Guide · Chicago & suburbs
Ecstatic dance is barefoot, sober, unchoreographed movement, usually opened with a circle and closed with something quiet. These are the rooms where it actually happens around Chicago right now, what each one feels like, and how to walk in for the first time.
1. Current home — Sunday mornings
1034 W Rand Rd, Arlington Heights, IL
The northwest-suburban container: a biweekly Sunday-morning ecstatic dance at Mainwood Dance Club. Doors 9:45, dance 10–11:30.
Why go: A real social-dance floor with a proper sound system, opened up on Sunday mornings. Easiest first dance if you want daylight, parking and a soft landing.
2. Current home — Wednesday nights
2810 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
Home of Chicago Ecstatic Dance (formerly Rhythm Sanctuary Chicago). Every Wednesday evening, doors 7:00pm.
Why go: A high-ceilinged arts center in Logan Square, midweek and in the city. Best if you live in Chicago proper and want a Wednesday night reset.
3. Current home — Sunday mornings in Palatine
A nonprofit yoga and meditation center in Palatine whose upstairs studio — wood floor, warm lamplight, mirrors along one wall — holds our Sunday-morning dance.
Why go: A warm yoga studio in Palatine where the dance is followed by a live sound bath and a tea circle. Best if you want the settling part, not just the sweat.
4. Partner venue — Friday Night Fargo, monthly
An event space on Lincoln Highway in DeKalb that has hosted Yolanda Lozano's ecstatic dance every month for two years — dance, sound journey, then herbal tea and a share circle. Tickets are sold on the venue's own site.
Why go: A monthly Friday night out in DeKalb, far enough west that it's the only ecstatic dance for miles. Best if the city is a haul for you.
5. Partner venue — Yolanda's evening dances, every other month
A small nonprofit education and healing center in downtown Lombard that hosts Yolanda Lozano's evening ecstatic dance every other month — dance, sound journey, then herbal tea and a share circle. Registration happens on the Lighthouse's own event calendar.
Why go: A small nonprofit healing center in downtown Lombard hosting evening dances with sound journey and herbal tea. Best for a west-suburban evening.
6. Partner venue — TURNING, Oct 24, 2026
6185 N Canfield Ave, Chicago, IL
A healing and wellness center on the far northwest side of Chicago, near Edison Park. On October 24, 2026 it hosts TURNING, a four-hour kirtan and ecstatic dance journey presented by Ananda Lila Kirtan with DJ Zig Tahir.
Why go: A healing center near Edison Park hosting a four-hour kirtan and ecstatic dance journey in October. Best if you want live chanting before the dance floor opens.
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Not every good room is running a dance right now. These venues held real nights and deserve the shout-out.
Chicago
Rhythm Sanctuary Chicago made a name for itself at Altar Community — a space devoted to ceremony, music, and intentional gathering — before moving to the Hairpin.
Venue detailsSchaumburg, IL
A Schaumburg bar and vintage arcade that opened its floor for our first Sunday-morning dance in the area, on August 16, 2026. The Sunday series has since moved to the Himalayan Yoga and Meditation Center in Palatine.
Venue detailsWoodstock, IL
A Buddhist temple and meditation center in Woodstock. Its main hall has a wood floor, stained glass and a large white Buddha, and hosted an ecstatic dance with DJ Big Heart that drew more than 80 people on Friday, September 4, 2026. No further dances are scheduled there.
Venue detailsThe lineage
The Rhythm Sanctuary container — substance-free, non-verbal, fully expressed — that Kate Janecko carried to Chicago and seeded the local community with.
Venue detailsChicago
For years, ecstaticdancechicago.com held the original Chicago container — the first regular ecstatic dance many of us ever found in this city.
Venue detailsThe full tribute lives on the venues page, where you can also submit a room that has hosted a dance or apply to become a venue partner.
There are regular dances on Sunday mornings in Arlington Heights and Palatine, Wednesday nights in Logan Square, evening dances in Lombard every other month, and a monthly Friday night in DeKalb. Every upcoming date is listed at ecstaticdance.app/tickets.
No. There is no choreography, no steps and no partner. You move the way your body wants to move, and you can stand still or lie down at any point.
Yes. Our dances are substance-free, and we ask people to arrive sober so the floor stays safe for everyone.
Most people do. There is an opening circle, so you are welcomed in rather than dropped into a room of strangers.
Comfortable clothes you can move in, a water bottle, and bare feet or clean soft-soled shoes. Bring a layer for the quiet parts at the end.
More in the FAQ, or read what happens at an ecstatic dance.
Upcoming Dances
