My journey started in 1998, after I had graduated from 2 years of post-secondary training in “Dance as a Performance Art”.  I had always loved to dance, but at that time I realized that dance was more of a personal practice than about performance for me.

 

I became ill with severe digestive disorders near the end of my training and it was soon after that I discovered the path of the performance artist was not for me.  It was then, when I was at the depth of my illness, that one of my roommates handed me the book Dance Your Prayers by Gabrielle Roth.

 

As I read Dance Your Prayers, I was shocked (and ecstatic at the same time) that someone had created a life path out of facilitating dance as a healing and spiritual practice.  I felt deep inside that this was something I was supposed to share with the world.  My healing journey, as well as my spiritual awakening, expanded from there. Over the following months I attended as many Ecstatic Dance and 5 Rhythms™ workshops as I could.

 

I recall one moment, before I had read the book, when I was dancing at a large outdoor festival.  I felt the earth beneath my feet, saw the stars above my head, and I felt oneness both deep within my being and with the entire universe.  Internally I spoke to a higher power and shared that I felt strongly that dancing like this was my “job,” my “work.”  At the time I did not understand what that meant or how it would unfold, but to this day I am very grateful I have followed my life’s calling and been supported to share my passion for dance with others.

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My initial practice was the 5 Rhythms™, and I took workshops with Jonathan Horan and Lucia Horan. I travelled to the Bay Area, California and took classes there. 

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I originally started sharing what I had been learning with a small group of friends in a warehouse space in Vancouver, BC. This slowly led to offering workshops at music festivals in both Canada and the US.

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In 2004 I felt the call to deepen my knowledge and travelled to Australia to study Kundalini Dance with Leyolah Antara. I attended her first ever Facilitator Training and went on to support her in bringing Kundalini Dance to North America. I assisted her trainings from 2005 - 2011.  I taught weekly classes of Kundalini Dance during this time in Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and then in Edmonton when I moved there in 2008.

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In 2012, I took a sabattical from teaching weekly classes and created my own Facilitator Training which is now called Dance as Medicine.

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In 2020 I moved my trainings online. I also launched my online community and video library - EKSTASIS Dance Online.​

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