Meet Kathleen Cooley | Ecstatic Dance Atlanta Founder, Radio Show Host & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathleen Cooley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathleen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I chose to start Ecstatic Dance Atlanta for a variety of reasons. 1. I love dancing and I love community, so Ecstatic Dance is the perfect combo of each.
2. I believe there are too few places in the city to dance freely and soberly, which is something I value immensely.
3. I watched Ecstatic Dance in Oakland grow from small to big, and when I returned to Atlanta, I decided to do my best to create the same kind of experience here in Atlanta.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have been producing Ecstatic Dances in Atlanta since 2012. Something people may not realize, is how precious and rare a large, private, affordable dance floor is, especially in a rapidly growing city such as Atlanta. Ecstatic Dance Atlanta has had at least 5 homes over the last 10 years. Our previous dance home was sold during COVID, and recently bulldozed. It was tragic, I thought we were done.

How I have gotten to produce a successful weekly sober dance, is by continuing to answer the call. As I mentioned above, we have had to move several times. While looking for new venues, we’ve often gone several months, and in covid’s case, a couple years between regular dance series. Let me say, I have given up, more than once! I’ve simply let the entire concept go. Only to have something or someone pull me back in to producing dances again. The enjoyment of the attendees is so very compelling, that I cannot resist.

This most recent resurrection, was due to a legitimate groundswell of support. Former dancers reached out and asked “what could they do” to help me bring back Ecstatic Dance Atlanta. That’s how I find myself doing it again, and better than ever before.

I see Ecstatic Dance Atlanta as an extremely valuable spiritual space. We find a beautiful room, with a clean, wooden dance floor, we bring in incredible DJ’s, with a very good sound system, and we have agreements which keep the experience safe and reliable. We strive to keep the space neutral, in that we do not attempt to “guide” our dancers. It’s their own dance journey. Each dance is as different as each dancer is different. We provide the canvas, each dancer and their dance is their work of art. It’s a moving meditation.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I were given the opportunity to show someone around Atlanta for a week, I would start with the natural beauty in which Atlanta is immersed. We are affectionately known as the “City that grows amongst the trees.” So I would take them to Inman Park, known as “Atlanta’s First Suburb”, and show them all the old growth trees, who were standing there well before the historic Victorian and Craftsman homes which fill this neighborhood now, were built around these 200+ years old trees.

From there, we would walk on the Freedom Park Bike Pathway, to the Old 4th Ward, to the National Historic Site of Martin Luther King Jr’s birth home, and final resting place, the Martin Luther King, Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Here we would visit the World Peace Garden; Ebenezer Baptist Church; the museum, and the Historic Royal Peacock.

We would visit Centennial Olympic Park and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, perhaps ending that day with a ride on Atlanta’s giant ferris wheel, and some rooftop dining.

We would certainly go check out Venkman’s or The Variety Playhouse, or maybe Center Stage for live music.
We’d go to Laughing Skull for some good stand up comedy, and some great food. We would also catch as many live DJ’s as possible!! Ideally Kai Alce; DJ Kemit; and DJ Debbie Graham. There are many, many more amazing DJ’s in ATL.

We’d certainly go to Atlanta Botanical Garden, especially in December, for the Festival of Lights. While there, we’ d have to first visit the orchid collection, and then walk around Piedmont Park where the beauty, the nature, and the people watching there are top notch!

We would visit WRFG, the only surviving Community FM radio station in Atlanta, where I host a show, and where we are celebrating our 50th year of broadcasting. WRFG is housed in the Little 5 Points Community Center, with other remarkable non profit organizations such as Manga African Dance; Horizons Theatre; Mask Theatre and Art Papers, to name a few.

We would visit Stone Mountain, so that we could see the best view of Atlanta from a distance, and Mt Arabia to experience the incredible flora and fauna on our beloved monadnock (that’s a geographical feature, that’s super fun to say! We would walk or paddle the Chattahoochee River, especially near the Palisades.

Oh, and we’d go eat at The Sun Dial, cause who doesn’t love a revolving retro restaurant serving local dishes and ingredients? We’d hafta go eat at Ruby Chow’s and Katmandu Kitchen, among other places!

And of course, we’d go to Clarkston, often identified as the “most diverse mile in America”, and home to the Clarkston Community Center, home of Your Dekalb Farmers Market, and Ecstatic Dance Atlanta.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have received so much support bringing Ecstatic Dance Atlanta to fruition it’s quite inspiring! First, I must acknowledge the founders of the Ecstatic Dance movement, Donna Carrol, and Tyler Blank.
They gave me their blessings, and answered any questions I had.
Second, I must acknowledge my current team, Logan Ferelle, Gerry Cook, and David Gamble, for their tireless and enthusiastic support.
Thirdly, I must acknowledge the dancers, who come every Sunday, to dance, and to support Ecstatic Dance Atlanta.

Website: www.ecstaticdance.org/atlanta

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecstaticdanceatlanta/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EcstaticDanceAtlanta