Transcendental Dance
Transcendental Dance
by Julia Zay
Julia is a Camilla Diana in the Religio Romana (which means an assistant priest in the church of Diana in the Pre-Christian religion of Rome). She’s telling us a little bit about her dance process, as was captured in these pictures.
I actually started trancing at the same age that I dedicated myself to the service of Diana. I’ve been a little wild child for as long as I can remember. I grew up bow hunting in my backyard pretty much daily; it was one of my greatest passions as a child. (Right up there with fencing.) Every time I dance it’s different; I let it flow naturally instead of trying to force myself to act or feel a certain way on stage. Improvisational performance is actually much more difficult than choreographed performances are because you have nothing to fall back on if the passion just isn’t there and you can’t predict when its going to be there. When I put a sword in my hand my demeanor changes and I become much more focused and intense. Part of it is just the way it makes me feel and part of it is the seriousness behind the knowledge that if my head isn’t in it I could slice something vital. Mostly I want to be worthy to be of the great sword bearing women who came before me.
Callimachus said that Artemis asked for sixty dancing girls.… I am one of them. A good friend of mine dances with a group called Penthesilea. Penthesilea was an Amazon who fought in the Trojan War on the side of Troy. She’s actually one of the nine Female Worthies whom I actually like. She wasn’t weak; she was honorable and a good fighter. My friend and I bond over that a lot because we’re both Artemisian sword bearing dancers who do a lot more than dance with swords.
I use my skills as a trance artist to fall back on my muscle memory when I dance because I can’t afford to make mistakes. Bruce Lee used the same technique in his Jeet Kune Do. I keep my body relaxed so that I don’t tire from the weight and physical exertion. I wish I could describe what actually goes through my mind. It is really difficult to put in words. I open myself up to the music and let myself feel the emotions the music creates, then I let them out and whatever happens, happens. I use my eyes a lot. I’m not afraid to look people in the eye when I dance and that’s a very powerful thing. Usually a dancer will scan, or look at audience member’s bodies or faces. Looking a stranger in the eye is practically a taboo but there’s an emotional connection in it that’s unlike anything else. It’s very raw, very honest. When I listen to the music and it allows me to feel… I take all of those emotions, all my thoughts, and I look people in the eye with them while my body dances. I bring people in and we share that connection to the music.
Dance is actually a major part of my spirituality both because of the Artemisian connection and because I have to put so much of myself into it. I guess its kind of a self feeding circle.
