{"id":87160,"date":"2026-10-05T20:47:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T04:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/10\/05\/how-cannabis-is-shaping-the-new-dance-underground\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T19:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T03:46:14","slug":"how-cannabis-is-shaping-the-new-dance-underground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/10\/05\/how-cannabis-is-shaping-the-new-dance-underground\/","title":{"rendered":"How\u00a0Cannabis is\u00a0Shaping the\u00a0New\u00a0Dance\u00a0Underground"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

By\u00a0Taylor Engle<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the dance floor,\u00a0timing\u2019s\u00a0everything. The bass drops, bodies\u00a0move\u00a0and for a moment\u200b,\u200b\u00a0the mind goes quiet. For some dancers, cannabis helps them get there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Across international underground dance scenes, freestyle dancers say the plant can act as a creative catalyst, softening the internal critic and allowing them to slip deeper into rhythm. Whether in house circles, waacking sessions\u00a0(the \u201970s West Coast gay clubs\u2019 faster, more rhythmic \u201cvoguing\u201d)\u00a0or improvised studio jams, cannabis has quietly become part of how an increasing number of dancers explore movement,\u00a0music\u00a0and flow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For one Dublin-based pole dancer and instructor, who asked to remain anonymous, cannabis can quiet the constant technical chatter that often runs through a dancer\u2019s mind.\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u201cFor me, the\u00a0effect\u00a0of cannabis turns off the part of my brain that usually keeps working during a dance class or practice,\u201d\u00a0she says. \u201cIt allows me to\u00a0actually feel\u00a0the music more and move more freely without focusing on technique. Sometimes, I feel more in tune with my body, and then I feel like I can enjoy how my body moves more without the need to correct myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That shift from control to sensation is something dancers often\u00a0spend years chasing. In freestyle communities especially, the goal\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0perfection but presence. When the analytical mind fades into the background, movement becomes instinctive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orange County-based street dancer and athlete Shannon O, who performs with a contemporary dance company, says cannabis can dramatically alter how she hears music, sharpening her awareness of rhythm and musical detail.\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u201cMusic hits differently when you\u2019re high,\u201d\u00a0O says. \u201cIt helps me notice offbeats, accents and tempo in a deeper way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For O, the plant\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0always translate into dancing itself. While cannabis amplifies her imagination for choreography and musicality, she jokes that\u00a0actually moving\u00a0while high can make her \u201ca hazard to myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still,\u00a0the mental\u00a0experience can be creatively valuable. Listening to music while consuming cannabis often sparks choreography in her mind before a single step is taken.\u00a0That relationship between cannabis and dance\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0exist in isolation. Cannabis\u2019 place within dance culture also varies widely depending on geography and community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In legal markets like New Jersey, dancer and festival coordinator Ginny Gogarty says cannabis has long been woven into surrounding creative spaces like music festivals.\u00a0The founder of Karnival of Arts Music Festival and lead singer of costumed jam band\u00a0Mums\u00a0The\u00a0Word<\/em>, Gogarty merges music and movement through her performance collective, the Bally Girls Dance Team. Her dance style blends\u00a0heels\u00a0choreography (a fusion of typically jazz, hip-hop,\u00a0contemporary\u00a0and burlesque performed in high heels) with Afro-influenced movement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to smoke before, during and after dancing,\u201d Gogarty\u00a0says. \u201cIt\u00a0helped me relax, get in the zone and just let loose.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, she sees cannabis less as a defining part of dance itself and more as something embedded within festival and music culture.\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u201cA lot of people in the festival community build their lives around cannabis,\u201d Gogarty\u00a0says.\u00a0\u201cWhether they\u2019re growing it, vending it or just enjoying it socially.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Indigenous\/Latina professional heels dancer and cannabis advocate Marie Vallejo, the relationship between cannabis and dance is more personal.\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bVallejo grew up in the competitive dance world, where early training often emphasized perfection and comparison over creativity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of self-doubt,\u201d Vallejo says. \u201cYou\u2019re constantly thinking about technique, about how you look, about meeting expectations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cannabis helped her reconnect with dance on her own terms.\u00a0\u201cWhen I consume cannabis, I\u2019m in my zone,\u201d\u00a0\u200bshe says\u200b. \u201cIt takes away that anxiety and lets me focus on how the music feels instead of how I\u2019m supposed to move.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, Vallejo dances\u00a0frequently\u00a0in her home studio she built in her garage. In this safe space, she can consume, put her music on\u00a0shuffle\u00a0and improvise freely.\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u201cI don\u2019t know what song is coming next,\u201d Vallejo\u00a0\u200bsays\u200b. \u201cIt could go from something hype to something slow and emotional, and you just build movement as it comes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That improvisational approach reflects a broader shift happening within underground dance communities, where dancers are increasingly exploring movement outside traditional studios,\u00a0competitions\u00a0and performance structures.\u00a0In those spaces, cannabis can function as both a creative aid and a social ritual.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vallejo laughs\u200b\u00a0as she\u00a0says\u200b\u00a0that sometimes she arrives at\u00a0heels\u00a0class smelling a little \u201cdank,\u201d drawing a mix of curious looks and friendly jokes.\u00a0\u201cSome people turn their heads,\u201d\u00a0\u200bshe\u00a0reveals\u200b. \u201cOthers say, \u2018Why didn\u2019t you invite me?\u2019 But\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0how you find your community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even so, much of this culture\u00a0remains\u00a0unspoken. In underground dance communities, cannabis use may not always be openly discussed outside the circle, even when\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0relatively common\u00a0within it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of us in the dance and music community use cannabis regularly,\u201d O\u00a0\u200bsays\u200b. \u201cBut because of stigma, it\u2019s not always something openly expressed to people outside the scene.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Inside those spaces, however, its presence is often understood.\u00a0\u200b\u200bAt dance jams, parties and informal sessions, cannabis can function much like alcohol in other social environments: a shared ritual that lowers barriers and encourages connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond creativity, dancers say cannabis can influence the emotional and spiritual experience of movement. The Dublin dancer says cannabis tends to amplify whatever emotions are already present.\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u201cIt enhances whatever I\u2019m feeling,\u201d she\u00a0\u200bsays\u200b. \u201cSometimes that means facing things you\u2019ve pushed away, but that can also help you process them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

At other times, the effect is simpler: freedom from self-consciousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u200b\u201cYou stop worrying about looking cute or performing for other people,\u201d she\u00a0\u200bsays\u200b. \u201cYou\u2019re just present in your body.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Vallejo, that presence is what\u00a0ultimately matters\u00a0most.\u00a0\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u201cDance isn\u2019t about how you should look,\u201d she\u00a0\u200bsays\u200b. \u201cIt\u2019s about how you feel and how you connect with the music.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As cannabis legalization continues to spread and cultural attitudes evolve, its relationship with dance will\u00a0likely keep\u00a0shifting,\u00a0too. What\u00a0remains\u00a0constant is the pursuit dancers share everywhere: the moment when music takes over and movement becomes instinct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sometimes, a little green\u2019s all you need to quiet the noise and truly arrive.\u00a0Like a well-choreographed dance move.<\/p>\n

Originally published in Issue 53\u00a0of Cannabis Now Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post How\u00a0Cannabis is\u00a0Shaping the\u00a0New\u00a0Dance\u00a0Underground<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: How\u00a0Cannabis is\u00a0Shaping the\u00a0New\u00a0Dance\u00a0Underground<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Taylor Engle\u00a0 On the dance floor,\u00a0timing\u2019s\u00a0everything. The bass drops, bodies\u00a0move\u00a0and for a moment\u200b,\u200b\u00a0the mind goes quiet. For some dancers, cannabis helps them get there.\u00a0 Across international underground dance scenes, freestyle dancers say the plant can act as a creative catalyst, softening the internal critic and allowing them to slip deeperContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,20085,85,19799],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87160"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87161,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87160\/revisions\/87161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}