Mark: I just ordered Broca's Brain and will happily add it to the, like, 30+ titles I'm currently reading.

I couldn't agree more with you that pumping beats and bods can be a portal to an altered state. (And lucky you, the Detroit scene had such a good rep for ecstatic ritual.)

In a preface to a book about E and the rave scene, Douglas Rushkoff writes about the dance floor and the "loved-up" feeling and how everyone became part of something big and collective, like the cells of coral reef. While he was talking about both dance and drug, I have most certainly experienced Coral Reef Awareness with only dance.

Actually, for a few months, I've been mulling over a story on a particular style of dance and its effects on body, brain and community. I can't yet speak in specifics as I haven't mentioned the idea to the person I hope to write about, who teaches and dances this ass-shaking magic.