Dear Dance Leaders, Dancers, Friends!
I wrote this article for the July 2022 issue of my local North Wales ‘Network News’ magazine about my journey with the Dances over these last 2 years on the training programme with Jilani and Gulzar. I wrote the article partly to reflect on what the dances have given and do give me, and also to let more people in this area where I live know about the dances and what I am offering.
I hope you enjoy reading it!
Blessings,
Ruth Christine
Click here for Ruth Christine’s article
Category Archives: News
The Beatitudes in Aramaic – in Edinburgh
Come and join us (Sarah Bonner-Morgan and Jenny Williams) as we lead a day of Aramaic chant and simple devotional movement as part of the 2020 Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace (MESP).
Over Friday evening and Saturday all ten Beatitudes will be taught and ‘tasted’ combining the sounds of the original words as they were spoken with the refreshing and expanded translations from Saadi (Neil Douglas-Klotz abwoon.org).
Links to hear the words and melodies below.
Come for all or part of this journey to experience the essence of these Blessings; the life force that continues to bring healing. We will travel deeply into the sounds and vibrations of the original Aramaic language and there will be spaces for silence and reflection.
On our journey through the Beatitudes we are encouraged to reestablish our breath as central, give space for any confused or mourning parts of us to feel heard, soften our bodies and hearts back into natural rhythm, reunite our inner conflicted and warring parts and allow our natural compassion and joy to radiate back into the world. We come home to ourselves.
You are welcome whether you have experience of this work or you are brand new. We suggest if this Beatitude cycle is completely new to you, that you start with the first three Beatitudes on Friday evening – otherwise follow your heart and come when you can. Feel free to bring food to share for lunch if you are coming on Saturday and perhaps a blanket and/or cushion for quiet sitting.
Facilitators: Sarah Bonner-Morgan and Jenny Williams.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Dates: Friday 20 March and Saturday 21 March 2020.
Attend all sessions: £40/£32 (concessions)/£12 (students)
or
Friday Evening: 6pm-8.45pm (registration 5.30pm) £10/£8/£3
Saturday Day: 10am-4pm. (registration 9.30am) £25/£20/£10
Sat Evening: 4.45pm-7.30pm (registration 4.15pm) £10/£8/£3
Jenny Williams is a Church of Scotland minister currently working in Drylaw Parish Church in Edinburgh. “I have been involved with this Aramaic work for over 20 years and have found it inspiring; supporting my faith, and discovering new ways of expressing ancient truths. It links with my interest in healing, neuroscience and my childhood passion for dance.”
Sarah Bonner-Morgan teaches the Alexander Technique in Edinburgh. “I found my way to the Sufi path via a love of poetry, dance and music and deepened my connection to the Aramaic work of Neil Douglas-Klotz through his visionary Inter-Spiritual Leadership Training (AILP) which I completed in 2013.”
Here is a link to the EICSP booking page:
Or for a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, mesp2020@hotmail.com, 0131 331 4469.
Here is a youtube link to Saadi singing the Beatitudes as a taster or to get to know the melodies and sounds of the words before the workshop .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp2tDwBiroo
The Aramaic words of the Beatitudes (and the Lord’s Prayer) with the contemporary and multi-layered translations by Neil Douglas-Klotz can be found in his book Prayers of the Cosmos:
DUP – Opening Ceremony of XR October Rebellion (6th October, London, UK)
Dances of Universal Peace at the opening ceremony of the XR October Rebellion
(Climate Crisis – Tell the Truth)
Jilani has been invited to lead a Dance as part of the Extinction Rebellion opening ceremony in Parliament Square, London on the 6th October, from 4pm.
It would be wonderful to have as many Dancers as possible to support this. There are likely to be several hundred people at least at the ceremony, most of whom have never experienced the Dances before. Please come and be part of the circles to help hold the energy! We would be so grateful to have your support.
The theme of the ceremony is Beacons of Truth: how can we fearlessly speak our truth and find the trust, courage and willingness to be powerful in our truth telling.
Let’s come together as a Dance community in London at this crucial time, to demonstrate the power of peace!
In the words of Murshid Sam –
“I’d like to go to a peace demonstration where the demonstrators demonstrate peace.”
Join us at one of the 5 regional dance days this Autumn!
Dear Dancers,
It’s been 4 years since we organised a Regional Day to gather to Dance and also provide an opportunity to listen and talk together about your experience of the Dances of Universal Peace. To this end, we are offering a chance to meet, to listen to you and to dance together in 5 separate regions of the UK this Autumn. Ifyou would like to share a Dance or 2, please get in touch with those organising the Regional days below. Further venue details will be sent to you.
October 5th 2019
Wales with Sandra Shamsia Sunfire & friends:
10.30 – 4.30 pm, Derwenlas Hall, near Machynlleth, Wales SY20 8TN
For more details please contact: sandrasunfire@aol.com
Southeast with Sophia Nicholson:
11.00 -4.00 pm, Friends Meeting House, 1, Paynes Park, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1EH
Leaders only 11-1. (Booking essential by 19th September) dancers welcome 2-4pm.
For more details please contact: sophia_nicholson@hotmail.com
North with Jilani Cordelia Prescott:
10.30 – 4.30pm, The Heart Centre, Luddenden, Nr Hebden Bridge, HX2 6RF.
Booking essential, as numbers are restricted to 20.
For more details contact: jilanicordelia@gmail.com or 07966 451534
Southwest with Matthew Heyse-Moore :
10.30am to 4.30pm, Bedminster Quaker House, Wedmore Vale, Bristol BS3 5HX.
For more details and to register your interest please contact Matthew, mheysemoore@gmail.com or 0117 214 0418.
September 27/28th 2019
Scotland with Mirabai Sue Musgrave:
Friday 27th 7.30-9pm, Saturday 28th 10 – 5pm, Sunshine Room, East Whines, The Park, Findhorn.
For more details please contact: mirabaisue@gmail.com
Do come!
Let’s have a cup of tea, a chat and some precious dancing time together. Perhaps you would like to consider one or more of the following:
- What would enrich your experience of Dancing even more?
- As part of an international family of Dancers is there anything that would help you experience that connection with all those Dancers you may never meet in the circle?
- Do you ever use the website:
https://www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org.uk ~ would anything help your use of it?
And if you are sadly unable to join us, but have thoughts or feelings you would like to share, do please contact us either by email, through the DUPUK website, via Facebook or indeed by good old snail mail.
With love and blessings, Shamsia, Sophia, Shamsuddin and Jilani (Guidance Panel DUP UK)
The DUP in Oxford
Our group in Oxford has been running for nearly two years now. We have four leaders; Susannah, Vicky, Clare and Radha who are all supported by Adrian on the guitar. We meet once a month on the second Saturday of the month.
When we first met we were all keen dancers, some of us had been dancing for many years and some of us had attended the dance leaders training course. We all wanted to have the dances in Oxford but none of us felt able to lead or start a group alone. Rather than complain that there was no one in Oxford leading dances we realized that it was up to us to make this happen. So, this is what we have done!
At most sessions the four us lead a couple of dances each with Adrian on the guitar. This supportive, collaborative way of working has made it possible for us all to step out of our comfort zones, find our voices and confidence and lead dances. It has been transformational. We each bring something different to the dances and are drawn to different traditions which adds to the richness of our collaborative approach. There is also the added bonus of being part of a group in that if any of us is unable to attend a session the others can still hold it.
We welcome visiting dance leaders and musicians to lead or play with us if they wish. Sky has led dances with us on a number of occasions as have Rissa, Alan, Jane and Jackie. We have also been lucky to have Felix on his viola, Phil on his guitar, Jackie on the piano and guitar and Moses on the drums.
At our sessions we have anything between 8 and 18 dancers, but not usually less than 10. We have a varied and changing group of dancers with some regulars who will never miss a dance and often new people who have never danced before. As we have become more established the dances have rippled out to other groups in Oxford and we are drawing more people in. The group is evolving in a very natural and organic way. Apart from meeting to run the sessions the 5 of us meet on two other occasions each month; once to rehearse and once to de-brief after the session. For us to lead together, in a coherent way, we have found it is really important to make this time together.
We all feel very proud that DUP is now established in Oxford, it is gathering momentum and it is up to us to let the dances flow. So, on with the dance!
Clare, Radha, Vicky, Susannah and Adrian