A lap-dancer turned nun is to perform a ballet dance for senior clergy of the Catholic Church.
Anna Nobili, 38, for years worked as a lap-dancer and stripper in Milanese night clubs. However after visiting the shrine of St Francis of Assisi in Umbria in 2002, the dancer had a conversion experience and renounced her old life.
Instead of lap-dancing she now performs ballet-style dances which she describes as “Holy Dance”.
Next week she will be performing at the Holy Cross in Jerusalem Basilica. Her performance, “The Bible: Day and Night”, will be based on stories from both the Old and New Testaments. The head of the Vatican’s Cultural Department, Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, is expected to attend.
Speaking to La Repubblica she said, "I was wasting my life dancing for men in clubs. The nights were filled with sex and alcohol. It was an empty life but I liked it because I was the centre of attention."
"But now my life has been transformed… I still dance but now I dance for God and I'm happy. All my choreography is dedicated to Him. My aim is to pray using my body."
