Movement Camps at Burning Man
Burning Man is a giant playground with trampolines on nearly every block, sculptures to climb, and 24/7 dancing. But this playground has many kinds of movement to explore that might be new for you. I discovered a few forms of movement at Burning Man which I now practice regularly: ecstatic dance, contact improv, and acro dance.
I highly recommend trying a new way to move at these camps:
Roller Disco
The Church of 8 Wheels is a Roller Disco rink in the middle of the desert, with enough sizes of skates for everyone to get rolling & music to get you grooving.
Muscle Beach
Swing City is home to the traveling rings, aka the grown-up monkey bars. Similar to the ones found at Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach, these rings are both a good arm workout and yet surprisingly easy with the right momentum.
Camp Comfort & Joy has the Pink Gym, with free weights, squat racks, pull-up bars, and “hottie” trainers. It’s open 24-7, open to all, and very very pink.
UltraMarathon
If you love running in scorching heat, check out Pink Lightning, Burning Man’s only running camp. Pink Lightning hosts the BRC50k Ultramarathon, running races, running talks, yoga classes, and kids’ runs. The Ultramarathon is held on Tuesday morning bright & early to beat the heat.
Thunderdome
The infamous Death Guild Thunderdome is a geodesic dome where two people get suspended from the top with bungee harnesses and given foam boffer “weapons” to fight each other. It’s a healthy way to get any anger out and it’s a lot of fun to watch. They are open at night (when their sign is lit), usually around 9pm.
Acro & Circus Arts
My favorite movement camp, Camp Contact, is part of Anahasana Village and offers classes & workshops from acro, contact improv, ecstatic dance, Authentic Relating, somatic practices & more.
If you are into acro and contact improv, you can usually find other people to play with in the center of Center Camp most days. Acrobatica Galactica is another acro camp which I haven’t yet been too, but will look out for them on the Playa.
Camp Kinetic offers afternoon workshops in Flow Arts, Juggling, Dance, Yoga, and Aerial.
Dance
Partner Dance Adventures is a long-running partner dance camp offering fusion, swing, tango, blues, salsa, zouk, and lindy hop. They have daily lessons and nightly social dance parties Monday through Friday.
Agave Lounge offers twerkshops and jazzercise.
RhythmWave holds a special place in my heart because its sprung wood dance floor is where I discovered conscious dance. With daily barefoot dancing on a proper dance floor, try out 5Rhythms, Dancing Freedom, Soul Motion and more.
Yoga
There is yoga everywhere on the playa. Seriously, go to the listing of scheduled events & search for “yoga” & you’ll find 50+ yoga classes per day. Some mentions are: daily sunrise yoga at People of Color Camp (7am–8:15am), breathwork & yoga at Cold Yogis, Disorient’s daily amplified yoga, and Camp Contact has a variety of yoga styles, including “Rocket Yoga” inspired by “LSD-pirate philosophy.”
Misc.
Pinwheels & PuttPutt has mini golf, Big Ding Energy offers wind wing sessions, and Keeping it Wheel is a Onewheel bootcamp camp which gives Burners an experience on a Onewheel & electric unicycles and teaches you how to safely ride them.
