Today we’d like to introduce you to Raven Lucas.
Hi Raven, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a child my mom kept me active in the arts as she put me in Dance at the age of 4 and I modeled professionally. As I got older, I took a break from dance and began to do Color Guard once I got to high school. Even as I participated in competitive Color Guard, I still was able to be involved in dance as this was also a component of guard. Once I graduated high school, I realized how much I missed dance and I began training again through private lessons. Those lessons eventually led me to auditioning to get into a college dance program. I was already in school for Psychology, but pursing dance was pulling on my heart. I auditioned for Troy University’s dance program and initially I was accepted as a dance minor. I felt disappointed because I wanted to be a dance major so badly but after this rejection I decided I would go to Troy to continue my Psych Degree and minor in dance, but God had other plans for me. I remember getting to orientation and receiving my paperwork to see that I had been changed to a Dance Major. I was so confused and questioned if this was a mistake but sure enough it was not! I was so grateful that I had been given a chance to pursue my dreams of pursuing dance as a major and professionally. This changed my whole trajectory mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I evolved so much during my time at Troy as a dancer and person, those 4 years truly shaped me into being the person I am today. I am now a professional dancer, choreographer, instructor, dance adjudicator, reiki practitioner, and I own my own dance business. I have been able to use my psychology knowledge and dance background to create my own dance healing business that helps guide women to heal, reconnect with their bodies and their most authentic self. I am grateful for the path that life has led me on to be able to fuse my passions together as a career.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The journey to get here has not been easy at all. I am someone who has struggled with mental health for a long time even when I didn’t know what it was to put a name to it. Growing up I was very shy, struggled with negative mindsets, and had a hard time with people pleasing. I had a hard time with expressing myself as this was something that I feel I would get shut down for growing up and it trickled into other parts of my life. I am someone who has always dealt with heavy things on my own because I always felt like everyone else has their own problems, so they don’t need to deal with mine or that it’s not safe express my genuine feelings and emotions. This is why my creative outlets have truly been a life saver over the course of my life thus far. When I began going to school in Troy the negative thought patterns began to show itself even more. Although I had gotten into the program, I started what would be considered “late” in the dance world as I started this program at the age of 23. I always felt like I was behind and had to work ten times harder than everyone else due to my age and the fact that my dance journey had not been as consistent as my peers. I remember coming home from classes feeling like I sucked and questioning do I deserve to be here. I felt very alone when I first started the program because no one around me could relate to what I was going through. During my second year at Troy, I experienced my first close family member passing away as an adult which was my grandmother. Her passing triggered a lot of difficult moments but good ones also. It made going to class even harder as I began having anxiety attacks often and just going down a lot of mental spirals behind this. Keeping myself together became hard to do and I just became very sensitive energetically to my environments. It all became very overwhelming, and I felt like I was going crazy at one point. This major event made it hard for me to show up in the ways that I needed to in life and in dance. I just wanted to feel better, and this began to lead me down the path of my spiritual awakening. I began getting into meditation, more prayer, building a deeper relationship with God/Spirit, breath work, journaling, deep self-reflection etc. Incorporating these new tools and this spiritual path in my life helped me through grieving as well opened me up to learn myself better and why I am the person that I am. Through all of this it led me to creating a space that I wish I had during my time of grief a healing space which I named Soul Deep Sessions. I had no idea what it would look like at the time but I knew I wanted it to be a safe space for people to feel seen, heard, to get to understand themselves better, and just have a safe space to express without judgement through their healing journey but using dance to do it. This is a blessing that happened as a result of my grandmother’s passing, and I always say I feel like her spirit guided me down this path. Even through all of these struggles dance and my spirituality were a major anchor for me that continued to keep me grounded. I graduated with my Dance BFA in 2021 and I am so proud of myself for never giving up on myself when that would have been what seemed like the easiest thing.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an Adjudicator with Inspire National Dance Competition, and I absolutely love getting the opportunity to travel around the Southeast witnessing so much beautiful talent and sharing my knowledge with the new generation of dancers. I am also a freelance performer, and I am manifesting more performance opportunities through tours, tv/film, commercials etc. Performing has always been my first love and I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had thus far and excited to continue to watch my dreams unfold. I have two dance businesses that has two sides to it Raven Lucas Dance for technical training, choreography, creative direction, and my dance healing business that focuses on healing of the mind body and spirit. My dance healing business has three branches to it Soul Deep Sessions, Sensual Movement Sessions, and Self Intimacy Sessions.
Soul Deep Sessions is a trauma informed somatic healing experience that helps women release emotional blocks, reconnect with their authentic self and body, and break long held patterns through movement-based practices. Using my Embodied Truth Method™, I guide clients through dance improvisation, inner/teen child integration to create deep emotional clarity, nervous system regulation, and a renewed sense of self. It’s a transformative process that brings women back into their bodies, their truth, and their power.
Sensual Movement Sessions are for the woman who is ready to explore her sensuality through intentional, expressive movement. This offering supports you in reconnecting with your body through guided exercises, across the floor work, and grounded choreography that centers authenticity over performance. These sessions are designed for women who have begun healing their relationship with sensuality and are now ready to embody it more fully. The focus is on expression, expansion, and learning to move from truth not from external expectations or performative sensuality.
Through movement, breath, and embodied awareness, you learn to take up space with confidence, soften into your natural fluidity, and reconnect with the parts of your body that crave expression. Sensual Movement Sessions help you build a deeper sense of presence, confidence, and embodied self-connection.
Self-Intimacy Sessions help you understand yourself more deeply, soften self-judgment, and unravel the internalized beliefs that have shaped your relationship with your body and sensuality. Through gentle somatic work, you learn to meet yourself with compassion, rebuild trust within, and reclaim your sensuality as something personal, safe, and true.
My dance healing is business is truly my baby and something that I am so proud of! This business is something that I have been creating and fine tuning since 2018. It came during a time where I was grieving the loss of my grandmother and I needed a space like the ones that I am creating through Soul Deep Sessions, Sensual Movement Sessions, and my Self Intimacy Sessions. My sessions stand out because I am offering multiple healing modalities all in one through somatic therapy, talk therapy, and movement therapy. My sessions heal through the body, the psyche, and the spirit while most modalities address one layer at a time. I am blessed to be able to use my gifts. knowledge, experiences and passions to guide women through their healing journey to bring them back into their bodies and most authentic selves.
Through Raven Lucas Dance I specialize in technique training, choreography, and creative direction through working with Color guard/winter guard programs, dance studios, dance teams, creative visuals, etc. I work with ages 13 and up and I am available to travel all over to work with artists to help strengthen, refine, elevate their foundations, connection to their art, and overall performance quality.
I feel that my gifts to be able to truly read people through their movement and what is they’re not saying from a place of intuitive knowing truly sets me apart. I find myself always approaching any creative space from a place of emotional undercurrent that many may overlook.
To work with me you can reach out to me via email and subscribe to my email list to be a part of the Soul Deep Community, be the first to hear about classes, group containers, workshops, events, discounts, and so much more!
Email Newsletter: https://souldeepsessions444.myflodesk.com/bw9me8gyei
Raven Lucas Dance-ravenlucas20@gmail.com
Soul Deep Sessions, Sensual Movement Sessions, Self-Intimacy Sessions – souldeep444@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: Business Email : (For Raven Lucas Dance ravenlucas20@gmail.com) (For Soul Deep Sessions souldeep444@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeravenschvon?utm_source=qr
- LinkedIn: https://souldeepsessions444.myflodesk.com/bw9me8gyei
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/souldeepsessions444?utm_source=qr
