I have received two important spirit messages regarding dance and Egypt. They both came to me in my sleep and both times I woke with absolute clarity and purpose.
The circle begins...
The first time I knew there was a dance I had to do. This was strange because I had only played with dance and certainly didn't believe that it would eventually occupy so much of my life. The nearest I could locate was Egyptian dance. Teachers came and went, and I eventually decided that I wanted to run my own classes using this newly acquired knowledge alongside energy work from my training in Polarity Therapy.
Dancing for healing
I went to the local women's resource centre, where they offered free classes to women. Their focus was on women who needed help, especially refugees, and women who had suffered abuse and rape. I presented my ideas to the committee, and they took me on as a tutor. The classes were incredibly successful.
The movements that I developed seemed to enable women to be more confident, the change in their postures seemed to help them face their fears and traumas, and the movements moved their energy from being stuck to flowing with pride.
An outsider in a mainstream dance school
I knew there was more for me to learn. I found an article written by a dancer whose ideas seemed similar to my own. I decided to find her and ask her to be my mentor and tutor. I did find my teacher and she did agree to teach me if I started from the beginning, which I did. I travelled for years, backwards and forwards to London, paying for my travel and tuition fees from my teaching and a small Arts Council grant. I eventually completed my teacher training with her.
However, there was a problem: I was not the sort of dancer that was required by this school. I was an outsider, not interested in the image or performing. I passionately believed that everyone has a dancer inside of them and it was their right to own it. I never believed in the idea of the perfect body or look.
A meeting with 5 Rhythms' Gabrielle Roth
I was rescued and greatly helped during the training by Gabrielle Roth, the founder of 5 Rhythms. I attended several of her workshops where she offered me the possibility of studying with her, however I declined because I had made a commitment to my teacher.
Karnak, Les Musiciens du Nil and the Maazin Sisters
Before I started my teacher training, I went to Karnak in Egypt and met Les Musiciens du Nil, a Romany tribe of musicians and dancers whose lineage goes back to ancient Egypt. This can be evidenced by the tomb pictures of musical instruments which they still play today.
They couldn't understand how I knew the dance so well, how I understood their rhythms and movements, movements that only they knew. They arranged a meeting with a group of women, who I learned were the Maazin sisters, a famous tribe of dancers. They played an ancient tape on an old recorder and instructed me to dance. As a result of this I was hugely privileged and honoured to perform many times with them.
They said the spirit of the dance had come to me through my ancestors. I never spoke about this experience with anyone at the dance school, and only mentioned it a few weeks ago to two dear dancing friends from that time. They were amazed and said it should be written up and shared.
Salon Darbuka and a return to art college
The years followed and I started a dance company, Salon Darbuka, with my husband Peter, an extremely talented musician and darbuka player. Other members of our family also became part of this bohemian tribe.
Eventually I decided to go back to art college and complete my BA and Master of Fine Art degrees. I was asking questions about my identity: what the dance meant, why did it mean so much to me and how can I connect with my past and ancestors?
Spirit in the paint
I began to become more and more aware of Spirit's involvement. My paintings seemed to have a life of their own, dancing and shapeshifting. Paint itself has a spirit. It was at this time that the ability to do automatic work was developed.
Giving up the dance
Meanwhile, my old teacher, to whom I was so dedicated, informed me that I was never a dancer and never would be. This cut me to the core, and I felt there was nothing left of the dance for me. I gave it up - no more teaching, no more dance company.
She was right: I will never be the sort of dancer she wanted to see. I was never interested in dancing in big famous theatres or being a part of an elite group of chosen performers.
Finding The College of Psychic Studies
However, the energy was still flowing through my painting and I knew and felt spirit working with me, so I decided to contact The College of Psychic Studies and enrolled in a class of intuitive art with June-Elleni Laine, and then in a mediumship class with Gerrie March. Both these wonderful tutors helped me develop and truly accept Spirit.
I eventually became a consultant medium at the College, specialising in spirit portraits and auras.
The circle comes around again
One morning I woke up with a strong message that the time was right to start sharing the dance with people once more, empowering them with the tools to heal and find the dancer in themselves. I felt a strong pull back to Egypt and I immediately booked into Pixie Carney's Sekhmet ceremony. I knew the circle had come around and it was time to start again.
Movement is medicine and healing, and everyone is a dancer: you just need to believe it!
Pictured above is Anji in her dancing days in 1995!
At The College of Psychic Studies, Anji Main brings together two extraordinary gifts: sacred Egyptian dance and spirit-guided art. As a naturopath, herbalist and traditional dance teacher trained in the Ghawazee lineage, she offers a rare, embodied route into spiritual connection through movement – while her work as a medium and portrait artist channels messages of healing and joy directly onto paper. Whether you join her for a private spirit portrait consultation, or one of her workshops on automatic art or Egyptian dance, Anji offers a uniquely holistic path to Spirit – one that honours the body as much as the intuition, and invites you to discover the healer, artist and dancer within yourself. Explore her events here.
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