Death has been a presence throughout my life, shaping how I see the world and my place within it. From an early age, I found myself drawn to questions about mortality, what it means to die, where we go, and how we navigate the sacred transitions at the end of life. These questions deepened over time as I witnessed loss in many forms, leaving me with a lasting awareness of death’s impact and the silence that often surrounds it. While death is a universal experience, the ways we approach it differ across cultures, revealing rich traditions, rituals, and understandings of life’s final chapter.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to the edges, the places where life and death meet. Whether by coincidence or something more profound, I have found myself present during significant transitions, bearing witness to the beauty and complexity of these moments. These experiences have taught me that death isn’t the opposite of life, it’s woven through it. When we face it honestly, with a heart willing to hold both the pain and the beauty, we open ourselves to deeper love, fiercer living, and a tenderness that lingers long after we’re gone.
My work is grounded in art, education, and death- three worlds that have shaped how I engage with life and everything in between. With degrees in Arts and Education, I’ve spent years working in high schools, universities, and alternative educational settings across Australia and internationally. I later pursued postgraduate studies in dance and performance creation, exploring how movement allows us to process and express the most meaningful aspects of the human experience. These practices have allowed me to engage with mortality not just as an abstract concept but as something intimate, embodied, and deeply human.
This curiosity led me to train and perform across various artistic disciplines from a young age in Australia and multiple countries around the world. More than two decades ago, the beginning of my artistic exploration of death and the arts came when I moved to Japan to study Butoh, a Japanese dance form rooted in themes of mortality and transformation, in its birthplace. I spent several years living, teaching, and performing across the country. My time in Japan not only shaped my artistic journey but also deepened my understanding of how different cultures engage with death. It marked the start of a lifelong exploration into cross-cultural death practices, a journey that has continued to shape my work ever since.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in diverse communities around the world. I’ve been privileged to witness how people from different cultures honour death, through quiet rituals, elaborate ceremonies, and celebratory expressions of life. These experiences continue to shape how I approach my work, reminding me that while death touches us all, the ways we prepare for and navigate it are as unique as the lives we live.
As a funeral celebrant, I work alongside families to craft meaningful, personalised ceremonies that honour their loved ones. As an end-of-life doula, I offer emotional support, practical guidance, and a compassionate presence for those nearing the end of life and their families. My practice is grounded in the belief that death is part of a larger continuum, a passage as much about life as it is about its ending. There is no single ‘right’ way to approach death, and I strive to meet each person where they are with care and respect.
In this work, I am honoured to be a guide, a witness, and a companion through the uncertainties of loss. My aim is to hold space for those facing the end of life, to honour the stories that matter most, and to contribute to a more open, compassionate conversation about death and its place within the human experience.
We are all doing the best we can with the resources and experiences we carry. Wherever you find yourself on this journey, I will meet you there, with an open heart and a listening ear, and no doubt, a big warm hug.
Dallas xx
Narrm, Melbourne, Australia
