Sufi Dance

Sufi Dance

Rana Gorgani answers all your questions about the Sufi dance in 10 points and gives us 4 good reasons to practice this dance.

1 – What does the term "Sufi dance" mean?

This dance is a spiritual practice, which is called Samâ (or Sema) meaning "spiritual hearing" in connection with the sufism.

We also know this rotating dance under the name 'Derviches Tourneurs'.

2 – Why not call it the whirling dervish dance?

The whirling dervishes dance corresponds to a specific current, that of sufis Mevlevis.

Rana Gorgani does not seek to replicate the highly codified and choreographed dance of the ceremonies of derviches turreurs from Turkey.

It is based on the essence of communion with the Cosmos and with the divine interior. It is in no way a reproduction of a mystical current.

It is a space of total freedom, a search for fullness, a personal and intimate experience through the technique of rotating towers. 

3 – Which side to turn?

Le danseur tourne comme la terre tourne autour du soleil, il est alors en osmose avec l’univers en suivant la rotation du mouvement des planètes, il tourne du côté gauche, du côté du cœur.

4 – Why are we turning?

The answer to this question lies in the Samâ or "spiritual hearing" and only the one who turns holds the answer.
To know the mysteries and secrets of this dance, one must want to try the experience oneself, like a journey that cannot be lived without a departure...

5 – Don’t you get dizzy or nauseous when turning?

La sensation de vertige est naturelle. C’est un élément essentiel à l’apprentissage de la danse soufie car par cette sensation de vertige ou de nausée le danseur prépare son corps à l’état d’extase, appelé ivresse mystique. Ces sensations peuvent être plus ou moins fortes d’une personne à l’autre.

Perseverance and self-transcendence are part of the steps to try to join this spiritual path where the spirit and the body surrender for a liberation of the soul.

Over time, the dancer acquires control of his body and the sensation of dizziness or nausea disappears to give way to a feeling of fullness.

6 – Why do dancers wear long skirts?

La longue jupe, le plus souvent de couleur blanche, symbole de pureté, permet de mettre en valeur le mouvement circulaire du danseur, elle s’ouvre dans le mouvement circulaire.

The Sufi dance is the dance of souls and reveals spiritual energy. This energy cannot be seen with the naked eye because it is elusive and its color is nothing other than a colorless light, pure and transparent like a mirror through which the world is reflected.

That is why the movements of infinite waves of the skirt allow to reveal the presence of the soul which, like an aura, envelops the body and floods it like the sun which offers its light to the earth, source of life without which we could not exist.

7 – On which music do we dance?

La Sufi music is repetitive, often built around Zekr (or Zikr) denotes both the memory and the practice that revives this memory. The rhythms remind of the heartbeat and the musical loops lead to Samâ and mystical intoxication.

8 – Is it necessary to be a believer to practice this dance?

Yes, you have to be a believer. You have to believe in love..

Love of oneself and others. Believe in ourselves above all and agree to follow this path, sometimes strewn with pitfalls, disappointment, discouragement but also with accomplished dreams and hope.

The rest is of no importance, because through this dance I offer the viewer the chance to see themselves as the reflection in a mirror… I am myself and a whole at the same time. It is a listening between oneself and others…

9 – Do you need to have previous dance experience to begin Sufi dance?

Il n’est pas nécessaire d’avoir déjà pratiqué de la danse. Chacun peut apprendre et maîtriser les techniques du tour tout en respectant son propre rythme et ses dispositions. Avec le temps et la pratique le danseur améliore la puissance et la vitesse de ses tours, il repousse ses propres limite.

10 – Is there an age limit?

No age restrictions.

The Sufi dance is an instinctive dance. Moreover, we can notice that often children spontaneously turn and take pleasure in this sensation of vertigo.

Unfortunately, as we grow, we lose this spontaneity and momentum. That is why this dance, like a quest, brings us back to the sensations of being that were denied over the years and the life course of each human being.

4 good reasons to practice the Sufi dance

Dervish oracle

What is the Dervish Oracle?

It is a silent spiral. Each card is a step in an invisible dance where we join the rhythm of the world. The oracle is not static: it vibrates, it breathes, it allows itself to be tamed by slowness.