{image1}Although the phrase "dance like no one's watching" is cliché, children around the world practice the concept everyday. Through free-flowing, whatever-feels-good movements they unknowingly define "dancing fool" and love every second of it.

With that in mind, the Studio of Healthy Alternatives (SOHA) and its sister business, Take My Hand, will host their first Ecstatic Family Dance on Friday, May 13 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in their new building, 2234 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

What exactly does it mean to dance ecstatically?

"It is a happy, freeing dance, without judgment or exhibition," says Cyndi Wilder, owner of SOHA and mother to 9-year-old and 18-month-old girls. "Children are natural ecstatic dancers."

SOHA quietly opened in early April. Wilder, a massage therapist for 11 years and Reiki Master, describes her new venture as a body revitalization studio offering massage, aromatherapy, cranial sacral therapy, breath work, Quantum Touch, pre-natal massage, reflexology, guided meditation and visualization, as well as special events.

"Last fall I again came to a familiar point in my life where I needed to decide what to do next. I asked myself what I really wanted to do, not what was practical or what would make the most sense to those around me," says Wilder, formerly an MPS teacher. "To paraphrase Gandhi, I wanted to be the change that I wanted to see in the world, so I took the road without the path."

Ecstatic dancing co-sponsor Take My Hand is a natural pregnancy and parenting center that's also in its start-up phase.

The Ecstatic Family Dance will feature live drummers pounding out rhythms, while parents either cut loose or try to learn from their kids how to dance like, well, no one's watching.

A $10 donation is suggested. Attendees are encouraged to bring a snack to share for after the ecstatic-ness ebbs. Call (414) 744-8464 for more information.