Stygian Dance is a metal and dark fusion dance collective founded by former Champaign resident and University of Illinois alum Amanda Garion, who goes by the stage name Daewen. Aptly named after the river Styx — the mythological river running through the underworld according to Greek mythology — “stygian” means dark and gloomy. After hearing about one of Daewen’s workshops that featured a kind of dance I had never even heard of before, I was completely intrigued and wanted to learn more about this dark dance style. I recently corresponded with Daewen to find out what “runic dance” is, how she came to found Stygian Dance, and more. Here’s what she had to say:
Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Smile Politely: Tell me about yourself. What is your experience with dancing?
Amanda Garion: I currently live and perform in the St. Louis, Missouri area, but I started fusion belly dance in 2012 when I was in Champaign for school. I had just had surgery on my tailbone, and I was having a really tough recovery, so I took a class to regain some flexibility and strength. I was hooked after one class and knew it was something I wanted to do long-term.
SP: You mentioned you went to school in Champaign — are you originally from the area?
AG: My husband and I went to the University of Illinois and stuck around for about ten years. I got started with fusion belly dance, started teaching, joined my first troupe, and started the Stygian Sisters all in Champaign-Urbana. Though I’ve moved back to Southern Illinois after having kids, Champaign-Urbana is definitely still a “hub” for Stygian Dance.
SP: How did you come to found Stygian Dance?
AG: While I loved the dance, I was never super thrilled with the music (with all due respect to the roots of the dance). My passion has always been heavy metal and gothic music that really embraces the darkness in life, so it wasn’t long before I put the two together! In doing “my own thing” I really found my love for dance and eventually found a few similar dancers to join me (some students, others by happenstance). We called our troupe the Stygian Sisters and we were based in Champaign until I moved. It was always a sort of joke that we should make a “Stygian North” and “Stygian South” type of thing. When I moved, I decided I’d just try that out by making Stygian available worldwide online through the Stygian Collective.
SP: How would you characterize or describe the Stygian Collective?
AG: Our goal at the Stygian Collective is to foster community, spark inspiration, and provide instruction and opportunities to all the dark, metal, or otherwise “weirdo” fusion dancers of the world.
SP: You’ve mentioned this a few times now, but what exactly does “dark fusion dance” mean?
AG: In my experience, the fusion dance world is all about community, building relationships with other dancers, collaborating, and just simply being social creatures as we are. I wanted to build that again despite being away from my sisters, and also create a home for other dark/metal/goth dancers. There aren’t a ton of us out there, so it’s pretty common for a dark or metal dancer to be lonely in their area. I’m all about building an environment to support our darker tendencies, further dance studies, and simply connect like-minded individuals. In a practical sense, our community involves classes, a private Facebook group where we all share and chat about all sorts of things, Zoom meet-ups, collaborations in videos or entire shows, and when we’re able—in-person events together.
SP: What should people expect in your classes?
AG: In my classes, students can expect to be welcomed and loved immediately. I adore all my students and can’t wait to share my knowledge with them. My classes are informal and chill, but packed with movement, and of course lots of metal to get your heart pumping!
SP: I know you had a workshop and performance at the Beltane Bash a few weeks ago — can you talk a little bit about the event, and your involvement?
AG: The organizer of the event, Brian Ward, is a long-time friend of mine and the Stygian Collective. I honestly can’t even remember who contacted whom first, but the Stygian Sisters performed at his Dark History & Horror Con back in 2016. We had an amazing time, met inspiring people, and gained some serious followers through the event. Brian is such a huge supporter, and we’ve continued to be at his events ever since. Beltane Bash happened to be on my birthday, and what better way to celebrate?
SP: The workshop at Beltane Bash was for runic dance — can you tell us a little bit about runic dancing — what is it? How did you first become involved with it?
AG: Runic Dance is (as far as I know) my own invention — a project I’m working on this year. I’ve always been drawn to the Elder Futhark, or old Norse runes. Even as a kid I liked to write with them, and now I use them to set my intentions for the day. I had the idea to use the runes to set those intentions within my dance as well, making the shapes with my body and movements, plus tying in their meanings to the dance. My goal is to create a combination, or movement pattern, to each of the twenty-four Elder Futhark runes this year. I’ll eventually offer classes and a certification for the program as well.
SP: I can honestly say I have never heard of anything like that before, what an amazing endeavor. Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about Stygian Dance and Collective?
AG: Everyone is welcome with us, and we have something for everyone! If you’re a dancer (or want to be!), we have tons of classes and on demand content along with our community, and if you’re more a watcher, we have memberships for fans to see shows and behind-the-scenes content.
You can find Stygian Collective on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.