Meet Ani Mercedes: Helping Broward Relearn Trust, Presence, and Real Connection Through Dance and Embodiment
- Evan Snow
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Through movement, authentic relating, and somatic practice, Ani Mercedes is creating grounded, playful spaces where people can slow down, listen to themselves, and reconnect with what feels true.
In a culture that rewards speed, productivity, and constant self-optimization, Ani Mercedes is inviting people back into something quieter and more radical: presence.
Based in Broward County, Ani works with people who feel disconnected, overthinking, or unsure of themselves and want to feel grounded, confident, and more at home in their own bodies. Through dance, embodiment, and authentic relating, she helps people rebuild trust in their instincts and relate more honestly to themselves and others.
Ani Mercedes’ Broward embodiment dance work sits at the intersection of movement, presence, and real-world connection. Through dance, somatic coaching, and authentic relating, she helps people slow down, feel their bodies, and rebuild trust in their own instincts. Her approach is grounded, playful, and practical, rooted in lived experience rather than performance or theory, making embodiment accessible to people who may feel disconnected or unsure of themselves.
Listening to the Body Instead of Outsmarting It
For Ani, embodiment was not something she discovered through theory. It was something she had to relearn through experience.
“I was missing the ability to feel my feelings and be okay with whatever came up,” she shares. Like many people who live primarily in their heads, she had learned to analyze emotions instead of feeling them. Dance, meditation, and authentic relating became pathways back into her body, helping her slow down and prioritize presence over pressure.
Being present, she explains, is not always comfortable. It often brings us face to face with sensations and emotions we would rather avoid. But that discomfort is also where clarity, intuition, and real connection liAv(e.
Designing Spaces That Feel Safe, Playful, and Human
One of the defining qualities of Ani’s work is how non-performative it feels. There is no pressure to share more than you want to. Nothing is forced. “Everything is an invitation,” she says, drawing a parallel to partner dance.
Participants can always step in or step away. When people know they will not be pushed or put on the spot, they relax. From that place, play opens the door and whatever depth wants to happen usually unfolds on its own.
The result is work that feels embodied rather than extracted, relational rather than prescriptive.
What Social Dance Teaches About Real Connection
Ani’s foundation in bachata and social dance deeply shapes how she understands connection.
Social dance teaches that connection is co-created moment by moment. You are constantly listening, adjusting, and respecting both your own boundaries and those of your partner. There is no script, only responsiveness.
Those same principles extend far beyond the dance floor. Trust, consent, presence, and adaptability become lived practices rather than abstract ideas.
Practicing Self-Trust in Real Time
When asked to describe her work without titles or labels, Ani keeps it simple.
“I help people practice listening to themselves in real time.”
Through movement, dance, and authentic relating, she supports people in noticing what is happening in their bodies, honoring their boundaries, and trusting their responses instead of overriding them with “shoulds.”
Her own journey included years of reading, planning, and intellectualizing her way toward clarity. What her body ultimately taught her was that clarity does not come from more thinking. It comes from slowing down enough to feel what is true and taking small, curiosity-led steps from there.
Why Authentic Relating Feels Different
For Ani, authentic relating captures the essence of what she loves most about dance, without needing to dance.
It is grounded in what is actually happening, not what we think should be happening. There is less fixing and more noticing. Less performance and more presence.
In practice, this often looks deceptively simple. At a women’s networking event she facilitated, participants took turns sharing something they were proud of while the listener simply listened. No advice. No follow-up questions.
People were surprised by how powerful it felt to be fully heard. Many stayed long after the exercise ended, continuing conversations that felt more genuine and less transactional.
Rooted in Broward’s Dance Community
Although Ani grew up in Miami, Broward has become home. The local dance ecosystem, especially the bachata scene, plays a big role.
Broward is home to one of the most active bachata communities in the country, centered along what Ani affectionately calls “bachata row” on Hallandale Boulevard.
Spaces like Bachata Overdose and Miami Bachata Fusion have cultivated a culture that is welcoming, community-oriented, and not club-focused. People show up to connect, often solo and often sober, making the experience accessible and grounding.
It is within this ecosystem that Ani’s work continues to deepen and evolve.
How to Experience Ani’s Work
If you are encountering Ani’s work for the first time, the best entry point right now is her Somatic Self-Trust Coaching and her dance classes, offered online and through in-person pop-ups.
Her next in-person experience takes place on Friday, February 13 at Bachata Overdose, the largest bachata social in South Florida. This Valentine’s edition blends authentic relating games with dance, focusing on connection, movement, and fun. No partner or prior experience is needed.
Attendees are invited to wear red if single, white if partnered, and black if it is complicated.
Tickets and details can be found here. Be sure to select February 13 when purchasing: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-bachata-overdose-social-tickets-1267897709179?aff=oddtdtcreator
To learn more, visit www.bachatabutterfly.com or follow Ani on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bachata_butterfly.
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