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Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

Abstract

Carla De Sola, a Juilliard-educated dancer, choreographer, teacher, and author, has led sacred dance on issues of peace, the environment, and social justice. Dance and the arts can lead lamentation in the face of evil and nurture imagination and creativity. The fear that leads to violence is often irrational and prompted by emotions. Arts can help to illumine and to heal feelings. The ideas of Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, influenced De Sola and led to the name Omega Liturgical Dance Company. De Chardin’s ideas underlie her extensive use of dance based on caring for creation including the annual St. Francis’ day Earth Mass which annually draws about 5,000 to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It began in 1985 and continues to this day. Whether dancing for peace with the Soviets or the Irish or leading people in anti-nuclear demonstrations, De Sola’s compassion and grace allure people to follow her lead.

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