Are there moments when you find yourself swaying to the rhythm of life, feeling the urge to move more freely? Dance, as Lucia Peters passionately believes, is more than just a physical expression—it’s a powerful tool for connecting with your inner self. Lucia’s journey with dance has been one of overcoming self-doubt and navigating through deeply transformative phases in both life and career. Through these challenges, she has discovered that dance has the potential to reignite the inner fire and renew the spirit.
Lucia’s remarkable career includes performing in front of some of the most influential figures in Germany, such as Chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin’s Mayor Michael Müller, and former Federal President Joachim Gauck. These experiences have not only shaped her as an artist but have also deepened her understanding of dance as a source of confidence, joy, and focus. Today, Lucia offers workshops, retreats, and individual support designed to help others tap into the empowering force of dance, allowing them to align with their true desires and strengthen their connection between body and vision.
As we explore the transformative power of dance in Lucia’s work, we’re excited to ask her more about her journey and the impact of her art.
- How do you see the future of dance as a tool for empowerment, both on a personal level and within the broader community?
For me, the power of dance as a tool for empowerment is very valid in the future. Especially nowadays as digital devices get more and more accessed and used by individuals and communities it’s highly important to emphasize the power strength and ability of the body. It has the potential to make us aware of the emotional and psychological capacity that we hold as humans which is a key element to experience ourselves in humanness. The preciousness that we as living breathing beings hold can be felt through practicing dance. Emotions and relationships towards ourselves and others are refined in our perception and expressed which is highly valuable to building an emotionally healthy and stable society which leads to innovative ideas and collaborative behaviour. When we are navigating ourselves and our lives just with digital devices the danger is a bit higher to build more technical abilities than staying in the humanness of us. Moving our bodies through dance art has the capacity to bring us back into a heart-centered space and through that create meaningful relationships, which is the base for us as humans to navigate our lives fulfilled and pleasurable.
2. How do you approach designing a dance experience that resonates with participants on both an emotional and physical level?
One of the first approaches that I use is I tune into my internal world, which is receiving lots of visions which can be like images and also senses in my body that are relating to the people and spaces that I am working with. So I kind of analyze and transmit these visions and sensations lots of times into a structure within a movement practice and/or sequence or just gestures and poses in the body that reflect these intuitive hints that I receive from specific groups and individuals.
3. What role does cultural influence play in your choreography and teaching style?
Cultural influences are one of my greatest inspirations for creating choreography as well as movement practices for groups and individuals. I’m pretty aware of where people are coming from and how diverse humans on our planet are. I am not knowledgeable about all the cultures and the differences that each and every culture holds. But I’m very much interested in supporting the individuality and richness of cultures to be brought into the personal practice of dance because it informs the humanness of each individual. And it’s highly important to keep ancient traditions alive. I love to be inspired by different cultures and also merge them and appreciate them without falling into the trap of appropriation as much as possible for me.
4. How do you stay inspired and creative in your work, especially after years of performing and teaching?
I love to stay inspired in my professional career. And it’s super important for me to stay alive in my artistry as a dance performer and also as a dance teacher. For me being in spirit, which is being inspired and transmitting the spark to audiences and to students is one of the most important values that I hold as a dance patriot. Thank you for the question. How I do this is a very complex, intuitive, and broad approach. It can include walking through nature, connecting to the natural forces which are also within me, and can be triggered by taking out all other influences and coming back to nature. On the other hand, it can also mean that I’m going into a city center such as Berlin and/or New York and connecting to other artists who inspire me through their art forms. It can also mean that I am reading scientific research about my field or a completely different field that I feel curious and interested in. It can also mean that I am going to a church or a temple and doing meditation or prayer to receive some new impulses. These are just some examples of how this complex process is navigated within me.
5. How do you balance the demands of your personal life with your professional commitments to dance and teaching?
My professional life and my private life are very closely interlinked. Yes, it´s a big challenge to navigate. And at the same time, it´s also informing each other. I love to be inspired by my friends and my family. Lots of times I’m sharing what I’m going through in my professional life. I know I am not the person that I am and I am not achieving the things I`m achieving without my friends, family, and broader community. I am in a sense a result of the influences of my relationships, professional as well as private, that I love to hold in a loving, kind, and appreciative space which leads to my thriving as a human.
Feature Image Courtesy: Bert Kubik
