Janice fell in love with modern dance in her teens and has been exploring body-mind-spirit practices ever since—modern dance, yoga, tai chi, improvisation, tap, ballet, and authentic movement, as well as delicious tastes of 5 Rhythms and gaga. 

She began teaching Nia in 2009 and holds a Black Belt in this rich dance-lifestyle practice. She founded Nia at Dance Place San Diego, offering in-studio classes for eight years (until the pandemic) and currently teaches four classes/week—three over Zoom and one in-person.

Her interest in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) began in the mid-1990s when she was researching a mystery novel set in Safed, Israel (Death in a City of Mystics, published by Berkley). That began a process of deep study that included having a Bat Mitzvah at age 49, co-leading a women’s New Moon group for several years, and acting as a lay service leader. Her novel The Tin Horse (Random House) dove into the Jewish history of Los Angeles.

She’s woven her love of dance and Jewish practice into movement classes based on the Kabbalah Tree of Life and routines for Jewish holidays.

Judaism has an ancient tradition of exploring hidden meanings in sacred texts and creating mystical practices to commune with the divine. During the Golden Age of 13th century Spain, this body of wisdom developed into Kabbalah—a Hebrew word whose root means "to receive." 

Kabbalah flourished during the 16th century in the city of Safed, Israel. From the  Safed Kabbalists came the concept of sefirot—emanations representing "the flow of energy from the Mind of the Creator into the universe" (Rabbi Yonassan Gershom). The sefirot are qualities like lovingkindness and humility. They're often mapped onto the Tree of Life and  on the human body. For instance, the left shoulder is associated with strength and discernment.

The ten sefirot are:

* Keter / crown: pure energy, similar to the crown chakra

* Hokhmah / wisdom, oceanic consciousness

* Binah / understanding, egoless awareness

* Chesed / lovingkindness, expansiveness, boundless giving
* Gevurah / strength, justice, setting boundaries, discernment
* Tiferet / compassionate heart, beauty, balance of lovingkindness and justice
* Netzach / eternity, endurance, victory—what carries us forward
* Hod / splendor, humility, gratitude
* Yesod / foundation, sexuality, a channel for bringing blessing into the world
* Malchut / physical reality, groundedness; also called Shekinah, the divine feminine

During the seven weeks after Passover (which begins April 12 ), there's a tradition of focusing on the seven lower qualities in a process of spiritual refinement. We'll be in this seven-week period during our time at Terzo and will be dancing with the seven lower sefirot in our practice there.