Dance & Storytelling Lab

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Click on the date and you will find Zoom links, notes, and more.

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Weekly Letters
Oct
27

Weekly Letters

The “Offering” Ritual

Dear Dancer,

You’ve come so far!! Twelve weeks of listening, shaping and refining — of learning how to trust your beautiful body and the stories it carries. You’ve explored narrative, being present in your process and performance, and bringing out the inner feminine archetype within to fuel your purpose for your solo. 

Now, it’s time to let everything settle, breathe and flow! Trust in yourself. Trust in the process. 

As show / video-recording day approaches, remember: your choreography is not the story — you are! Don’t let the steps take over or pull you away from the truth. If you are clear with your purpose, so will the performance. Technique supports expression, but your essence makes it real. Stay open to receive what happens in the moment. Allow space for some improvisation. You don’t have to dance it the same way twice; the story changes each time because you change each time - but at the end, your message is your anchor and ground. 

Let your performance be alive — responsive, human, and whole.

The “Offering” Ritual - to be done this week so that you can keep looking at it the days leading up to your performance. Let it be a space of peace and love. 

Create a small “offering” altar or place for your future self for show-day. 

What to collect:

  1. Write a letter to your future self to open on the day you perform! Think about the version of you who will step onto the stage (or in front of the camera). Offer her guidance, motivation, and love. What does she need to hear from you right now?

    1. Light a candle. Sit somewhere quiet. Make it a ritual. Wrap your letter in an envelope — maybe tuck a flower inside or tape one on top. Keep it safe until the day of the show, and open it before you dance.

  2. Decorate your altar. Place flowers around your letter, images of dancers who inspire you, or other peaceful symbols.

This mini-altar is your reminder that everything you need is already within you.

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Weekly Letters
Oct
20

Weekly Letters

Dear Dancer,

We’ve come full circle! In Week 1, we began by remembering the body — our first home, our living archive, our source of wisdom and truth. Now, as your solo nears completion, we return once more to that body — not to build, but to simply be! To soak in the nutrients and dance with what you have.

Your presence, your essence is how your story truly flourishes and is experienced. It’s what fills the space between steps, what your audience remembers long after the music fades. This week, we invite you to reconnect with that original pulse of awareness. Before the movement, before the choreography — there is breath and the body that began this journey.

As you continue shaping your finale, journal this question:
Where do you want to leave your audience?

Not just what you want them to see, but what you want them to feel.

Your ending is your fire — it burns, transforms, and lingers. The strength of your presence, the truth in your stillness, the honesty in your exit — these are the final notes your audience carries home.

Let your finale rise from presence, not performance. Let it close the circle you opened in Week 1 — the moment when you first listened to your body’s story.

Dance Practice Exercise:
Revisit the opening movement of your solo. Dance it again, but this time from the perspective of your ending self — the woman who has lived the story. What has changed in her body, her breath, her gaze?

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Weekly Letters
Oct
13

Weekly Letters

Dear Dancer,

This week, we explore the art of endings and turn our focus to the finale of your piece and continue with the element of fire. 🔥 The fire that closes the circle, completes the journey, and leaves a lasting impression.

As you shape your ending, remember: the two most memorable moments of your performance are the beginning and the end. A strong conclusion gives your story meaning and harmony — it’s where everything you’ve built comes together for your vision. 

We have a few tips and suggestions to keep in mind:
 ✨ Let your ending echo your beginning so that your piece creates a balance or harmony. Revisit your opening moment and find a way to weave its energy or message back into the closing.
✨ If your solo begins as a reflection or a question, perhaps the end mirrors that reflection — showing that your character’s growth isn’t linear, but cyclical.
✨ If your story follows a clear timeline, maybe your ending shows transformation — from Maiden to Mother / from Maiden to Sage.
✨ You can even begin and end with the same combinations (maybe the music repeats) and you change the movements slightly but with a more conclusive movement - this can invite the audience to see a connection to the “growth” of the character. 

 ✨ You can also end by stepping away from the stage while the music fades, not completing a finale pose — leaving the audience with a question mark. But use this intentionally, so it reads as artistic choice, not hesitation. This one can be a tricky one.

Your finale is your flame — let it burn with clarity, courage, and truth.

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Weekly Letters
Oct
6

Weekly Letters

Dear Dancer,

We are now entering the final stages of your journey!

This part of the process is all about how to take control of your energy for your performance. We will be focusing on the element of FIRE from your “Elemental Dance Ritual” Practice plan.

How can we add more heart and soul into all that we have been working on? We see you working hard and you are doing so beautifully - detailing the steps, bringing to life your character, your vision!! Now - take that and deepen it into your heart space. Expand!

We are one month away from the performance date. Can you believe it?! Let’s start getting more defined with our solo.

Take Note: Next Monday we have our third mentor meetup. Bring a sketch of your performance to share with the group. We will be dancing for each other and receiving live feedback. This has been incredibly helpful for everyone in the past.

TIP: Do not think about how “little” you have, the scarcity mindset is not helpful.

Instead, think about what you have, and AMPLIFY it! You are brave already! Use this courage, and perform it. No matter what, you will gain from this.

Book Recommendation: Unbound: A Woman’s Guide To Power by Kasia Urbaniak

Watch Kasia’s TedX on Youtube.

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Weekly Letters
Sep
29

Weekly Letters

Dear Dancer,

This week, continue getting into character and using the “Elemental Dance Ritual” to practice having more control over your performance. 

Let’s add to last week’s homework, which was writing your story. 

Step 1: Add the following element to what you already wrote out: Visualize and describe the setting of your performance. Describe it in sensual details. What does it feel/smell/look like? For example: the sun is setting and the warmth of the sunlight calms me as it flutters on my skin. The breeze sweeps gently across my face, sweeping my hair behind me. Etc….

Step 2: Choose an element of that description that is easy to access (outdoors or sipping tea, smelling flowers…etc), an element that you can physically access - and reach for your character, and perform!


Practice Tips: Get into the piece at random moments of the day.

While you’re getting ready in the morning? Get into character!

While you’re cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner? Get into character!

While you’re taking a break? Dance a quick combination from your performance!


Remember: You are The Dancer as Architect : You are building every moment. Give the piece lots of love. 

No Stylization Class This Wednesday. 

Join us on Sunday, October 5 for Lenka Badriyah’s Master Class


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Weekly Letters
Sep
22

Weekly Letters

Dear Dancer,

You are closer to your story than ever before. You are making your steps more solid and graceful. It is time to ground ourselves into the story, and bring the vision to life. Let ritual be your guide and source of strength and creative flow, for the journey of building a solo is the bigger ritual. 

This week, write your story.  Verbalize it in 5 sentences or less - and read it out loud. Have it prepared for your Stylization Class this week. 

TIP: If you can read it out loud slowly with pauses within 2 minutes or less, you are on the right path. The hardest part will be editing down, but it will also be the most rewarding because it will show you what you do and do not need. 

Lastly, we want to introduce to you our “Elemental” Practice Plan as a mini ritual for you to take and use often from now on. 

20-25 minutes a day (it’ll go by very quickly!): 

Step 1: Make a playlist that is in service to your story first to guide you. Let the  music trigger the best of you in service to your story. 

Step 2: Choose a time of day that you can come to often.

Step 3: The Elemental Dance Ritual.

  1. Earth: 5 minutes 1 song: Enter with a mini-ritual (light a candle/ incense or put on essential oils) / breathe and move. 1 song that triggers you into your zone. 

  2. Air (breathing) & Earth: 5 minutes 1-2 songs : Drill technique 

  3. Water: 5 minutes 1-2 songs:  Improv / free flow / creative permission to play.

  4. Fire: 5-8 minutes: Finish with running the song 2x with full on performance mode. DELIVER!

  5. Relax and reflect: 1 song. Journal your progress, even if it’s just writing down the date and check mark that signifies you’ve completed your ritual.

Download the Ritual
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Weekly Letters: Wk # 6
Sep
15

Weekly Letters: Wk # 6

Dear Dancer,

This week’s mission is about reflecting on the material from Meher Malik’s Master Class. What does it feel like to connect with our feminine archetypes while we dance? How can we continue exploring and developing these concepts into, not just our dancing, but also our daily life?  

These questions serve as wonderful journaling prompts that can become powerful statements for you in the future. 

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Weekly Letters: Wk #5
Sep
8

Weekly Letters: Wk #5

Dear Dancer,

Let’s pause and reflect. These past weeks 1–4, you began your journey. We set our intentions, explored movement, and began sketching the first lines of your solo. You’ve planted seeds of myth, story, and movement — and already, your piece has begun to take shape.

This week is about slowing down and catching up. Give yourself permission to review, revisit, and breathe. Take time to reflect on the pieces of your solo that have started to surface. Imagine your dance as if it were written into a book—what story would the pages tell? What emotions would spill through the lines?

Prepare to step into Meher’s Master Class with openness and curiosity. Her work will give you new textures and perspectives to layer into your creation.

Practice Plan Suggestion: Film a short piece of your solo-in-progress, no matter how unfinished. Write about it as though describing a character in a story.

Use the Mindful Belly Dance breathwork that Alexandra goes over in the weekly letter video to ground and prepare you for your creative process. 


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Weekly Letters: Wk #4
Sep
1

Weekly Letters: Wk #4

Dear Dancer,

This week is not about choosing sides. It’s about noticing how contrast deepens expression — and how we, as dancers, are meant to hold many truths at once. This week, we're diving into emotional texture — exploring how opposite sensations can exist within us at the same time. Instead of choosing one or the other, we're going to let them dance together. This is about making space for contradiction in the body: softness and strength, chaos and control, tension and release. The more honestly we allow these contrasts to live in us, the more powerful and nuanced our movement becomes.

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Weekly Letters: Wk #3
Aug
25

Weekly Letters: Wk #3

Dear Dancer,

This week, we step into the sacred threshold of creation.

Just like in life, the way we enter a space sets the tone — for our presence, our intention, our impact. In performance, the entrance is more than a step onto stage; it’s the first whisper of your story, the first breath of your character, the energy you carry in.

Our stylization class this week will explore the many ways to arrive — soft or bold, regal or rebellious — and how each entrance choice reflects the heart of the piece you are about to unfold.

In our mentor meetup, we will begin to shape the bones of your performance. You don’t need to have all the answers. Start with a question. A feeling. A moment you want to revisit. Bring your notebook and your intuition — we’ll walk together from idea to intention.


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Weekly Letters: Wk #2
Aug
18

Weekly Letters: Wk #2

The Mirror Ritual – Movement as Self-Exploration: What words cannot say. How the body presents itself.

Dear Dancer,

In Week 2, we begin to speak through the body — exploring how movement can reveal, reflect, and unlock parts of ourselves that words cannot reach. Dance becomes a form of self-inquiry, a way to listen more deeply and express what lives beneath the surface. 

Journal Prompt + Dance Exercise

Find a quiet space, play music that stirs something in you, and allow yourself to improvise. Don’t aim for perfection. Don’t perform. Just move. Let the body speak first.

Step 1: 📹 Record your improvisation. Be a reader, not an editor.

Step 2: Watch it! Not as a critic, but as a witness, an observer.

You won’t have to share this anyone - this is an important step in your creative growth. 

Step 3: Take notes for your future self. 

Ask yourself the following, and write down your responses while you re-watch your video: 

  • What movements do you return to again and again?

  • What emotions are surfacing through those gestures?

  • What am I communicating clearly without even trying?

  • If I could translate this dance into words, what sentences would emerge?

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Welcome Letter
Aug
11

Welcome Letter

The Awakening : Reconnect with the body as a source of wisdom, memory, and creative power. 

Dear Dancer,

This week, we begin not with choreography, but with remembering. Before the technique, there is the body — wise, sensitive, and already full of stories. Our focus is to reconnect with it as a sacred home, a creative source, and a trusted guide. Through breath, stillness, and intuitive movement, we return to ourselves and awaken the dance that lives within. Release the idea that dance starts with steps — it begins with presence.

To tell deeper, more complex personal stories through movement, we must first recognize our bodies as complete, independent beings — not just vessels we live in, but living archives of our experiences, desires, and truths. Every posture we hold, every way we shift our weight, every impulse to move reflects how we live, how we’ve been shaped, and what we secretly long for. When we listen closely, the body whispers what words cannot hold, revealing our deepest narratives through the language of muscle, breath, and gesture.

Journal Prompt: When was the first moment you became aware of your feminine body? What did that awareness feel like in your skin, and how has it shaped the way you move today?

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