This week’s Dance First Member Insight is brought to you by Banafsheh Sayyad, founder & creator of Dance of Oneness.
Dear Dancers,
In these dark times, amidst the raging global pandemic and the US’s tragic disintegration into a state of chaos as a result of inept and dangerous leadership, it is a breath of fresh air to contemplate the sacred. How do we connect as a sacred community beyond our differences, especially in these times of isolation? How do we create sacred space through dance?
These are some of the questions I’ve been contemplating as I prepare for an interview with the Sacred Dance Guild. This summer, the Guild is conducting a Living Legacy Interview Series. I feel honored to have been selected alongside Anna Halprin as one of the six dance artists honored as a Living Legacy.
In each interview, the Guild asks us five powerful questions. These questions have been crafted by the Guild’s Legacy Project Team, who are responsible for designing a Sacred Dance Guild Facilitator’s Accreditation Program. The team wants to ensure that their honorary members’ deep thoughts are captured and included in the material that will be part of the Legacy Project to inform present and future sacred dancers.
I look forward to a deep dive as I re-examine and re-formulate some of my long-held ideas around the concept of the sacred in light of the tumultuous path ahead. It is time to listen to what wants to emerge now in the new territory we all find ourselves in. Each of us should take a moment to examine the sacred and what it means to us. We should rejoice in the opportunity to turn this dark period into a time of reflection and reorientation in our lives. Above all, we should come together, bringing the sacred into the everyday present.
A Conversation About Sacred Dance with Banafsheh Sayyad
August 2, 2020, @ 1:30 pm PT | 4:30 pm ET | 10:30 pm CET on Zoom
Email pres@sacreddanceguild.org to register for this free event, include “BANAFSHEH SAYYAD INTERVIEW” in the subject line
More on the Living Legacy Interview Series: https://sacreddanceguild.org/
More on Banafsheh and Dance of Oneness:
http://www.banafsheh.org
