Saturday, December 12 · Mayerson JCC · 7pm

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A Hanukkah ecstatic dance party for every body

Hanukkah arrives in the darkest stretch of the year. And every night, instead of holding steady, we add one more flame. Not because the dark goes away, but because we refuse to let it have the last word.

Ecstati-kkah is what happens when you stop watching the candles and start becoming one. It's a night of free, joyful, full-bodied movement. Part dance party, part ritual, part holy experiment, on the eighth day of Chanukah, when all the lights are burning at once.

For grown-ups (18+): An ecstatic dance journey — music that rises and falls, space to move however your body wants, no choreography, no mirrors, no judgment. Woven through with Jewish wisdom on light, miracles, and possibility. With Ecstatic Dance DJ Kai Schneider, Ecstatic Dance Facilitator Lauren Roth, and Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp.

For kids (6-12): Their own dance party, led by Reflexions Dance Studio— glow, music, movement games, and Chanukah stories they'll feel in their feet.

Then, together: Everyone meets up for a shared meal.

Sweaty, glowing, generations mixed together. This is the miracle part.

Because Jewish tradition has always known the body can pray.

Miriam took up her drum at the edge of the sea and danced. David danced before the Ark "with all his might." The Psalmist wrote, "All my bones shall say…" — not all my words, all my bones.

And Hanukkah carries its own lesson about going higher. The ancient schools of Hillel and Shammai argued about how to light: start with eight and count down, or start with one and build? Hillel won — we rise in holiness, we don't descend. One light, then two, then eight. Ecstatic dance works the same way: a little movement, then a little more, until the whole room is lit.

You don't need to know any of this to come. But it's in the room with us.

The dancers and the "I don't dance" people. Families of every shape. Jews, the Jew-ish, and the people who love them. Folks who grew up with Chanukah and folks meeting it for the first time. Anyone who could use some light right about now.

Good to know

What do I wear?
Whatever you can move in. No shoes!

Do I have to dance?
Nope. Sway, stand, sit, breathe. Every kind of presence counts.

Is it substance-free?
Yes!

Accessibility:
Seating and mobility access available.

Cost: Free!

This is one night. Cincy Lab is all year.

Ecstati-kkah is one of Cincy Lab's peak gatherings — big, surprising, seasonal moments that open a door. Behind that door: small groups (Jewish Wisdom Laboratories) that meet monthly, deep-dive courses like Judaism Inbound, and a community of curious humans on the same winding path.

If something sparks on the dance floor, there's somewhere for it to go.