Using movement, sound, rhythm, breath and sensory deprivation, to enter altered states of consciousness, dates back at least 40,000 years, long before written human history. These practices were not just mere symbolic activities, but functional technologies of consciousness – for healing, regeneration, vision quests, rites of passage, communal bonding – embedded in daily life, culture, and survival. Contemporary Trance Dance and Trance Movement™ stands in continuity with this deep human heritage, by recognizing that the capacity for trance is innate, universal, and embodied.
Beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Frank Natale, an American teacher, author, and pioneer in experiential learning and consciousness exploration, explored methods that combined movement, breath, music, intention, and sensory deprivation as a means of entering non-ordinary states of awareness. By the mid-1980s, he was offering structured Trance Dance workshops in the United States, including early presentations in Tulsa around 1984.
A pivotal moment came in 1987, when Natale relocated to Amsterdam, establishing what became known as The Natale Institute (T.N.I.). From this European base, the work expanded rapidly. Amsterdam, at that time, was a fertile ground for experimental consciousness practices, body-based therapies, and alternative education, allowing Trance Dance to reach a broad international audience.
Natale’s contribution was not only experiential but also structural. He systematized the practice into a clear ritual framework that included:
Preparation and intention setting
Blindfolded movement to reduce visual dominance
Carefully curated trance-inducing music
He also collaborated with musicians like Alain Eskinasi and produced multiple music albums under the name Professor Trance & The Energizers specifically designed to support trance states through movement. In 1995, Frank Natale wrote and published Trance Dance: The Dance of Life, which articulated both the philosophy and the practical structure of the work. Frank Natale passed away in 2002, leaving behind not only a body of written and musical work, but also a living lineage carried forward by his students.
One of the most influential figures to carry this lineage forward was Wilbert Alix, a long-time student and close collaborator of Frank Natale. Around 2000 Wilbert became widely recognized as Director of The Natale Institute International and played a central role in teaching, refining, and transmitting Trance Dance across multiple continents. For decades, he led workshops, retreats, and long-form trainings in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. Wilbert was a key figure in spreading Trance Dance internationally as a modality within the broader landscape of transformational and somatic practices, and trained and mentored many facilitators over the years.
From the early 2000s onward, long-time student Aernoudt Knecht became one of the central figures working closely with Wilbert. Over a period spanning roughly 2000 to 2008, their relationship developed into a sustained collaboration.
During these years, Aernoudt Knecht and Wilbert Alix co-created and facilitated numerous trainings and retreats in multiple European countries, and travelled extensively together to teach and transmit the work. Knecht was a trained psychologist, and this period was marked by intensive dialogue, refinement of methodology, and an ongoing exploration of how Trance Dance could mature as a practice.
Through this collaboration, the work deepened in several key ways:
Greater emphasis on integration and embodiment
Increased clarity around facilitation, group dynamics, and responsibility
A shift toward seeing Trance Dance not as an extraordinary state, but as a human capacity that can be trained, understood, and integrated
This phase formed a crucial bridge between the early pioneering years of Trance Dance and its later transformation into a broader, more contemporary framework.
With the passing of Wilbert Alix in 2020, the lineage once again faced a critical threshold. The earlier death of Frank Natale in 2002 had already shown how vulnerable a practice can be when it is closely identified with a single charismatic teacher.
In this context, Aernoudt Knecht consciously chose a different direction; one rooted in continuity, decentralization, and evolution rather than succession in the traditional sense.
Drawing on decades of practice, teaching, collaboration, and reflection, Knecht continued the work while re-orienting it toward the future. This included:
A central mission during this phase has been to make Trance Movement™ accessible to a much wider audience. Similar to how meditation and yoga have moved from niche practices into mainstream culture, Trance Movement is understood as having the potential to be applied in corporate environments, educational contexts, clinical and therapeutic settings, and other contemporary domains.
This shift does not dilute the depth of the practice; rather, it grounds it in language, structure, and responsibility that allow it to meet the modern world.
Perhaps the most fundamental shift in this phase has been a move away from a one-teacher or guru-centered model. While Frank Natale, Wilbert Alix and Aernoudt Knecht were pivotal figures, the history of the practice revealed a structural vulnerability: when the work is closely identified with one individual, its survival is at risk.
In response, Trance Movement International was founded by Aernoudt Knecht, Sigi Daman and Esta Goossens, as a Global Association and Academy, designed to ensure that the practice does not stand or fall with any single person.
The aims of this structure include:
Supporting a plurality of trained teachers and facilitators
Establishing shared standards rather than personal authority
Creating governance through a board and collective responsibility
Allowing the practice to transcend individual personalities, including its current founders
This represents a conscious step away from guru-ism and its inherent shadows, and toward a model that reflects contemporary insights into power, responsibility, and healthy transmission.
As Knecht has articulated within the field: the practice of Trance Movement must be larger than any one ego — including his own — if it is to remain alive, relevant, and ethical. Today, Trance Movement exists as a living, evolving field of practice. It is rooted in ancient human capacities for rhythm, movement, and altered states of consciousness; shaped by the pioneering work of Frank Natale; transmitted and refined through Wilbert Alix; and further developed through Aernoudt Knecht and an expanding international community of facilitators. Crucially, it is now held within a structure that allows it to continue, adapt, and evolve independently of any single teacher. In this way, Trance Movement is no longer merely a lineage — it is a shared responsibility.
Trance Movement International is a globally operating association, founded by Aernoudt Knecht, Sigi Daman and Esta Goossens, dedicated to supporting, promoting, develloping and advancing the practice of Trance Movement™ worldwide.
Quicklinks:
Workshops Creativity & Innovation