Dances of Universal Peace
The Dances of Universal Peace use simple music, words, and movements to touch the spiritual essence within us. No experience is required. We join hands in a circle with leader and musicians in the center. While dancing, we sing simple phrases or names of the Divine from various world spiritual traditions. Themes are of peace (inner and outer), healing, and the celebration of life's mystery. We create a sense of solidarity and community, celebrate the underlying unity of all spiritual traditions, and gain an appreciation of other cultures as well as our own. The moods of the Dances are varied, and evoke feelings of love, joy, and compassion.
The Dances were brought together in the late 1960's by Samuel L. Lewis (1896-1971), who studied deeply in the mystical traditions of Zen, Sufism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity. He was influenced spiritually by two people: Ruth St. Denis, a feminist pioneer in modern dance; and Hazrat Inayat Khan, who first brought the message of Sufism to the West in 1910. The Dances have since spread to circles throughout the United States and the world.