This year on July 1 is my 40th anniversary of dance (yay!!) I took my first dance class on July 1, 1970, here in Chicago with local dance teacher Mary Ellen Nowicki. It’s been a non-stop adventure ever since! I have developed my art from traditional ballet to modern dance, performance art, and finally, shamanic performance.

The first time I recall receiving a spiritual message through dance was in 1983. By that time, I was performing with a company in a dance choreographed by Venetia Stifler. The dance had music specially composed by a local musician, Eric Dennen, who worked as an accompanist for many of the modern dance classes in the city.

My solo in this piece was called Snake – part of the dance was to do the Cobra from yoga, on the ground, pushing oneself up with straight arms and the legs extended out behind. Every time I would do this, I would burst into tears. I had no idea what it was about. This reaction was so obviously connected to something deep and mysterious that Venetia noted it and asked if I wanted to continue doing the dance. I did continue, and eventually I was able to complete the dance without the crying happening.

Six months later, Eric tragically drowned in Lake Michigan. I realized then what the crying was about – I was getting a precognitive message about Eric’s death.

The experience that really confirmed for me that I was doing spiritual work through dance came in 1995. I was teaching people to do what I call Dance Divination, in which the person asks and answers a question about his or her life through doing body movement. For example, you might ask, “Should I take the job I’ve been offered?” and then begin moving, and your movements will tell you the answer to the question.

On this particular day, I said to one student, “You just think of your question, and I will dance the answer.” I was astounded at how I was able to tell her all kinds of things about both her question, the answer, and her life in general from the movement of my own body. I knew at that point that I was not doing just the psychological work of helping people get in touch with their own thoughts and feelings through their body movement; I was doing spiritual work, because I was getting information that there was no way I could know except from the intuitive level.

Continuing to develop this capacity, I began to channel through dance. By channeling I mean that when I was dancing, it was no longer my personal energy, but rather the energy of a spiritual entity (angels, ancestors, totem animals, gods, goddesses) dancing through my body and coming through my voice. In shamanic practice this is a form of shapeshifting, sometimes called a “spirit shift” to distinguish it from physical shapeshifting, in which the shamanic practitioner physically changes into an animal, plant, or other entity.

This Thursday, July 1, we’ll be celebrating these 40 years with a performance and potluck at LFAC. Come see me channel!