Page 46 - Empowering Missional Artists - Jim Mills.pdf

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Dancer / Choreographer

Loreen Fajgel recalls, “I can hardly remember life without dance.”

She began her ballet lessons as a child in the country of Rhodesia

(today Zimbabwe), Africa and then later studied at the Royal Ballet

School in London. Loreen danced for various seasons in the city

Loreen Fajgel ballets of both Gelsenkirchen and Kassel, Germany. In the late 80s

Loreen became a believer. Loreen determined to find a way to connect her faith and her career

or change vocation if that were not possible. She was ready to give up dance altogether when

she took part in the 1992 Summer Art Session in Germany. There she encountered a number of

believing dancers and artists from around Europe and became convinced that God intended for

her to continue dancing. Loreen shares, “the greatest source of encouragement and support is

my relationship to God, my Creator. Dance for me is a glorious means of expressing this

relationship and its effect on my life.”

In 1996, Loreen was invited to become the Artistic Director for Xaris Dance Company

of Creative Arts Europe. The Word “Xaris” is Greek for gift or benefit and reflects one of the

company’s primary aims – to raise money for various charities and humanitarian causes from the

proceeds of the annual Spring and Fall tours. The first year in 1996, 14 professional dancers

toured in 10 cities on city stages, in schools and in churches performing Leonard Bernstein’s

Chichester Psalms and raising finances for refugees in Bosnia. The plight of the refugees in

Bosnia was depicted through the masterfully crafted music of Bernstein and expressed richly and

dramatically through Loreen’s choreography. Since that time, the company under Loreen’s

direction has performed in 11 European countries and in the USA frequently on secular stages.

Over 45 dancers from 20 nations around the world have taken part in projects and thousands of

Euros have been raised for worthy humanitarian endeavors