Touching Sacred Ground

Well, I must admit that our world feels upside down right now. So many aspects of our nation’s shared agreements have been thrown into disarray like a precious basket turned over & spilled out. In these times, I find myself needing to seek out beauty, wisdom, community, dance, and prayer to connect to the heartbeat of wisdom. The ancient practices help us touch sacred ground and bring gentle presence, grounded resistance, and creative capacities to our world. Let’s keep the dance of hope alive! 

The photo above was taken at Kukutali Preserve, a small island here in the Northwest that is under shared management between the Snohomish Tribe and Washington State Parks. This partnership demonstrates what is possible when ancient wisdom and modern government work together to preserve beauty and good will! The dance will premier as part of Abbey of the Arts upcoming Lenten Series on Women Mystics. I hope you might join us. (Lent starts in ten days!) You can learn more here Seven Gates of Mystical Wisdom. 

For those in Seattle, click here for my Lenten schedule which includes Woman at the Well, Raising of Lazarus and the Prodigal Daughter! 

As we look beyond Lent, I’m especially excited about our newest retreat invoking Ancestors & Archetypes which will take place Easter week!  We have a few spots left … so consider coming for 4 days of diving into creative practices that help us touch the holy ground of mystery together! 

Below you will find this and a few more opportunities to join me in practicing possibilities to keep the dance of hope alive.

Ancestors & Archetypes: A Journey through the Expressive Arts

with Betsey Beckman & Kayce Stevens Hughlett
April 21-25, 2025
St. Andrew’s House; Hood Canal, WA
Our New Offering!

My dear friend, Kayce Hughlett & I have been leading Awakening the Creative Spirit together for the last handful of years, and we have an amazing time wandering in the land of art, poetry, dance, nature, ancestry, and archetype. So, we’ve come up with a brand new retreat … to birth new adventures inner and outer! Here’s a bit of a taste:

Archetypes & Ancestors. Symbol & Spirit. Signs & Soul Guides. 

Do you long to deepen your connection to those who have gone before us? Understand what it means to call upon archetypal energies as a resource for the times? Expand your own Divine Story?

Join master facilitators, Betsey Beckman and Kayce Stevens Hughlett, as we embark on a playful and soul-filled journey through the expressive arts to explore how Archetypes & Ancestors enhance our Spiritual lives and connect us to healing gifts for the past, present and future. 

Enjoy 4 days and nights filled with guided experiences, artmaking and movement, journaling, singing, SoulCollage®, InterPlay, solo time and wild wandering. 

Join us for this art-making adventure!

Limited to 12 participants. $1445

Learn more and register

Did you miss our video showing in the fall? For Black History month, we will once again be sharing our Musical on the life of Sr. Thea Bowman, pioneer in racial & social justice, and beacon of light in music and prayer. Join us for joy & inspiration!

REgister for the Zoom Showing

Save the Date: May 8th – Dancing with Angels, Saints & Ancestors Video Release Party!

10am Pacific – More Info Forthcoming!

In Closing

Parts of the Body

After dancing at my parish church of St. Patrick’s for 30 years, I am grateful to be finding my way within the community of St. Joseph’s. This year, I have felt the call to work more directly with the children (as they are super responsive to movement in prayer and sacred scripture!) Once a month, I now co-create Children’s Liturgy of the Word with the kids, and here you can see how much fun we have together! May you discover what part of the body you are called to be … as we join together in mystery as the Body of Christ!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: February 24, 2025 by

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Dancing with the Light

Blessings of the New Year! I hope you had some joyous and gentle holidays. I so love the beauty of the Christmas Season and the 12 holy nights leading to Epiphany. We are all called to carry the light, and my Christmas Angels did that so beautifully on Christmas Eve! If you want to see their playful Gospel with adorable shepherds, click here! 

As we step into the new year, how are you called to carry the light? What are the adventures, the joys, the acts of service that beckon to you? I have been musing that I am called to do what I love, and to trust that giving through my joy is an act of service. And even more than that, I am called to do whatever I do with love.  Our world seems hell bent on some crazy rhetoric these days, and I need to keep returning to my own practices which include dance, beauty, children, and peace. What are your practices? Mother Theresa coaches us — “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”  May it be so! 

In the newsletter below, I am happy to invite you to a few upcoming adventures! I’m super excited to be offering a couple of Zoom events in January & February, and if you are in Seattle, please know you are always welcome at SpiritPlay on second Tuesdays. Also, I’m excited to be offering a new LIVE retreat in April, so scroll down for more info! May you carry the light of love!

Dance Sharing & Video Celebration!

Speaking of love, I’ve been working on this video collection of 20 dances for the past couple of years with Abbey of the Arts, and we are nearing completion of the project! Our first live sharing of the material will be for

Sacred Dance Guild: Sacred Sunday!

Sunday, January 19th | 4:30-5:30pm (Pacific) on Zoom

Come learn some of the stories (of creating) and some of the dances! Below you can view the teaser for the video compilation. Join me in the joy of celebrating this newly birthed collection!

Register here

“I Will Live Until I Die” Musical Showing

Did you miss our video showing in the fall? For Black History month, we will once again be sharing our Musical on the life of Sr. Thea Bowman, pioneer in racial & social justice, and beacon of light in music and prayer. Join us for joy & inspiration!

Register for the Zoom showing

P.S. for anyone in the Seattle area, ValLimar Jansen will be back in town with her “Saintly Six” production Feb. 7-8.

click here to learn more

Ancestors & Archetypes: A Journey through the Expressive Arts

with Betsey Beckman & Kayce Stevens Hughlett
April 21 – 25, 2025
St Andrew’s House, Hood Canal, WA

My dear friend, Kayce Hughlett & I have been leading Awakening the Creative Spirit together for the last handful of years, and we have an amazing time wandering in the land of art, poetry, dance, nature, ancestry, and archetype. So, we’ve come up with a brand new retreat … to birth new adventures inner and outer! Here’s a bit of a taste:

Symbol & Spirit. Archetypes & Ancestors. Signs & Soul Guides. 

Do you long to deepen your connection to those who have gone before us? Understand what it means to call upon archetypal energies as a resource for the times? Expand your own Divine Story?

Join master facilitators, Betsey Beckman and Kayce Stevens Hughlett, as we embark on a playful and soul-filled journey through the expressive arts to explore how Archetypes & Ancestors enhance our Spiritual lives. 

Enjoy 4 days and nights filled with guided experiences, artmaking and movement, journaling, singing, SoulCollage®, InterPlay, solo time and wild wandering. 

Join us for this art-making adventure!

Limited to 12 participants. $1445

Learn more and register

In Closing

Mary & Elizabeth

For literally 50 years (since I was 17 years old) I have been dancing the story of Mary. Mary as young girl, Mary saying yes to the Angel, Mary pregnant with child, Mary as young Mother, Mary at the foot of the cross, Mary throughout the ages. This year, during Advent, for the first time, I danced the character of Elizabeth!  I guess it’s appropriate to honor my own body as it ages, and find new ways of celebrating new birth! Enjoy this duet of the pregnant Mary & Elizabeth at the scene of the Visitation. May we continue to support each in carrying the light, and giving birth to the light! Love and blessings!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: January 13, 2025 by

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Dancing with the Women

I must admit, I was super excited to imagine a capable, sensitive, and purposeful woman at the helm in our White House. This vision will not come to pass as soon as I would like! So, I dedicate this newsletter to a handful of other visionary, strong, and faithful women! Please join me in finding ways to bring the soulful gifts of the feminine to our world at such a critical time. 

First of all, I’d like to share about my adventures in New York City last month dancing with my dear friend and mentor, Carla deSola. What an awesome opportunity for me to spend the week with members of the Omega Liturgical Dance Company from the past 50 years. Amazing dancers and amazing spirits! Above you can see pictured a handful of Omega Dancers in their piece entitled, “The Hill We Climb.” Indeed! I put together a bit of a video depicting Carla’s 50 year legacy (as we celebrated in NYC) for you to enjoy. I am so grateful that Carla pioneered the gift of Liturgical Dance and that I can continue to dance in her footsteps! 

And keep on reading for more women to uphold & celebrate!

Carla DeSola – Honoring 50 years!

“I Will Live Until I Die” Video Showing

Another one of my “sheroes” is Sr. Thea Bowman, pioneer in racial & social justice, as well as beacon of light in music and prayer. Now you can enjoy our dynamic depiction of Thea Bowman’s life story in our video showing!

REgister for our zoom showing

Inter-Spiritual Celebration

When we cultivate peace in our selves and in our bodies, we honor the feminine path of wisdom. Then our action in the world can spring from inner sources & re-sources.

It is my tradition to bring embodied prayer to our Seattle Inter-Spiritual Celebration each November. This year we will meet at

St. Joseph Church
Sunday November 24th
at 2:30 pm

Come gather with those from many traditions to share in practices & prayers for peace!

Register for the Inter-Spiritual gathering

Women of Wisdom Grand Finale

When women come together, there is often a solidarity of beauty, courage, healing and empowerment that unfolds. For many years, I had the blessing of dancing at the Women of Wisdom Conference in Seattle. Here you can witness our final celebration of our Women of Wisdom gathering after 32 years!

Ancestors & Archetypes: A Journey Through Expressive Arts

with Betsey Beckman & Kayce Stevens Hughlett
April 21-25, 2025
St. Andrew’s House; Hood Canal, WA

Sneak peek into our brand new offering!

My dear friend, Kayce Hughlett & I have been leading Awakening the Creative Spirit together for the last handful of years, and we have an amazing time wandering in the land of art, poetry, dance, nature, ancestry, and archetype. So, we’ve come up with a brand new retreat … to birth new adventures inner and outer! Here’s a bit of a taste:

Symbol & Spirit. Archetypes & Ancestors. Signs & Soul Guides.

Join master facilitators, Betsey Beckman and Kayce Stevens Hughlett, as we embark on a playful and soul-filled journey through the expressive arts to explore how Archetypes & Ancestors enhance our Spiritual lives. (I personally am calling on our wise & well spiritual ancestors to help us move through this tumultuous time on our planet!)

Our home for the week is the wonderful St. Andrews House on Hood Canal in beautiful Washington State. A private room awaits you, along with lovingly prepared meals, acres of wooded property, and the spirit of the Coastal Peoples.

Enjoy 4 days and nights filled with guided experiences, artmaking and movement, journaling, singing, SoulCollage®, Interplay, solo time and wild wandering.

More info will be forthcoming!

Limited to 12 participants. $1445

Submit a Deposit for registration

In Closing

This October, for the Feast of St. Francis, I had the opportunity to dance parts of the Paul Winter’s Missa Gaia (Earth Mass) with my dear friend, Vania Bynum. This music is incredibly uplifting, and calls us all to both honor Mother Earth and also hear her cries. I am grateful for the gifts of our Earth Mama as well as the beauty of Brother Sun & Sister Moon! Please enjoy this piece, and if you’d like to see a few more of the selections from Missa Gaia, you can find them here –

Kyrie
Sanctus

May the gifts & challenges of this moment in time bless you, give you courage, and may our mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers, sons, cousins & kin from all countries learn to live in love, respect, honor & peace. Many blessings, dear friends! 

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: November 12, 2024 by

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Dancing Into the Woods

What do Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, have in common? They all come together for adventures in one musical entitled: Into the Woods! As you may have guessed, after my Bali trip earlier this summer, I headed to my family vacation in Michigan with all my grandnieces/nephews. We have a tradition of creating a video production each year, and despite our best efforts to go in a direction of simplicity, we ended up being totally enthralled with the intersection of beloved fairy tale characters all engaging in a complex & playful romp in the woods!

There is a lot going on in our world right now. So many clashing struggles and hopes! In this fairy tale, each character has a wish … and each has to go on a challenging adventure to help participate in his/her wish coming true. One of my favorite moments in the play is when Cinderella visits the grave of her deceased mother to ask her to help realize her dreams. With a blend of prayer, spiritual support & commitment, magic can happen!

I’ll warn you that our production is an hour long! But I invite you to curl up with some popcorn and enter into the journey of dreams coming true (with music written by Steven Sondheim, no less!) Creating with these children is one of my dreams coming true, and helps me live in the world of beauty that children open up in our hearts. (Plus the adults in the family are courageous enough to enter the creative journey, too!)

The video is here for your inspiration and entertainment! Below that, please find some opportunities to dance into the fall with me. Blessings!

Into the Woods

SpiritPlay Class in Seattle!

Do you live in Seattle? Come play & pray with us!

SpiritPlay has become a staple of Seattle’s InterPlay offerings! Now in our 24th year, we have developed a wonderful community of faith and foolishness. This monthly series is for those grounded in Christianity who so long for the spontaneity of InterPlay to help us navigate the humble & holy journey of our lives. This year, we are now in a new location at St. Joseph Church! Come explore becoming the Body of Christ together!

Begins October 8th!

For more information or to register, email me!

The Love of Thousands

Praying with Angels, Saints, & Ancestors Prayer Cycle – Video Launch!
Begins October 11th
(two releases weekly for 7 weeks!)

Exciting news! Here at Abbey of the Arts we are releasing a new Video Prayer Cycle!
It is always such a rich process to create prayer dances to help enflesh the material in Christine Paintner’s offerings. And the themes of Angels, Saints and Ancestors are quite potent as we move into the fall. As producer, I am overseeing the finishing touches on the 28 video dance prayers for all our Morning & Evening Prayers. (Woohoo – good thing I love to edit!) This is one of our favorite Abbey offerings – free to all. Enjoy!

Guest dance artists include:
Corey Action, Lorraine Bayes, Vania Bynum, Freya Checchetti, Agnotti Cowie, Jocelyn Horne, Leah Mann, Soyinka Rahim, & Karin Stevens

To access all the Prayer Cycles, click here.

Women of Wisdom Grand Finale

Sunday September 22nd 1:00 – 4:30

For many years, I had the blessing of offering dance meditations at the Women of Wisdom Conference in Seattle. As this journey comes to a close, I am honored to help folks celebrate in beauty. Join us for some memories and mutual inspiration!

To register for the closing ceremonies, click here!

Do you live in or near NYC? I’ll be there the week of October 23-27th for a special celebration of Omega Liturgical Dance Company founded by Carla DeSola in 1974. I’ve known Carla for about 45 of those 50 years! There will be a special liturgy celebrated on Sunday October 27th with Omega Liturgical Dance Company and guests (including me!) Let me know if you can join us for worship (and a visit that week!)

Dancing with the Divine: Celebrating 50 Years!
Sunday October 27th
11:00 Mass
Riverside Church
4990 Riverside Dr. (at 120th St.)
NY, NY

In Closing

A Short Poem!

I must say it is always a gift to engage with my InterPlay community in Seattle. They help me stay sane in a crazy world! Here is a short poem written by Francine Walls entitled “Emergency Poem” and danced by me …. in case you need a little help to survive!

Love and blessings, dear friends!

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: September 17, 2024 by

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Balinese Beauty

Blessings of summer! I hope you are having a refreshing and restorative season!

I mentioned in my last missive that I was heading on pilgrimage to the magical island of Bali (in Indonesia.) What an amazing adventure in dance, spirit, and artistry! How blessed that my friend, Agnotti Cowie organized this immersion trip through InterPlay so we could create our own beauty as well as join in the dance, music, mask-making, & shadow puppetry of Bali. 

After 45 years passing since I wrote my senior thesis on the Dance in Bali, it was such a gift to come full circle and experience a culture where artistry is sacred and passed down through the generations. Although one can see that this tradition is being invaded by western ways & iPhones galore, still the gifts of the ancient prevail, and the beauty of daily practice coaxes one into a sense of open-hearted awe and gratitude. 

Much is changing in our world today, and the political landscape in the US has opened some new doors, for which I am very grateful! Let us continue to foster our own practices that bring us a sense of openness, awe & gratitude, as well as caring for those on the margins. Truly, every time we touch our feet on the ground, we are walking/dancing on holy ground! 

I made a narrated video of my Balinese adventures so you can enter the magic of dancing in Bali with me!

Interview in Jesuit Magazine: Jivan

I’m so grateful to Fr. Prashant Olalekar, SJ, my dear InterPlaying friend from India who kindly interviewed me for this latest Jesuit publication. You can see a glimpse below, or click here  (and scroll to page 11) to read the whole article!

The Soul of a Pilgrim Prayer Cycle

Here’s a reminder that at Abbey of the Arts we have recently launched our new Prayer Cycle about the practice of pilgrimage. Pray with a whole host of prayer/dance videos & daily meditations for free – woohoo! Such a blessing to share. 

To partake of our morning & evening prayers, click here.

In Closing

For my friends who are musicians, I thought you’d enjoy a peek at the gamelan players at the village festival we attended in Bali. It was a joy to see the orchestra members up close, and to witness our teacher dancing to their music. The surprise was when our teacher called us up to dance … which caught us completely off guard! The raucous laughter of the villagers witnessing our good faith attempts was a true gift. We are all family! 

Next: I’m off to Michigan for some family time in our own traditions. Enjoy your summer and happy dancing! 

Bets

Betsey Beckman, MM

PS … Wanna come dance with me over Labor Day weekend? I’ll be attending InterPlay Summer Camp. You can too!

Posted: July 31, 2024 by

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The Dancing Trinity

Happy Summer! I hope you are having a joyous entrance into the season of gentle journeys & outdoor adventures. I have been wrapping up my projects for the year – so much to give thanks for! And I must admit, I am looking forward to letting go of my full schedule and embracing a more leisurely summer pace. I hope you have some sweetness and space to look forward to also! (Scroll to the bottom for my news about Bali!)

Meanwhile, I wanted to share that a couple weeks ago was Trinity Sunday, traditionally celebrated by Christian Churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost. At my parish, Dcn. Steve Wodzanowski (a dynamic leader in our community) told me he would be preaching on the Trinity, and he discovered some interesting theology. He writes – 

“The very mystical Cappadocian Fathers of 4th Century eastern Turkey (Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, and Basil of Caeserea) developed some highly sophisticated thinking on the TRINITY. It took three centuries of reflection on the Gospels to have the courage to say it, but they circled around to the best metaphor they could find, and the Greek word they daringly came up with was PERICHORESIS, or circle dance.

“They wrote: ‘Whatever is going on in God is a flow, a radical relatedness, a perfect communion between Three – a circle dance of love. And God is not just a dancer. God is the dance itself.'”

I love this dynamic expression of the movement of the Divine presence! With Steve’s invitation, this was the perfect opportunity to bring Trinity to life in a joyous embodied way. I was able to invite two of my dancing friends from our Thea Bowman production to be part of a dancing trio with me. (I love how Thea Bowman is continuing to bring new energy and collaboration to our community!) 

In Steve’s homily he explained that the most common naming of persons in the Trinity is Father, Son, and Spirit. But throughout the centuries, there have been other ways of envisioning this dance within the Divine. Julian of Norwich, through her contemplation of the hazelnut, named the Trinity as: Maker, Lover, and Keeper. (At Abbey of the Arts, we have a wonderful Doxology with this imagery which you can enjoy here! ) Another of my favorite ways of naming Trinity is Source of All Being, Incarnate Word, and the Love that Flows Between. Makes me feel like dancing! 

For our dance of Trinity, we chose to interpret a beautiful song entitled: How Wonderful the Three-in-One with lyrics by Brian Wren. In this song, the poet names the three persons as: Lover, Beloved, Empowering Friend. We thoroughly enjoyed responding to these qualities in the dance, and also drawing on the image & colors from the artwork by Mary Southard, CSJ, pictured above. 

I give thanks to Dcn. Steve for bringing such beautiful imagery and invitation to our St. Joseph community! I hope you enjoy the dance, and scroll down for a few more celebratory stories from the season!

Thea Bowman Video Showing!

We had an awesome showing of our Thea Bowman video this past week here in Seattle! Catch a glimpse here of the joyous energy. We plan to do host a zoom showing in the fall – so stay tuned!

The Soul of a Pilgrim Prayer Cycle

Exciting news! Here at Abbey of the Arts we have just completed the launch of our new Prayer Cycle! In these 14 visual and audio podcasts, you can dive into the practice of pilgrimage through song, word, dance, gesture, & silence. Pray with a whole host of prayer/dance videos for free – woohoo! Such a blessing to share. 

To partake of our morning & evening prayers click here.

We Have Got a Van!

My husband, Charlie and I have been supporting our friends in Tororo, Uganda in expanding their Dance, Music and Artistry for the children at Ma’s Junior School and beyond. This week, we helped our friend, Bernard Omuse purchase a van for their community. Enjoy this amazing outpouring of gratitude! May we all be filled with this spirit of gratitude for the gifts of life!

In Closing: Dancing in Bali!

One of my summer adventures coming soon is that I am heading to Bali! When I was in my senior year at Georgetown University, I was studying Sacred Dance as part of my BA in Theology. I wrote my senior thesis on the Dance in Bali as Religious Expression. Now, 45 years later, I get to actually travel to this beautiful Indonesian Island with a group of InterPlayers! We will be practicing InterPlay in the mornings and studying Balinese dance in the afternoon, so I will have lots to share in my next newsletter! Have a joyous summer and keep dancing!  

Blessings of the dance,

Betsey

Betsey Beckman, MM

Posted: June 19, 2024 by

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