Sepia Weblog

Edna-Jakki (E-J) Miller, a local Yogi, Dance Instructor and Choreographer; owner of DanceFit Movement Center, Founder of Experience Dance Theatre and Co-founder of SEPIA: A Renaissance Theater (with William (Bill) James, Sr.) of Charlottesville, Virginia, is endeavoring to open doors that have been shut to large numbers of African-Americans and people of color in the Charlottesville area. She uses Theater, Dance, and Fitness as a therapeutic and or motivational catalyst to help the young (and old), develop a more positive self-image.

Years of studying the psychology of coaching, principles of group dynamics, and yoga, EJ learned how to focus on the positive mental, physical, psychical, and spiritual forces prevalent throughout the Universe. She gleaned from her practice of metaphysics and Yoga, that Life can be lived from a Negative or Positive perspective based upon how one perceives one's Self in relationship to other people, one's environment, and one's own personal being. In addition, years of meditation helped E-J overcome varied negative forces that came up against her over the years. These same forces will come against everyone. No one has to remain a victim of these forces (i.e., self-hatred, racism, sexism, war, mass-murder, and class/or color prejudices). The ability to overcome these forces is within everyone. One just needs to "seek and one will find."

Through physical exercise, E-J developed, (after a horrible automobile accident in Africa left her seemingly crippled for life), a beautiful physique. Through mental exercises, she overcame the pain and frustrations related to rehabilitation of her hip and legs, so that not only could she walk again, she re-learned how to move, dance, act, and became even more sought after to perform. She is noted for her fitness, acting and dancing in North Carolina, Ohio, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, Virginia, and other locations outside of the US. She has won several awards and honors for performing, civic, community, and other contributions.

Over the years many and sundry people have tried to compromise, impede, and or stop E-J from whatever she endeavored to do in her business and or Arts and Crafts initiatives. But the positive self-image she had developed helped her to overcome all obstacles that were put in her way. The Universal Forces seemed to align with her efforts as she moved through the prism of Life towards infinity on her trek from mortality to immortality. Thus her accomplishments have continued to mount.

"What Is The Meaning of Life," is one of the above accomplishments. Grace Cole, Courtney Monroe, Rodney Davis, Tamisha Scott and Helen Daniels, have shined under E-J's tutelage to become actor/dance stars. These young people have no previous acting or dance experience. What E-J has done with them is astronomical. The love, appreciation, mutual respect, and their positive self-image are rarely found in people their age these days. This is an extraordinary accomplishment that begs to be applauded and encouraged. E-J did the above with movement, acting and dance instructions. This is what this world needs: a positive channeling of youthful energies toward higher achievements in life expressed in a creative environment. That's what E-J Miller has become: A Guru Of Creative Positivism. These are the doors she has opened. Let's Give Her Every Help And Aid We Can! We Need Her and She Needs Us!