Dances of Universal Peace

The Dances of Universal Peace are a powerful way to connect with others, to experience the heart of many spiritualtraditions and draw on them for inspiration. Through moving, chanting and singing together we may create a sense ofpeace and unity – a sense of joyful oneness.We most often dance in a circle using devotional movements and chants.• The Dances of Universal Peace were originally created in the late 1960’s by Samuel Lewis, who studied many ofthe world’s spiritual traditions. He was a lifelong practitioner of Zen Buddhism and Zen Roshi. His Hindu guru wasPapa Ram Dass. He taught Christian mysticism and, being Jewish by birth, was well versed in the Kabballah. TheDances were inspired by his Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan, who first brought Sufism to the West, and Ruth StDenis an American feminist pioneer of sacred dance. Following Hazrat Inayat Khan and the ‘Unity of ReligiousIdeals’ - that the truth at the heart of all religions is the same truth - Samuel Lewis envisaged a dance form whichwould embody this ideal, one which would allow people to directly experience for themselves such states as joy,peace, harmony and unity.The day will include dances which range in mood from joyful to contemplative. The dances arebased on simple steps and are done in a group, sometimes with a partner section.