Sufi Dance 2 with Läle Sayoko

We are happy to announce that we are adding a second monthly Sufi Dance class so that those who have already learned the basic techniques and feel stable can have time together to practice and learn more. In Sufi Dance 2 classes, we will dive deeper into the techniques of whirling and explore the somatic function and symbolic and spiritual meaning of the movements in greater detail. We will use the techniques to challenge ourselves to whirl longer with greater musicality, control and freedom. And we will strengthen our commitment to spiritual listening and to unifying our experience of the music, our minds, and the Divine, inviting mystical intoxication. PREVIOUS SUFI DANCE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED.

Classes are $25 with advanced registration and $30 at the door.

Please wear comfortable clothing like yoga pants or leggings and T shirts ( no tube top or short pants) and solid colors are recommended, avoiding prints and shiny material which might distract the eye while whirling, and wear socks or soft soled shoes. If you have a whirling skirt, please feel free to bring it.

Avoid eating a large meal for two hours prior to class.

Whirling commonly induces dizziness or nausea. Over time, through whirling, we learn to trust ourselves to go off balance, to be dizzy, to surrender control. We empty our minds of all thoughts of the individual self as we give ourselves over to prayer and connect with a greater power, the still center within, around which we turn. Into this emptiness floods a divine fullness, which sometimes gives rise to a state known as “mystical intoxication,” a reflection of knowing and experiencing that you and I and the Divine are One.

About Sufi Dance Instructor Läle Sayoko

Läle Sayoko lives to embody and transmit the voice of spirit through music and dance. As CRS resident Sufi Dance instructor, choreographer, performing artist, and musical curator, she loves to welcome people into this holy practice to explore and share their own divinity. She intermittently tours internationally with BELLA GAIA, a live concert blending music, dance, technology, and NASA satellite imagery inspired by the experience of astronauts viewing the earth from space. “Sublime” — Village Voice.

One of the founding members of Japan’s famous SAMANYOLU professional belly dance group in Tokyo, Läle went on to a long solo career performing throughout the northeastern USA and touring with United Kingdom’s Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers on over a 100 city tour encompassing the U.K., as well as Turkey’s Baba Zula. About six years ago, she was forced to retire to support her young daughter through a life-threatening medical crisis. Several years later she discovered that she could whirl as a form of prayer to support her daughter and began studying Sufi Dance with Paris-based Sufi Artist Rana Gorgani. In April 2018 Gorgani awarded her the International Sufi Dance Certification Of Cid UNESCO, granting her authority to teach Gorgani’s method of Sufi Dance training. She currently teaches Sufi Dance classes at CRS every first and second Thursday of the month from 7 – 8:30 pm and leads the CRS Healing Circles + Whirling Prayer that take place every third Thursday of the month from 7:15 – 9 pm.
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