Bringing hope to the world – why nine ladies dance

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me … nine ladies dancing

While some think of the nine dancing ladies as representing the nine virtues of Christian symbolism, it seems to me that the sense of the dance evokes a deeper mythical value, linked with a collective female force. Many cultures have stories about groups of nine women, such as the nine muses in Greek mythology and the nine maidens in Celtic traditions. These women generally lived and worked together rather than individually, together symbolising a complete feminine cycle for creation, teaching and protection of life.

Nine women as life-givers

Nine is the number of months of human gestation, the time needed to bring a new life into being. And dancing is a positive and joyful expression of life. Nine women in motion represent the cyclical, generative processes that bring life, meaning and order into the world, along with optimism about the future.

In our story we give the nine female dancers a different role to represent different female traits. They each dance differently and, together, form a complete circle of what enables a community to hold together and survive with integrity and strength.

1. The Nurturer is also the initiator of life. She represents care, compassion and emotion. Her dance movements are soft and steady, her gestures cradle, support and guide protectively, as she dances close to the others to anchor the group. Her role is to keep communities safe, to look after the vulnerable and to ensure survival of the group.

2. The Builder represents collaboration, perseverance and effort. Her dance movements are strong, energetic, repetitive and rhythmic, which echo shaping, pulling the group together, building understanding, resilience and strength. Her role is to create a strong, cooperative, working environment.

3. The Teacher represents wisdom and skills passed between generations. She dances precise and patterned steps, moving deliberatively to allow people to learn the movements and try out their own versions of them. Her role is to share her knowledge and experience and enable others to build their own with confidence.

4. The Healer represents the ability to listen, empathise and mend. Her dance movements are slow, with pauses for breathing, soothing and repairing rather than directing. Her role is to mend rifts and make space for forgiveness so that life can move forward in peace and calm.

5. The Storyteller represents memories, culture and continuity. In her dance, she uses her arms expressively with narrative gestures to ‘speak’ of past joys and losses. Her role is to pass down traditions and values she has learnt, to remind us who we are and where we come from.

6. The Leader represents guidance, courage and moral clarity, and her dance expresses confidence without dominating. Her role is quiet leadership and organisation that engenders trust and confidence without creating conflict.

7. The Creator represents art, beauty and imagination, so she dances playfully, using improvisation that enhances the whole dance. Her role is to lift the mood with a sense of joy that celebrates life and survival.

8. The Guardian represents boundaries and protection along with advocacy and justice. Her movement in the dance is circular and watchful, as she serves as a shield from any perceived threat. Her role as defender is to keep the others safe, both emotionally and physically and to maintain stability.

9. The Hope-Bearer represents trust and belief in the future and she dances with a bold lightness, often facing outwards to show her confidence in a kinder future.

The dancers demonstrate that none of the roles is sufficient alone, but that when all nine of them move together, things work successfully. As you read the story below, try to identify each of the dancers.

The Nine who danced belief back

Not very long ago, it seemed to the people of that time like the old world had melted into the gloom of the cold, dark winters, with nights so long and moods so black that they had begun to believe that the peace and truth they’d known had gone forever, that the sun had forgotten them. So it was that the Nine had come together – from where, no one knew.

They arrived without banners or announcement, at evening when the frost lay thickest and voices were at their quietest. By morning, word had spread, “They are back.” And by dusk, the square had filled.

They did not wear matching clothes. They did not look alike. Some were young, some weathered, some walked as if carrying the weight of many seasons. Yet when they stepped into the circle, the ground seemed to know them.

The first dancer moved gently, arms curved as though holding something precious while beckoning others to move closer. Wherever she passed, shoulders straightened, bodies eased, breathing slowed and a new optimistic energy filled the square.

The second followed with firm confident steps that marked time itself. Her feet struck the earth in a way that promised roofs would hold, fires would last the night and dangers were contained.

The third danced with careful precision, tracing unseen patterns that others copied, changed and made their own. Children leaned forward, learning without knowing how, but growing in confidence as they discovered their own potential.

The fourth moved slowly, pausing in front of the ailing, the belligerent, the bullied and they felt a calm pass over them; old aches softened, grievances melted, the rich held out a hand to the poor and those with different views shook hands.

The fifth danced as though speaking – her arms telling stories no mouth could shape. The crowd remembered faces, events, wars that had come and gone, celebrations not thought of for years and felt a new strength – an old confidence.

The sixth never pushed to the front, yet the dance shifted when she moved. And when she turned, the others followed, trusting her sense of when it was time to change.

The seventh dancer circled the edge, watchful. When the wind rose or shadows stretched too far, she placed herself between the dance and the dark. And when some complained and spoke with forked tongues, she silenced their lies with the truth and brought harmony to the crowd.

The eighth surprised them all – leaping, spinning, breaking the expected rhythm. Laughter rippled through the square, thin at first, then sure.

Last came the ninth dancer. She moved boldly and lightly, as though gravity had loosened its hold. Each step lifted the eye upward. Each turn suggested a morning not yet seen. But everyone around began to feel the sun on their back.

They did not bow when the dance ended.

They simply stopped.

And in that stopping, something shifted. The cold remained, but it no longer felt cruel. The night stayed long, but it no longer felt endless. The light shone at the end of the tunnel.

By morning, the Nine were gone.

No tracks marked where they had stood. No one could agree on their faces. Yet in the days that followed, people found themselves calmer, steadier, braver. Work felt possible. Songs returned.

And whenever the dark gathers and hope feels thin, someone always says: “Nine ladies danced here.”

And someone else replies: “I believe they’re still here; we still have hope.”

Did you guess correctly? Dancer 1. The nurturer; Dancer 2. The builder; Dancer 3. The teacher; Dancer 4. The healer; Dancer 5. The storyteller; Dancer 6. The leader; Dancer 7. The guardian; Dancer 8. The creator; Dancer 9. The hope-bearer.

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