Until I Dance
This moment
Is just a sentence of my story
Here and now
My senses tell a story, not the story I want, but the story I know
My eyes are open to the world
But closed inside this mask
My ears, they hear what you are saying
But they don’t understand
The pain is still suffocation,
Some days it seems without end
Yes, my senses shout a story
Chains about my feet
Yet inside I know
This is not meant to be
Somehow
I will stand
And move
What I need is a song
My heart, to feel
My eyes, to see
My ears, to hear
To move is life
Which feels like a race
But in truth
Is a dance
I must learn to move
To remove the masks...of fear
The mask of hate
Mask of love that was not love
Of abuse, of loss
There is grace
Right here, right now
With each move I take
Until...I dance
Poetry by Stephanie Anderson
Photography by Talia Cassell
Photography by Talia Cassell
Photography by Talia Cassell
Photography by Talia Cassell
Photography by Talia Cassell
Photography by Talia Cassell
Meet Stephanie
Stephanie is a poet, author, and performing artist based in Montana with a background in neurodevelopment. Using lyrical journaling and choreography, she provides workshops for those living in the domain between rescue from trauma and creative expression.
Using specific movement to confront trauma related to violence and abuse, she presents “Moving” Through Trauma (beginner) and “Dancing” Through Trauma (advanced). She also provides Art4Life, and Move4Life workshops for the public.
Stephanie Anderson began sharing in 2013 from her own experiences of exploitation as a means to create awareness. She has partnered with many agencies to provide training and is a member of Survivor Alliance, a student of Elevate Academy/Unlikely Heroes, an ambassador for Shared Hope and her experiences are detailed online in the survivor gallery of Polaris.
