Joy (thoughts after Professional Development)

I never intentionally set out to build a company of women, but after 11 years of women's education I suppose it was in my DNA. The more dances I have made over the years, the more I have needed to make those dances woman. Dancing our narratives has become an imperative, a tactic to both survive and thrive.

As this imperative develops, it is my intention to invest in the women of SLMDances. Some months ago, I came across the phrase: "deep sisterhood as a tool for social change." It resonated, deeply. This is how we function as a company - we invest in one another, we honor and celebrate each other's brilliance - and it brings me the greatest joy.

Sisterhood reveals itself in a myriad of ways: Two or more dancers sit after rehearsal to chant and meditate together. "Happy Birthday!" Trading recipes. A small plant is a gift for encouragement. We are trading body work services. Helping one another organize our home and personal lives. "Hey, just texting to see how you're doing?" "Hey girl, there's a job a think you'd be great for." We are borrowing books from her bookshelf. "If I cook you dinner, will you comb my hair?"

Each of these interactions is a small miracle. That space between women is magic. It's Purple, just like Auntie Alice wrote to us so many years ago. That's where there is God. Spirit. True Love.

Every time we share our dances we invite people into this. During the making of The Window Sex Project, we developed a series of phrases, "I see you. I support you. I lift you up." What started as a choreographic text has evolved into a mantra, an affirmation that we live. It is because we recognize each other, that we trust one other to move through the unknown. We are free to take risks because we know our sisters are there to catch us.


We are probably not the only ones doing this... I hope we aren't, but...

I am naming it. I am acknowledging it.