MAGMA

Spring Re-Wilding Ecstatic Dance with EIR
2025-05-10 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | MA
Dance freely in community with music artist EIR
This session we explore the theme of re-wilding and communing with the natural world through ecstatic dance and movement. If you feel inspired, come in clothing influenced by wild flora and fauna.
We have a very special guest, Megan Ghirardi of Sacred Spiral Bodywork, offering mini bodywork sessions before the opening circle. There will be a sign-up list at the front desk.
6:15pm >> doors open for stretching and bodywork
6:40pm >> opening circle
6:50 – 8:15pm >> ecstatic dance
8:15pm >> closing meditation
Suggested donation $25-35 BUY NOW
accompanied young people are welcome, pay an extra $10 at the door for kids over 10. Kids under 10 are free.

Sunday Salon
2025-05-11 18:00 - 20:00 | MAGMA, 11 Pleasant St., Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Sunday, May 11, 2025 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
MAGMA, 11 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Suggested Donation: $5 – 10, online or at the door
Registration link: https://momence.com/s/116543702

Join us for the Sunday Salon with Miranda Aisling and Heather Atwood at MAGMA in Gloucester. During this monthly salon series, attendees are invited to engage in thoughtful, enriching conversations with fellow creatives across Cape Ann. The aim is to create an inspiring, convivial space to foster creativity in our region.

Whether you’re a long-time practicing artist or enthusiastically art-adjacent, we welcome you to join in the conversation. We’ll break into small groups to encourage engaging discussions between attendees.

Barn Dance
2025-05-30 19:30 - 21:00 | MA
Join us for a Barn Dance, featuring fun and easy to learn contra, square, and circle dances.
Caller: Rose Sheehan Musicians: George Clements and Nathaniel Diamond-Jones
No experience or partner necessary, just come and dance!
$10-20 suggested donation BUY NOW or at the door

Teen Pride Dance
2025-05-31 18:00 - 21:00 | MA
The LBGTeens of Cape Ann are hosting a FREE Teen Pride Dance on Saturday May 31st. The theme is masquerade – you can make a mask when you arrive!
With DJ Salomon
6:00-9:00pm

Family Yoga and Dance Party
2025-06-06 15:30 - 16:30 | MA
Family Yoga and Dance Party with Osha Rose
First Friday of every month
$15 per family
Register at her website: https://www.osharose.com/book-online

Time Travelers Ball
2025-06-07 19:30 - 22:30 | MA
Join us for a spectacular costume party, filled with live music, dance participation and performance, and fantastical ambiance. The Time Travelers Ball invites you to come costumed from any culture, time period 1920 or earlier. For example:
*Ancient Egypt or Greece simplicity
*Medieval swashbuckling swagger
*Regency Period elegance (like Bridgerton)
*Belle Epoque grandiosity
*1920s sass
​* Or from another dimension, and your wildest imagination
Fill up your dance card and crowd the dance floor for waltzes, country dances, and the Charleston all to live music – we will teach you how first! Dance performances showcasing dances from bygone eras will dot the evening. We’ll have delicious drinks (N/A and A) and desserts, all included in the price of entry.
TICKETS
7:30pm VIP entry: $90 – BUY NOW
(includes champagne toast, exclusive music performances)
8:00pm General Admission: $65 – BUY NOW
We are raising funds to help support MAGMA programs and performances, to pay artists fairly for performances, and to offer affordable spaces for dance making and dance education. If you would like to make a a tax-deductible donation for your ticket, or as a sponsor to this event or our programming, please see our donation information HERE.
Dance performers: Carey McKinley, Zoe Ulrich, Sophia Dunzelman, and Hannah Tupper
Music performers: Scott Moore, Erica Pisaturo, and guests
SPONSORS
We would like to thank our generous sponsors for this event
Nancy Steele
Andy & Rebecca Popell and The Cape Ann Guitar Society
KayeLynn Johnson-Shoucair
Anonymous

Summer Solstice Ecstatic Dance
2025-06-21 18:30 - 21:00 | MA
Summer Solstice Ecstatic Dance
with musical artist EIR
Doors open at 6:30pm
$25-35 sliding scale BUY NOW

Youth Summer Dance Week 1
2025-07-07 09:00 - 11:00 | MA
July 7-11 Summer Dance Week #1, Ages 3-6: Stomping and Stories
Monday through Thursday 9:00am-11:00am – A wonderful 4 days of dancing and imaginative play as children explore dance-making with fairytales and other stories, discovering how to convey character with movement and costume. Additional activities like art-making and games will supplement the week. $175 SIGN UP

GloArts Showcase
2025-07-10 17:30 - 18:30 | MA
Mark your calendar for the first ever GloArts Showcase!
Join us on Thursday, July 10 from 5:30-6:30 pm at the Meetinghouse Green, 10 Church Street Gloucester, during Gloucester’s fifth annual Culture Splash.
Learn about our vision for a multidisciplinary arts center in Gloucester with five cornerstone partners: @brassfed_nation @lanescoventheaterco @magmagloucester @alexandragracemusicstudio and @hearthartstudios
Enjoy free performances from our partners and learn how you can get involved to make this vision happen!
This event is funded by the Harbortown Cultural District and @masscultural.

Monstah Black residency
2025-07-15 18:00 - 20:00 | MA
MAGMA welcomes dancer, choreographer, musician Monstah Black to a mini artist residency to research new performance material for their project, the Illustrious Blacks.
As part of their MAGMA residency, Monstah will be offering “Beyond The Two Step” – an open-to-the-public workshop on Tuesday July 15 from 6:00-8:00pm.
SIGN UP $20
Workshop Description: Two Step: a ballroom dance in ²/₄ or ⁴/₄ time having a basic pattern of step-close-step. Globally the term two step is a comfortable and familiar place, recognized by diverse communities across the world. It’s familiar. It’s easy. It’s a reliable go to for those feeling less adventurous when moving to sound, or without sound.
As a comfort zone and place of recognition, Monstah Black creates ease by leading with the two step, as the root for exploring beyond its confines. Using key, simplified, prompts Monstah guides through a physical journey, inviting participants to release beyond their perceived limitations.

In this workshop Monstah introduces personal signifiers used when building material for The Illustrious Blacks live DJ sets. It’s a return to the popular phrase, tune in, turn on and drop out” to explore unfamiliar territories.

The goal: To inspire in others the ability to find one’s self moving freely, unapologetically, from a physically liberating space, from the dance floor to the living room or wherever you feel inspired to MOVE.

The Illustrious Blacks will perform at the Cut Live in Gloucester on Sunday July 13. BUY TIX
read about the Illustrious Blacks at their website
Also this recent interview: https://ultramaroon.club/features/a-conversation-with-the-illustrious-blacks
photo by Sylvain Guenot

Ecstatic Dance: Lion's Breath
2025-07-19 18:40 - 21:00 | MA
“Lion’s Breath: A Portal Ecstatic Dance”
with musical guest/DJ EIR
Join us at MAGMA for a mid-summer ecstatic dance journey into the fire of the heart. As we approach the Lion’s Gate Portal (8/8), this dance is a ceremonial space to activate your inner lioness/lion — radiant, wild, and sovereign. Move through the frequencies of courage, joy, sacred rage, and soul power. We’ll dance the golden spiral, the starseed pulse, the solar serpent rising. Come barefoot, bold, and ready to ROAR.

Saturday, 6:45-9:00pm
$25-35 sliding scale BUY TIX Join a beautiful dancing community, in a space made for movement. We will have tea, a lounge area, and a collaborative altar. Musician/DJ Eir will ignite the evening with sounds ranging from etheric downtempo to world beats and house and everything in between. Be swept up into a world of inspiration for a season of magic to rejuvenate your body, mind and soul. Come dressed to move, whether that’s in your most comfortable clothing, or festive-wear. (Indoor) Flow toys for movement are welcome. Optional: your own cup for drinking tea, something to place upon the altar.
Dance Schedule:
≫ 6:45PM – GATHER & STRETCH
≫ 7:00PM – OPENING CIRCLE
≫ 7:15 PM – ECSTATIC DANCE
≫ 8:45PM – CLOSING MEDITATION
≫ 9:00 PM – END
This is an all ages event. Parents are welcome to bring children, though please stay with them throughout the dance. Ages 12 and under are free. Ages 13+ are $10 donation at the door.

Yoga for Janet
2025-07-20 13:30 - 15:00 | MA
Yoga for Janet. Yoga for you.
Join us for a yoga class that will honor Janet Green Garrison and connect us as a community. Class will be 1:30-2:45pm
We’ll be in-person at Magma, 11 Pleasant St, Gloucester, MA 01930 or online via Zoom: Click here to Join on Zoom
Bring your yoga mat and any props to make yourself comfortable. Please plan to arrive between 1:00-1:20 so that you can greet your fellow yogis, soak up the altar and settle in. There is a lot of space, and yet it is still limited, so please REGISTER (click HERE) so we can try to accommodate everyone.
We look forward to being with you in this tender time,
Bo Abrams and Carol James

Youth Summer Dance Week #2
2025-07-21 09:00 - 12:00 | MA
Dance Around the World
Monday July 21 – Thursday July 24, 9:00am-12:00pm
Ages 4-10
Dance around the World is for ages 4-10, and meets Monday through Thursday from 9am to 12pm. Get your passport ready and travel with us… through dance! Learn about Spanish Flamenco, West African dance, Brazilian Capoeira, Hawaiian Hula, and more.
$220 – BUY NOW

Laila Franklin Residency
2025-07-26 - 2025-07-27 | MA
Laila J. Franklin is a multidisciplinary dance artist based in Massachusett and Pawtucket land | Boston, Massachusetts. She is interested in meta-commentary, deconstruction, and bits, approaching themes surrounding the human experience with nuance, curiosity, physical rigor, and humor. Her work extends from lineages of traditional and experimental Black, queer dance makers, with a particular interest in the collision of postmodernist creation frameworks and story ballet. LEARN MORE
Laila and company will be in residence at MAGMA working on the piece BabyBabyBaby. A public showing on the work will happen on July 27th at 6pm. The showing is free, but donations are welcome.
Company dance classes will also be open to the public. Both classes will be Intermediate/Advanced Level.
Saturday 11am with Michael Figueroa (pay instructor directly, $20 suggested)
Sunday 10am with Sasha Peterson (pay instructor directly, $20 suggested)
photo by Cameron Kincheloe

Sunday Salon
2025-08-03 18:00 - 20:00 | MAGMA, 11 Pleasant St., Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Sunday, August 3, 2025 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
MAGMA, 11 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Suggested Donation: $5 online or at the door
Registration link: https://momence.com/MAGMA/Sunday-Salon/117548729

Join us for the Sunday Salon with Miranda Aisling and Heather Atwood at MAGMA in Gloucester. During this monthly salon series, attendees are invited to engage in thoughtful, enriching conversations with fellow creatives across Cape Ann. The aim is to create an inspiring, convivial space to foster creativity in our region. Whether you’re a long-time practicing artist or enthusiastically art-adjacent, we welcome you to join in the conversation.

Susan Erony and Nubar Alexanian will present their visual work. Jay Jaroslav will be our presenting writer.

*If it’s just too hot, we will postpone until September.

Duncan Dance Workshop Series
2025-08-07 18:00 - 19:00 | MA
The choreographic études of Isadora Duncan explore, through the action/rest continuum, the dynamic relationship between affiliation and solitude. Celebrating nature’s unity and rhythm, these dances, remembering ancient rituals and archetypes, are simultaneously earthly and divine. The indomitable human spirit, ever hopeful is present in this choreography and in all true healing. Isadora Duncan’s goal for the “the highest intelligence in the freest body”: that every living child might have available to them, the birthright of beauty, strength, and freedom.”
$20, Summer Workshop 4-pack for $70 (good for Body-Voice-Rhythm, Duncan Dance, and Contact Improvisation) SIGN UP
Thursdays 6-7pm
July 17 – Beauty
July 24 – Freedom
July 31 – Beauty
August 7 – Nurturing

Isadora Duncan, the Mother of Modern Dance (1887-1927) sought movements that were expressive of the spirit. In the first decades of the 20th century, she won international acclaim, commanding attention from artists, scholars, and intellectuals on her tours through major cities of Europe, Russia, and the United states. Rejecting the toe shoes, courses, and gender stereotypes of ballet, she sought to clear the way for a dance of the future, one which would be not a diversion but a religion, an expression of life sounds life”.

Youth workshop - Ballet Boost
2025-08-11 11:00 - 13:00 | MA
Ballet Boost is for youth ages 6-13, a mini Ballet intensive to inspire your child in the art of ballet. Learn fun, challenging steps, work on strength and range of motion, and get into storytelling through dance by learning dances from the classic story ballets. Ideal for Beginner to Intermediate students. Meets Monday through Thursday 11am-1pm
SIGN UP

Body-Voice-Rhythm
2025-08-21 17:00 - 18:00 | MAGMA, 11 Pleasant St., Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Body-Voice-Rhythm!
July 10, 17, and all Thursdays in August 5-6pm
$20 per class, Summer Workshop 4-pack for $70 (good for Body-Voice-Rhythm, Duncan Dance, and Contact Improvisation) SIGN UP
An interactive and energetic romp of movement, body percussion and voice, exploring rhythm and a little bit of pitch. A music class through movement! A dance class through music! Open to all levels of experience.
Dawn Pratson is a dancer-choreographer, flutist and singer, with a background in creative arts in therapy. Since the late 1990’s she has been learning and teaching in the international Dalcroze Eurhythmics community. She has many years of teaching experience, from early childhood through older adults. More at dawnpratson.com

Beginner Contact Improvisation Series
2025-08-21 19:00 - 20:15 | MA
Today is the final class in our series! Explore the basics of weight sharing, points of contact, spiraling and more. All experience levels are welcome! Led by Sarah Slifer Swift.
$20 for a single class, or buy a Summer Workshop 4-pack for $70 (good for Body-Voice-Rhythm, Duncan Dance, and Contact Improvisation)
SIGN UP

Folk Week 2025: Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band
2025-08-27 19:30 - 21:30 | MA
Folk Week 2025
The Cape Ann Guitar Society is excited to announce four nights of music where we showcase some of our area’s most unique musical voices in a variety of special venues on Cape Ann. Our diversity is our strength – get to know the folk music of the Puerto Rican countryside, Jewish celebrations, the Emerald Isle, Cape Ann maritime tradition, and modern Americana.

Opening Night:
Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band
Wednesday, August 27th, 7:30 pm at MAGMA
Tickets: $15
https://www.capeannguitarsociety.org/folk-week-2025

Boston based internationally-acclaimed Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band brings passion, virtuosity, and contagious energy to every performance. The Wheels improvise with the intimacy of chamber music and the intensity of a rowdy dance band. Klezmer is a Hebrew word, a combination of the words “kley” (vessel) and “zemer” (melody) that referred to musical instruments in ancient times. It became colloquially attached to Jewish folk musicians sometime in the Middle Ages. Working under various restrictions in different centuries and cultures, Jewish musicians (klezmorim) developed their own unique style out of a variety of local musical styles. Figuring most prominently are Ottoman Turkish modes and Balkan gypsy and clarinet stylings. While “klezmer” referred originally only to instrumental music played by clarinets, violins, basses and tsimbaloms (hammer dulcimers), it has come to mean Yiddish vocal music as well, encompassing both folk songs and music from the Yiddish theater, which thrived in the early 20th century in both Warsaw and New York.

Rehearsing the Unknown: Collective Improvisation Techniques
2025-09-06 13:00 - 16:00 | MA
An improvisational dance workshop
Time: 1-4pm Cost: $50 SIGN UP
4pm Free informal performance, open to the public
Workshop Description
Michael Joviala and Dawn Pratson take participants through a typical rehearsal of their performance collective, Locomotors, an improvising group which weaves together the separate ecologies of somatic awareness, Dalcroze eurhythmics and the jazz tradition of open-form improvisation, sometimes known as ‘free jazz’. Engage with improvised music in specific ways such as going with/going against; resisting/accepting; leading/following; supporting/countering; beginning and ending in order to improvise spontaneous long-form structures in music and dance. The workshop will culminate in an improvised performance centered around one of the group’s compositions.
Locomotors is a collaborative music and dance group rooted in the the practice of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and open-form improvisation, with a special focus on the somatic relationship between sound and movement. The core members are pianist and composer Michael Joviala, and dancer and choreographer Dawn Pratson.
Biographies
Michael Joviala, DMA is a composer/improviser/performer and teacher in New York City. He holds the Diplôme Supérieur from the Institute Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, Switzerland and directs the Professional Studies Program for Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the Lucy Moses School in New York. In addition, he works with students of all ages at the Diller-Quaile School of Music, The Dalcroze School of Music and Movement, Columbia University and offers workshops.
Dawn Pratson is a dancer, musician, choreographer and educator with a background in creative arts in therapy. Formal training includes a BA in music and dance, a master’s degree in dance/movement therapy and a license in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. She was the founding music specialist at the Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures charter school in Philly. Currently she teaches and performs with Michael Joviala in the group Locomotors, and on a free-lance basis, dividing her time between Philadelphia and Cape Ann, MA. More at dawnpratson.com

I Am
2025-09-27 19:00 - 20:00 | MA
I Am
Dance performance from Expressive Arts Dance Company, dir. Michelle Dalton
Saturday September 27, 7pm
Michelle Dalton, longtime dancer with Ina Hahn/Windhover Dance Company and Deborah Abel Dance Company, is bringing “I Am” to MAGMA, inspired by the Celine Dion documentary. This is a family friendly dance performance, with an intergenerational cast.
Tickets: $15 BUY NOW

Body Confidence with Whitney Way Thore
2025-10-09 19:00 - 21:00 | MA
A beginner-level dance class followed by a meet and greet with Whitney Way Thore!
This event is SOLD OUT
We are offering the class via Zoom – sign up for Zoom here

Body Confidence with Whitney Way Thore
2025-10-10 20:00 - 22:00 | MA
A beginner-level dance class followed by a meet and greet with Whitney Way Thore!
SOLD OUT
We are offering the class via Zoom on Thursday 10/9 at 7pm – sign up for Zoom here

Ecstatic Dance with EIR
2025-10-11 18:30 - 21:00 | MA
Ecstatic Dance featuring musical artist EIR
Saturday October 11, 7:00-9:00pm
$25-35 sliding scale BUY TIX

Ecstatic Dance at Magma
Have we forgotten, through all the doing, how to simply be?
Have we, in our endless pursuit, lost touch with true pleasure?
In the heat of summer’s fires, has the centrifugal force catapulted us out of the body and into the future?
Now, as the wheel turns, we arrive at the apex of autumn—a season when shadows, rivers, and lakes of the subconscious call us to return, return, return…to dance with them.
We’ve moved forward, yes. But with this new growth comes an invitation: to welcome the darkness still alive in our depths—for healing, movement, alchemy, bliss, and pleasure.
Come dance with us in this liminal season, when the veil grows thin and the walk between worlds becomes dreamlike. Together, let us enter the heart of the womb of night and—with curiosity—discover all that waits to be revealed.
Because from shadow comes light…
Music by Eir — weaving sounds from etheric downtempo to world beats & house.
Tea lounge + altar space provided (bring your own cup + an item for the altar if you wish).
Dress to move (comfy or festive!) | flow toys welcome.
All ages: children 12 & under free | ages 13+ are $10 donation.
Sliding scale tickets: $25–35 → [ticket link here]
Saturday, october 11
Magma, Gloucester
6:45–9 PM
Dance Schedule:
≫ 6:45 – Gather + Stretch
≫ 7:00 – Opening Circle
≫ 7:15 – Ecstatic Dance
≫ 8:45 – Closing Meditation
≫ 9:00 – End
Join a beautiful community in a space designed for movement. Let the music and the season sweep you into a world of inspiration, healing, and embodied magic.

Rock Show
2025-10-18 19:00 - 22:30 | MA
PlannComm events presents:
@2to1ska @hedgebandma @thelebarons and The Chip Rockers !
This is truly a north shore delight! Bring your skanking shoes!
Doors 7pm, $10, All Ages

GloArts Salon
2025-10-19 16:00 - 18:00 | MAGMA, 11 Pleasant St., Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Sunday, October 19, 2025 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm
MAGMA, 11 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Suggested Donation: $5-10 online or at the door
Join us for the GloArts Salon at MAGMA! We’ll kick off with two short quick works-in-progress presentations by Miranda Aisling and Lesley Davison followed by open creative discussions.

Whether you’re a long-time practicing artist or enthusiastically art-adjacent, we hope you’ll join in the conversation.

Closet Case: I'm Scared!
2025-10-24 19:00 - 23:00 | MA
Join the Closet Case crew for a ghoulish night of Drag, Burlesque, Dance, and Music. Doors 7pm, Show 8pm
TIX $20 : BUY NOW

Workshop: The Body Remembers, The Body Rewrites
2025-10-25 13:00 - 15:00 | MA
What happens when we begin to question the beliefs we’ve always carried? The Body Remembers, The Body Rewrites is an interactive workshop where movement, reflection, and conversation meet. Participants will be invited to look inward and reflect on what they identify with, what they believe, and what they are reaching for. Together, we will explore the process of unraveling deeply ingrained beliefs – or reflect on ones you have already undone.
Open to both movers and non-movers, the session offers multiple ways to participate—through gentle movement, gesture, writing, observation, and discussion. Together, we will explore:

How ingrained beliefs and values live in our bodies
What it feels like to disrupt and unravel them
How we might reimagine and rebuild new ways of being

Please bring a journal, water, and movable clothes.
Cost: $0-23 sliding scale PURCHASE HERE
Accessible to all: No dance experience required; movement options range from full-body expression to subtle gestures. This workshop is pay what you can: no one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you do not see a price point listed or available that you can afford, please email administrator Kristin Wagner at kristincooperwagner@gmail.com.
Building Access: MAGMA is located on the top floor of the Brown Building. A physically accessible entrance is located through Brown’s Mall: take the door to the right of the main entrance or via 186 Main Street, and then take the elevator to the fifth floor.
This community workshop is related to The Click’s performance project Undone, directed by Katrina Conte. Undone is an alternative cabaret-style that unravels tightly bound convictions of the self and encourages a reflective reclaiming of one’s identity through moving performances of poetry, song and dance. Undone will premier informally in MAGMA at 7:30pm following the workshop. Tickets are available for purchase via The Click’s Eventbrite profile. This workshop is made possible in part by a grant from the Gloucester Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
About the Facilitator:
KATRINA CONTE (she/her) is a dance artist and choreographer. She was raised in Mt Pocono PA, but has been creating and dancing in Boston for 3 years. Katrina graduated with her BFA in Dance with a minor in Technical Theater from Ball State University. Since moving to Boston, she has performed with Kairos Dance Theater, Liquid Spine, Alive Dance Collective, and Eliza Malecki. She currently is working with Human Movement Project, and The Click, she couldn’t be more excited to dance and create with these inspiring artists.

Undone
2025-10-25 19:30 - 20:30 | MA
UNDONE by Katrina Conte/the Click Boston
Undone is a multidisciplinary performance project that makes way for new perspectives on growth and transformation. A tapestry of live poetry, song, and contemporary dance, the project unravels tightly bound ideas, traditions, and convictions as it identifies the many incubators that shape our internal selves.
Featuring poetry written and performed by Noah Phoenix, an original musical score created and performed by Pearl Scott, and contemporary dance solos performed by The Click collaborators Angelina Benitez, Katrina Conte, Alexandria Nunweiler and Kristin Wagner.
TIX $0-30 sliding scale PURCHASE HERE
Undone is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England Dance Fund, with generous support from the Aliad Fund at the Boston Foundation, and the Gloucester Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
