The Spiral Dance
Womyn's Center
&
Bookstore
Welcome to the
Spiral Dance Womyn's Center & Bookstore,  
a multicultural space that nurtures the mind, body, and spirit
of womyn.
        The vision for the Spiral Dance Womyn's Center & Bookstore began on
December 21st 2006, when Laurie Kendall & Bobbie DeVoll gathered a few womyn
in their home to celebrate the Winter Solstice.  During the celebration they
dreamed of purchasing a building that could provide womyn with the space, tools,
goods, services, and resources they need to empower themselves in a patriarchal
world.  They visioned womyn coming together and working collectively to build
bridges across their lines of difference.  In early January, they actively began
searching for a property to purchase that would house their vision.  By late January
they found the Oliver street building.  The building was located in a rundown,
boarded up, inner-city, impoverished neighborhood in Baltimore, but they
immediately saw the potential to expand their vision.  If they could gather a diverse
group of womyn to help build a womyn's center & bookstore in this neighborhood,
then the collective of womyn and the building could become a model of what can
happen when womyn work together.  They might even be able to help womyn buy
these homes, fix them up, and transform the neighborhood into a thriving
multicultural community of womyn home and business owners.  
     On January 28th 2007, Laurie and Bobbie took the leap of faith and put $1,000
down on the Oliver street property.  On March 14th they paid the remainder of the
down payment and closing costs ($5,000), and signed the papers.  Work began the
very next day, when they were joined by two womyn who helped remove old
furniture and tear down the first wall.  From that day on, every weekend various
womyn from around the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area came to work on the
building.  Though most of the womyn had never done much in the way of home
repairs, let alone the total demolition and rehab of an entire building, they worked
their hearts out and learned to handle the cold, the heat, the dirt, the pain, and the
power tools.  Laurie and Bobbie supplied the tools and materials, and taught over
21 womyn how to use them.  At first, the work progressed slowly.  As each of the
interior walls came down, mountains of debris had to be hauled away to the dump.  
Also, about six weeks into the project, the building was broken into and all of the
power tools were stolen.  However, Bobbie and Laurie replaced the tools within a
couple of weeks and the work continued.  By late spring, all of the interior walls on
the main floor were removed, and demolition on the second floor was proceeding.  
By midsummer, the first and second floor were "gutted" and all new doors and
windows had been installed.  By the end of July, the reconstruction phase was
ready to begin; new insulation, paint, wiring, plumbing, bathrooms, kitchen,
bamboo flooring, ceiling fans, etc.  Along the way, all of the work was done by
womyn only.  Though many men offered to help with the project, the womyn stayed
true to the vision of womyn learning to do the work themselves.  Of course there
were times of frustration, pain, and exhaustion as they worked seven days a week
to manifest the dream.  Most of the womyn experienced cuts and bruises, and
Bobbie even broke her leg when she fell from a ladder while bringing down the
ceiling on the second floor.  By August, everyone was pretty tired and ready for a
vacation, so they took the month off for a well deserved rest.          
     But in September the womyn began gathering again to continue the work.  In
September they painted and installed new wiring and flooring.  In October we
started installing a new kitchen, ceiling fans, and lights.  And by mid-November they
were ready to open the bookstore on a limited basis, even though there were still
bathrooms and many smaller projects to complete.  With a limited inventory and a
fledgling schedule of events, the Spiral Dance Womyn's Center and Bookstore were
opened for business on November 24th 2007.  
To that date, a total of 30 womyn have worked on the building, helping with various
phases of the demolition and reconstruction.  They worked in a dirty, filthy building
with no heat or cooling, in a neighborhood where most people are afraid to drive.  
Each of them has much to be proud of because of all that they gave.  By the sweat
of their brows, their broken bones, and their bleeding blisters, they gave birth to a
dream.  They dreamed of creating a space where womyn could gather to share
educational programs, inspiring performances, healing work, and relaxing chats
over coffee and tea; a space filled with womyn's music, womyn's art, and womyn's
literature, and a space to celebrate being womyn.  THEN THEY BUILT IT!   
Counter
2505 E. Oliver St.
Baltimore, MD  21213
443-854-3494
email: thespiraldancebookstore@yahoo.com
Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday 9:00 to 5:00 and during the womyn's center
events.
History of the Project
Mission Statement
The mission of the Spiral Dance Womyn’s Center & Bookstore is to provide educational,  
emotional, physical, artistic, and spiritual resources to those individuals who were born and
raised female in a patriarchal world.  We provide the space and resources women need to
empower themselves personally, politically, socially, spiritually, economically, and
collectively.  Our goal is to model women’s collective work and micro-economic practices,
and to help women develop the practical skills they need to work for both personal and
social change.  

The Womyn We Serve
The Spiral Dance celebrates all women, and provides a safe, sacred, multicultural space
where women can gather to build bridges across their lines of difference; differences that
include race, religion, ethnicity, age, ability, social class, and sexual orientation.  While we
recognize the many differences between women, we also recognize those experiences we
have in common as women.  Together, we can weave both our similarities and our
differences into strong webs of connection that empower us to build a stronger women’s
community.

Why is Womyn’s Space Important?
The basic answer is that “it’s a man’s world” and women need spaces where they can
spend time together and learn from each others experiences.  Women need transformative
spaces that allow them to grow through all the stages of their lives.  Women need safe
spaces where they don’t have to perform self-surveillance; where they can think and act
outside of those patterns and roles assigned to them by patriarchal systems.  Women need
sacred spaces where they can explore their spirituality, and create images and rituals that
represent their relationship with the Divine.  Women need educational spaces where they
can learn to work collectively and create micro-economic systems that benefit women.  And
finally, women need creative spaces where they can craft music, art, literature, and
performances that are representative of their experiences in the world.

Our Philosophy
For thousands of years women were told that their role was to nurture children & care for
men and that men were their providers & protectors.  For thousands of years women have
waited while men initiated wars, exploited women’s labor, abandoned children, and ruined
the environment.  In America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes, 4 women die everyday from
male perpetrated violence, children are molested in untold numbers, women earn 70 cents
on the male dollar, and the Earth continues to be damaged by capitalist and patriarchal
institutions.  Therefore, we believe it is imperative that women develop different ways of
thinking and being in the world, and new ideologies and institutions that value and support all
people.  Our philosophy is grounded in the ideas developed by generations of womanist &
feminist thinkers and activists; philosophies that called women to think in new and creative
ways.  Our philosophy is that women need to create new social, political, spiritual, economic,
and cultural systems, and that they need to create new images of womanhood in art,
literature, and music.  Our philosophy is that all women are valuable and powerful, and that
together we can learn to create both personal and social change.  
  • Peace of Mind Yoga ~ with Jayda ~ Saturday mornings at 10:00.  $10
  • "Getting Out of Your Own Way and Living the Life You Deserve," a workshop with Ginny
    Robertson.  Saturday May 3rd ~ 11:00-5:00 ~ Love Donation
  • Saturday May 3rd, 5:00-6:00 ~ Book signing with Marcia Merrill.
  • Sunday Afternoon at the Movies ~ Sunday May 4th, 1:00  ~ "Iron Jawed Angel" ~ Love
    Donation
  • The Spiral Dance Showcase ~ Saturday, May 10th, 7:00-9:00 pm ~ $5-$15 sliding scale.  
    This month's performers include Reina Williams, Jayda, Adar, and Denise Cumor.
  • Saturday May 17th, 5:00-6:00 Book signing with Laurie J. Kendall ~ "The Michigan
    Womyn's Music Festival: An Amazon Matrix of Meaning."
  • Womyn's Birthday Party & Potluck ~ Sunday May 18th, 5:00-7:00.  All women welcome.  
    Bring a dish & make a wish.
  • Home Buying workshop with Joyce Kramer, Saturday May 24th, 2:00-4:00.  Free
  • Jam Session & Open Mic Night ~ Friday May 30th, 7:00-9:00pm.  Love Donation.
  • Spiral Womyn's Arts & Crafts Fair ~ Saturday May 31st, 9:00-5:00.
  • Work with us on the building.  Haul some trash to the dump.
  • Donate musical instruments.  Donate video or sound production equipment.
  • Develop a reading or study group.  Teach a job skills course.
  • Help us develop a music, dance, and art studio.  Help us develop a
    children's program.
  • Develop a drum circle, dance class, jam session, exercise group or sports
    program.
  • Produce a theatrical, dance, or music performance.  Lead a home
    improvement team.
  • Do an internship at the Center.  Volunteer to care for children during
    workshops.
  • Invest in a property in our neighborhood & help another woman become a
    home owner.
  • Donate to our rehab fund for a new heating & cooling system.
  • Pass the word that we exist, and bring other women to our events.
  • Help with Grant Writing.  Hold a fund raiser.  Come into the store and buy
    something.
Ways You Can Help
May Announcements
Pictures of the Month ~ May