Express Your Longing for World Peace Through Dance

[alan gyllenhaal]

Dances of Universal Peace uses dance as a means of reconciliation and
fostering peace. Dance can express all human emotions and lead to
transcendental states. The Dances of Universal Peace are Sacred Dances
which do not require any musical or dance experience. The sessions are
about taking part and are not a performance. There are no special
costumes. Comfortable clothes are the only requirement. The setting
for the dances should have a peaceful, sacred feeling.
A session begins by everyone joining hands and forming a circle with
the Dance Leader and musicians in the middle. The Leader then teaches
the words, music and movements. The background history associated with
that particular dance is explained.
There are more than 400 Dances of Universal Peace drawn from many
faiths and traditions. They focus on themes such as Peace in all its
contexts, healing of the Earth, it's peoples, its flora and fauna and
in the deeper mysteries.This inclusion of the beliefs of many peoples
and religions creates an opening of the heart and a feeling of the
brotherhood and sisterhood of all peoples. Performing the dances help
the participants to understand and appreciate both the similarities
and differences of various religions and cultures.
On the occasions when the dance lyrics include sacred phrases in
languages not spoken by the participants the pronunciation of the
words is very carefully taught. The majority of dances are only four
lines long and are repeated over and over again. The combination of
these factors is that the participants learn the songs quickly and
easily. Within ten minutes everyone is singing, dancing and sharing
the wonderful power of the dances.
The Dances of Universal Peace were collated in the late 1960's by
Samuel L. Lewis (1896-1971) a Sufi teacher and Zen Master. He studied
in great depth the mystical traditions of Hinduism, Judaism, and
Christianity. Hazrat Inayat Khan and Ruth St. Denis were major
influences on his thinking. In the 70's Lewis began to create the
dances as a way of promoting "Peace through the Arts".The dances
celebrate Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Judaism,
Christianity, Islam as well as the Aramaic, Native American, Native
Middle Eastern, Celtic, Native African, and Goddess traditions.
The dances are categorized under headings such as "Dervish Dances."
Dervish Cycle and Allah Snake Dance are examples from this group.There
are also "Mantric Dances" such as Hare Rama Hare Krishna Dance and Ram
Sita Circle Dance, and "Angelic" dances such as Moon Dances and "Tis
the Gift to be Simple" which is a well known Shaker tune.
The dances encompass many moods - love, joy and compassion - as
exemplified by the Buddha Qwan Yin,or the extrovert energy of Krishna
is expressed in the dance. Individuals experience a dynamic
relationship between the group, the individuals within the group and
themselves.
Penny Xerri gives an account of "Sharing the Dances with Special Needs
Students." .She writes "One of the delights of working with Special
Needs students is the immediacy of their response; if excited, they
may jump up and down; if tired sit down; if pleased with themselves
they often want to acknowledge that with a round of applause.Perhaps
there is a lesson in Zen here. Another pleasure for me is their
willingness to experiment, both with sound and movement, no matter how
profound their disabilities. (One of our students has virtually no
sight, another has speech that is virtually unintelligible and the
majority may exhibit obsessive behaviour patterns, such as repetitive
speech and movements, if in any way upset.)
Responding to the students' needs and difficulties in the dances
requires that the "able-bodied" offer a variety of support and
improvised adaptations. I am fortunate in being supported not only by
an accompanist, Ian Salmond, but also by Bill Thompson, a volunteer
tutor. Both of these provide a strong male presence and constructive
feedback. Additionally, the college in which I work provides "carers"
for the students. These carers provide not only student support but
exhibit considerable enthusiasm and commitment to the dances.
This level of support makes it feasible to bring the essence of the
dances, whilst being very pragmatic with adaptations. These range from
simplifying steps, such as substituting a straightforward walk for
sidesteps, to including short periods of sitting whilst vocally
rehearsing the familiar dances, or learning new ones, as our students
tend to tire more quickly than their able-bodied counterparts. On a
physical level, we sometimes support the hands of students, whilst
adopting gestures or making turns, always being mindful not to
"invade". Challenges we are still working with include keeping the
momentum of the dance (there is a tendency for the students to come to
a halt after each "round") and to hold the silence on completion of
each dance beyond a few moments."
In 25 years the Dances of Peace have spread throughout the world. New
dance circles are springing up. They help spread feelings of
reverence, creativity and a connection to the Earth. The dances are
shared in such places as schools, therapy situations, prisons,
hospices, rehabilitation centers and by people with physical and
mental disabilities. Dance in general is finding a place in the
process of Peace and Reconciliation in areas of armed conflict.
Heads of State should be obliged to take part in dances of universal
peace before any important conference or meeting!
http://www.dance-to-health-help-your-special-needs-child.com