several months I've been really inspired by some of the incredible music contained within this ecstatic dance set. In fact, so inspired that I created a little mini tour of California so that I could bring this music to more people. 

It's a deep dive into some of the potent alchemical music that is bubbling out of Nigeria and South Africa right now, Creating a potent vortex of transformation invoking the elements and ancestors on the dance floor. 

Bringing us through a meditation on gratitude and expanding that out worldwide into higher tempo Drum&Bass from the UK by Jersey & Fred Again... and then full circle back into the African hybrid prayer of Jon Baptiste. 

This is a full spectrum journey that was first born out of the dance floor at Kalani and found it's fullest expression landing here in Oakland at Sweets Ballroom where I could feel the likes of John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Aretha and others that have blessed the air inside since the opening in 1920. 

Truly an honor to play ecstatic dance here at this EPIC VENUE where it has been going strong since 2008!

02 07 24 Ecstatic Dance Oakland

My first set at Sweets Ballroom. What an incredible experience! The feelings are beyond words.

Ecstatic Dance Oakland at Sweets Ballroom - "The Glory of Life's Aliveness"

DJ Quintessence (Lexi Battle, she/her) is one of the most diverse and musically nuanced acts you’ll find performing today. In addition to being a lead DJ and organizer of the “Ecstaturday” Ecstatic Dance in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, she is also a resident DJ in partnership with The Omni Movement, a progressive partner dance studio located in Oakland. You’ll most commonly find her playing for Fusion Dance, Brazilian Zouk, or West Coast Swing around the Bay Area, though she also holds passion for her unique take on club-style EDM. As a highly multidisciplinary DJ and music producer, she brings lessons and influences from each of the music scenes she’s involved with into all of the others, giving her a unique perspective that allows her to hybridize the elements that work from the different scenes and let them inform each other.


Quintessence is a master of the intentional dance journey. She begins with tempos and rhythms designed to warm the body up while the melodic content creates emotional depth and intrigue that set the stage for what’s to come. Each stage successively builds on what we’ve experienced in the last, taking us somewhere new that still feels part of the same story. The crescendos and climaxes interplay with periods of moderate rest and reflection to create a series of waves through various energies and moods. Finally, we come to the sentimental landing and closing stages where we can integrate what we’ve experienced as the journey nears its end, perhaps indulging in one final burst of joy or artistic expression before sending us off to what’s next.


As a dancer herself whose life has been transformed by the practice, Quintessence always plays for the party she wants to be at. Her work often defies genre, weaving through a great many of them throughout the journey in delightfully surprising ways. As she’s a multidisciplinarian with extremely broad taste, you’ll never get the same experience with DJ Quintessence twice. She’ll make you move, make you melt, take you to places beyond words, and leave you wanting more.


DJ Quintessence has shared a stage with acts such as DJ Kakah, Tzoul, Fab, Dhroovy, Mark Carpenter, Exuberance, Intrepid, Ji, Kurama, and Andrew Roth. She can be found on Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, and all other major music platforms.

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/ecstaturdaydancecommunity

https://www.theomnimovement.org/

May the Spirit of Dance lift you up on the Wings of Freedom 🕊

We are at a unique time in human history where the human race is waking up. We are realizing our true potential as vast and infinite spiritual beings - undergoing a transformative process of becoming who we truly are. Dissolving illusions of separateness and limiting belief structures, rebuilding our world view, our relationships, and our connection with Nature.

New tracks tagged #sweets ballroom