What is Manawa? And Why It’s the Heartbeat of Our Dance

In te reo Māori, Manawa is a word rich with meaning. It translates to heart, but it holds so much more—it speaks to the source of breath, the rhythm of life, and the emotional and spiritual center of a person. It is the place within us where feeling lives, where life force flows. It’s the pulse that keeps us connected—to ourselves, to others, to the land.

At Manawa Ecstatic Dance, this word is our compass. It guides the way we move, the way we gather, the way we remember. Every dance we hold is an invitation to return to the manawa—to the wisdom of the body, the rhythm of the heart, and the truth of the moment.

In te ao Māori (the Māori worldview), manawa is deeply interconnected with mauri (life force), wairua (spirit), and whanaungatanga (relationship). When we dance together, we don’t just move as individuals—we sync with each other. We become part of a shared pulse. A living rhythm. He manawa o te tangata—the heartbeat of the people.

This is why Manawa is so aligned with the essence of Ecstatic Dance. In a world that often disconnects us from ourselves and each other, the dance floor becomes a space of remembering. We let go of the thinking mind, the roles we play, the weight we carry. We breathe, we feel, we move—not to impress or perform, but to come home to our bodies and into deep connection with the collective.

At Manawa, there’s no choreography, no right or wrong. Just the freedom to follow your own rhythm—and in doing so, to become part of something greater. We move together in sync with the beat, and with each breath, each step, each shared smile, we create he manawa kotahi—one heartbeat.

Our name honors this indigenous wisdom and this collective remembering. That we are not separate. That our healing happens in relationship. That when we gather in movement, in presence, and in joy, we awaken the ancient rhythm of manawa—the one that has always been beating inside us.

So come move with us. Come breathe with us. Come listen to the manawa—yours, ours, and the Earth’s.

Let the dance bring you back to the heartbeat of life.
Let he manawa o te tangata carry you home.