Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Hartsell with Jonathan Edwards see above
Hi Julia Hartsell with Jonathan Edwards, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I (Julia) was born and raised in Greensboro and have, aside from some wonderful travel opportunities, spent my life in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Daughter of a nurse with a dedication to serving the poor and a graphic artist with deep care for the earth, I grew up around many expressions of creativity, an orientation towards healing and service and an appreciation for the natural world.
In college, I was drawn to Religious Studies, especially the mystical expressions of many traditions. After graduating, I was completely uninterested in the corporate paths available. Instead, I felt called to explore practices that would connect me to the moreness, the mystery by many names. I wanted to feel and experience the oneness the mystics wrote about instead of writing about their experiences. I desired a sense of being woven into the fabric of existence rather than being stuck in the feelings of isolation that can dominate our earthly American experience.
In 2001, in the aftermath of 9/11, I found a giant (5 ft) hula hoop which surprisingly answered my prayers. The hoop became a pivotal, transformative and meditative dance practice for me. Rather than going to grad school (despite my parents’ hopes) I dedicated myself to practice. For almost two decades I focused on hoop dance: I taught people of all ages; performed in a variety of contexts; designed and sold hoops and fire dancing props; and basically did everything I could to survive while spreading the magic that hoop dance brought to my life. I worked in schools, summer camps, festivals and eventually, I spearheaded an international conference called Hoop Convergence in 2008. In 2011, I opened a studio called The Flowjo in Carrboro, NC.
For a decade I (Julia) ran The Flowjo which was a beloved dance and circus arts space Though it started as a space for hooping and aerial dance, the twice-weekly ecstatic dance became an incredibly popular event that catalyzed a multi-generational community. This new prop-less practice began shaping and healing me in new ways. Hooping helped me grow in so many ways. The Ecstatic Dance practice continued the path of growth through practice, but this one was even more intimate and communal. The Sunday morning dance became lovingly called Dance Church. I found myself growing into a priest or pastor type role, tending community dynamics, changes and losses. Life brought opportunities to grieve which I took to the dance. Over the years, I developed rituals for dancing with grief and rage. At the same time I was deepening into animism, ritual and ancestral healing, which is how I met Jonathan Hadas Edwards, my now partner in life and work.
In 2016, I had a vision of having a natural cemetery–a place for community members to be buried without toxic or wasteful (and expensive) practices. While I loved The Flowjo dearly, I felt the call towards something more sustainable for the long-term; somewhere more connected to the elements; a place where we could gather for our dance practice and eventually return to the earth.
Just before the pandemic, we started looking for land where we might be able to realize that vision. Friend and realtor Gary Phillips suggested land with an interesting layout and beautiful barn in Silk Hope. The first time we saw the 100 year old Quaker Barn, the first thought was “this is going to be a sacred space.” Just after getting under contract, the pandemic happened. We ended up moving there in May of 2020. It turned out to be so supportive to our community to have outdoor space to continue meeting, practicing, and connecting throughout that challenging chapter.
Over these four years, we’ve slowly been listening to and witnessing the land, renovating the barn, creating an earth-based liturgical cycle, planting trees and visioning for the long-view, multi-generational project.
Now we host weekly Temple Dances (ecstatic dance inspired, barefoot, no conversation) which really allow for depth of emotional expression and connection.
We focus on two seasonal festivals – Samhain: Rituals of Remembrance in the fall (around Halloween/All Souls Day) and Beltane at the beginning of May. These are our biggest annual events.
We’re still building out infrastructure, but in addition to our regular programming, we have hosted memorial services, group retreats, grief ceremonies, day workshops, personal retreats and mission-aligned private rentals.
We currently have two grave gardens in the natural burial meadow. One features a small mulberry and a thriving yarrow patch where our beloved furry family member Pablo is buried. The other has a beautiful weeping (looks more like dancing) redbud and bee balm where a community member who passed in 2022 is buried. We’ve started a site for a ‘family tree’ where several family members will be buried around one mulberry. We have a number of members who we practice with who plan to return to the earth at Heartward Sanctuary. As a church, we make natural burials available to community members. We see burial as a long-term relationship between the place, the organization and the beloveds of anyone buried here. Thus, for folks interested in natural burial options, the best thing is to attend an in-person and/or online event to see if our values, practices and aesthetics are a natural fit for you and your family.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say it’s been amazingly smooth in some respects, not at all in others (laughs). There’s been a learning curve, for sure. Letting The Flowjo go was incredibly hard, but finding the Heartward property felt totally magical and aligned. It’s been challenging to raise the money to renovate spaces and find the correct legal structures for the various projects.
Forging new paths is risky and scary. From deciding to become a professional hula hooper to opening a circus and dance studio to starting an international hoop dance conference to starting a natural burial ground, each leap has required a lot of faith, patience, persistence, hard work, learning, disappointment, and financial challenges. There’s not a ton of support for arts-based or spiritual projects.
Also, I hadn’t set out to be a leader. I wanted to be/am a practitioner. But when people come together around a practice, things come up. It’s challenging to navigate all the interpersonal dynamics and also the painful cultural wounds that arise, especially in embodied, emotionally expressive, ecstatic practices. I’ve learned a lot; done my best with the tools I have; and I continue to cultivate new skills to meet what arises.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In terms of what we’re known for, personally I’m still known for hoop dance, especially Hoop Convergence and my devotional spinning style; my stewardship of The Flowjo and Ecstatic Dance in the triangle; and my newer ritual work at Heartward Sanctuary.
Heartward Sanctuary is known for its emotional depth, as a space of healing, and for the potency and beauty of community ceremonies and rituals. The land is a big part of that–it just feels really good here. The previous stewards, a Quaker couple, did a beautiful job. This place anchors something special, truly.
Our spiritual orientation is animist, and there’s a sense of cooperation with the plants and animals and nature spirits here. Sometimes it really feels like we’re literally dancing with the elements.
We’ve continued the Dance Church/Ecstatic Dance which is now in its 14th year. We’ve renamed it Temple Dance in it’s current form and place. It’s a very mature community and intimate practice. People express that there’s a lot of warmth, wisdom and depth at Heartward. There’s a dance retreat lined up for fall. Look out for it on the website!
The other thing (we are / Heartward is) known for is our big seasonal festivals like Beltane (Spring) and Samhain (Fall). Samhain is an Ancestral Remembrance event that falls in early November. We don’t do a traditional Gaelic thing, necessarily; it’s more eclectic than that, but true to the spirit of ancestor season. There’s live music, a DJ’d ecstatic dance set, an ancestral altar and a climactic effigy burn. Last year’s effigy depicted a vulture, which is (sort of a totemic animal for the land). Each year the event gets bigger, and it may grow into a multi-day festival.
We host a Returning to the Earth and Becoming an Ancestor series which is a multi-week online journey to befriend death at any stage of life. The series includes practical bits such as important documents to prepare, world perspectives on death and rituals around dying, as well as meditative journeys. We’ll be running that series again again in September.
Hoop Convergence just had a reunion event after a 9 year hiatus. It was such a beautiful time that this one may come back around!
Jonathan’s been planting beautiful medicine gardens and fruit trees. Jonathan is an herbalist, incense maker and amazing chef so the gardens are important.
Our aim is to have the burial ground be a thriving ecosystem with an orchard.
Jonathan and I met in an ancestral healing practitioner training, so that’s also a part of the work at Heartward Sanctuary. We both see clients in different capacities (Chinese medicine and astrology in his case, ancestral healing and ritual support in mine).
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Playing music on my parents’ record player and dancing. I’ve taken refuge in music and movement since I can remember. Also, I adored spending time with my cat.
Pricing:
- Weekly dances are $10-20, open to everyone, free to our Sustainers.
- Tickets to Samhain and Beltane (bigger seasonal festivals) typically start around $40.
- Private healing and counseling sessions are available as well (e.g. ancestral lineage healing), starting around $120
- Cost is TBD on the upcoming Becoming an Ancestor course, likely $300 range
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heartwardsanctuary.org
