07/05/2026
Denman Dance Temple is one of my favorite places to play. It's intimate, it's grassroots, and being part of it feels like the beginning of something wonderful. I feel like an Auntie, helping to raise a child...
I'm now one half of the team behind DDT, helping with everything from admin to sound setup to holding space at events, and this July I get to DJ.
I started curating music for intentional spaces back around 2013, when I began thinking more about the intention behind the sounds, how they land in the body, and how differently they can move through each person. That curiosity only deepened after a significant health crisis showed me just how much of an empath I am, and how much energy I'd been carrying that wasn't mine.
Spaces like this feel really important because there's no talking, no outside influence. It's just you and the music (and a beautiful community), fully personal.
As a DJ, ecstatic dance lets me explore in a way I don't get to elsewhere. I get to play music I'd never be able to bring to a club set. We start slow, often with no beat at all, just something instrumental to bring people into the present moment. From there we journey, building toward fire where people can get wild and feral, then curling back down through the lyrical, into flow, into a low grounding hum, and finally silence.
It's stretching my ear and it’s also bringing me back to some of the world music I loved before I got sick.
Finding the shape of that arc has become one of my favorite parts of the craft.
Thirty years as a holistic practitioner and two decades as a DJ used to feel like a contradiction to people. Now, at Dance Temple, they're the same skill. I've been sober since 2011. I've always loved festivals, dancing, and being expressive. This is a room where you and I can show up exactly as we are and process whatever needs processing. Or just hang.
When my cat Ivan, of 14 years together, left his body while I was far away playing at a festival. The grief (and the guilt) blindsided me, and it was Dance Temple where I first went afterward. I couldn't dance that day though. I just sat on the earth and cried and journaled while the music (and some very special people) held me. The following week, I let loose and finally found closure through movement.
Dance Temple is my anchor. It's one of thee most sacred things in my life right now. I don't take these events lightly, and getting to DJ at any Dance Temple is something I hold close to my heart.
I’m bringing everything to this set! Let’s find our roots together and celebrate some island vibes!
Ps: Joining me live on the hand drums is Eric Boucher and I am absolutely thrilled about it!
Makeup and photo by Jennifer Walton aka Jenny Jen Vibrant Visions with Jenny Jenn
