The journey of TransDance with Heather Munro Pierce

Blond hair flowing, Heather Munro Pierce is already dancing as she addresses a packed room in a Northern California yoga studio. Heather invites each person to join the evening’s TransDance®—in this case, a moving meditation based on the four elements. Arrayed in a sunburst on the floor, an Earth Mandala altar of shells, flowers, moss, and flickering candles beckons the dancers.

 Though I’ve never before been part of a TransDance, I easily follow Heather’s opening suggestion: as we begin with the element of earth, I plant my feet firmly on the ground and feel the solidity below. Rhythmic tones fill the room, and Heather seems to glide through the space—reaching, spinning, offering encouragement and guidance through her headset microphone. People quickly join in, some whirling with speed and grace, others gently swaying.

Heather has coined the term TransDance, which describes dance as a path for creating consciousness, and connection with community and with the divine. “It’s not about performance, perfection, skill level, or competition,” she says. “It’s about dance as a path of transformation, while simultaneously honoring the beauty of who you are, just as you are.”

The tradition of the four elements, prominent in Greek, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan cultures, is among Heather’s favorite teaching themes. Drawing from the ancient Greek belief that all matter is composed of earth, water, fire, and air, Heather guides her students toward the powerful embodied awareness that we, too, are made up of these elements. This link between our bodies and the elements, she believes, helps us to find our connection to nature and can nurture our environmental awareness.

“We all have embodied experience and life experience every day with the elements,” Heather notes. This familiarity makes the theme accessible and easy to grasp, a natural teaching tool. As I move through the TransDance, my immediate associations with each element unconsciously guide my body and allow me to anticipate the flow of the dance.

As she does tonight, Heather often begins with the element of earth, associated with grounding and stability. Launching the dance with that which is physical and solid quickly brings the dancers into their bodies. “Sense the solidity of the earth below you… stomp your feet on the floor… find the dance of your bones… imagine mountains moving…”

Water follows earth, and again I easily follow Heather’s lead as she asks that we ease into motion and find a continuous wavelike movement in our bodies. “Remember the waters of our world, oceans, rivers, rain… find the flow of water in your own body… let your spine wave and your arms weave…”

Melodic tones are replaced by insistent drumming, the driving beat of fire. The energy in the room intensifies, and gestures grow bolder as dancers stride and spin across the floor. “See the brilliance of the sun… imagine the blaze of a bonfire… tap in to your own energy, passion, excitement… move like a spark…”

Drumbeats gradually give way to lighter sounds. To dance the element of air, Heather asks that we open to a sense of spaciousness and ease. “Notice the air against your skin… feel the breath in your lungs… imagine the gentle breezes and wild winds that blow though our world… let them lift you…”

In a short, ecstatic dance like this evening’s, Heather brings the elements alive by connecting people to the elements of their bodies and the elemental forces of nature. In longer workshops taught over multiple sessions, she delves into symbol and metaphor, using the elements as a guide for personal growth and transformation. She will offer several dance retreats this year as well as a teacher training in 2009 based on this body of work. Sometimes a fifth element, known as spirit, idea, space, or ether, may be introduced. Heather also

encourages students to seek inspiration from their own traditions or associations with the elements.

The dance of air draws to a close, and the dancers gather around the Earth Mandala. In the glow of the candles, we end the TransDance with a silent meditation, back where we began, with Mother Earth.