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10 years ago, I followed Psyche into the dance with a group of women, but reading her tale, again, this winter, has reminded me just how potent and rich this age-old myth is. It tells the tale of a transformative journey of sacrifice and union, of separation and reunion. It is also about rule-breaking and overcoming, but perhaps more than anything, it is about wholeness and love. The themes of this story are humanity’s themes, timeless and eternal, revolving around us, resonating across lifetimes and centuries in the form of our lived human experience. They inspire the stories we tell to give meaning to the triumphs and tragedies of our lives.

As Pamela Alexander writes in her book, Initiation of the Soul:

“Psyche and Eros contains elements of later well-known fairy tales, such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Rapunzel. In repeating themes through time, myths and fairy tales inform us of cultural issues and how to resolve them. These stories echo the Gnostic and Christian stories of a feminine soul that fell into matter and forgot who she was, because she became identified with the world of form and ego. The soul's initiatory journey is to remember to embody its divine origins.”

And so, for 7 weeks, I would like to invite you to join me in exploring the Myth of Psyche and Eros through our practice of dance. Together, we will travel into ourselves, into the realm of Psyche herself–the realm of soul (for Psyche’s name means soul, breath, life). We will explore the masculine and feminine dynamics within through the mythic themes of sacrifice and surrender, victimhood and courage, separation and union. 

We will ask ourselves: In what ways do I hold myself back from the life that is beckoning? How does my own masculine structure relate to, support, and meet the feminine, and vice versa? What needs are arising in the realm of the body/soul at this time? Where do I lack courage and trust to surrender? 

Each week we will peel back another layer of myth, dancing alongside Psyche as she faces the impossible tasks set before her by Aphrodite; as she learns to trust herself and to find her way back to her beloved, and finally home to herself.  Let us follow the words of D.H. Lawrence into the dance.

“Go deeper than love, for the soul has greater depths,

love is like the grass, but the heart is deep wild rock

molten, yet dense and permanent. 

Go down to your deep old heart, and lose sight of yourself.

and lose sight of me, the me whom you turbulently loved.

Let us lose sight of ourselves and break the mirrors.

For the fierce curve of our lives is moving again to the depths

out of sight, in the deep living heart.”

( Excerpt from Know Thyself, Know Thyself More Deeply)

Psyche And Eros ~ A Journey To Wholeness

Class 1- Sacrifice on the Mountain

Class 2 - The Valley Below

Class 3- Breaking the Rules

Class 4- Instinct and Awakening

Class 5- Grain and Wool

Class 6- Water and Oil

Class 7- Seeing and Reunion

Dreaming With Psyche — Writing Workshop  

In addition to the dance practice, I am excited to announce that my dear friend Sylvia Linsteadt will be offering a 1.5 hour writing workshop entitled, Dreaming With Psyche, shaped to guide us into further exploration of the themes we will be exploring over the course of our 7 weeks together. Her course will be an opportunity to take the threads of our classes and to weave them into words. 

Over the past decade Sylvia and I have collaborated on a number of offerings involving dance, writing, and the storied landscape of the inner life. Each time we come together into a shared offering, we marvel at the way the mediums of dance and writing complement each other to guide us deeper in.

Dreaming With Psyche will take place on Zoom, on Saturday, February 22nd from 10:30 am-12:00 pm PST (a few days before we dance the final class). Sylvia will be dancing the series along with us, and in this way bringing the writing course through her own personal experience with the material. 

The writing workshop is not a mandatory part of the dance series, but an invitation for those of you who wish to go deeper. Sylvia’s ardent love of story, her knowledge and study of ancient Greek mythology is nothing short of inspiring, this,combined with her experience as a professional writer and teacher, makes for an exceptionally rich offering. Although Sylvia's workshop will be open to the general public, she is offering students participating in the dance series a special discounted rate.