ntimately guided by the 13th-century Persian poet Rûmi, I want to share the light and depth of Sufi spirituality with as many people as possible. To do this, I do not link it solely to Islam. Rûmi, who was initiated into Sufi music and dance by Shams, a wandering mystic who became a leading figure in Sufism, did not claim to belong to any particular religion.
Even today, some Sufis do not consider themselves to be Muslims. They simply believe in the existence of a God.
I often compare Sufism to a tree with a strong trunk and many branches. Depending on the country, Sufism takes one form or another. Although Sufi dance is also called Sâma dance (listening, in Persian), some practise this «listening» in total immobility and silence. They do not spin around to the music like the dervishes, whom we spontaneously think of when we think of this practice.
Through my performances and the open teaching I give in workshops and retreats, I aim to pass on certain universal Sufi philosophical principles. By their very scope, they illuminate and enrich our daily lives.
While Sufis pray in movement while repeating what can be likened to mantras, for me, dance (if it is ancestral and ritualised) is a prayer in itself. It has the ability to build a bridge between the visible and the invisible, and allows us to experience the link with the divine. It doesn't matter what anyone understands by this word (Nature, the cosmos, the «great whole», etc.). I'm talking about that which transcends us. Sufi dance can be seen as a danced meditation, a reconnection with oneself, between earth and heaven, or as a practice that can take a person into a modified state of consciousness and help them achieve spiritual awakening.
In my workshops, I go straight to the heart of the matter. In just a few hours, I try to instil in the participants what it took me over twenty years to learn in various Sufi communities... I let them feel the intoxication of mind and body that comes from the more or less rapid whirling of this dance. The workshops are like a little dip in a part of the mystical ocean of love where you can go with confidence. Before perhaps, if you wish, «swimming» even further.
However, the workshops are not a simple discovery, a «mechanical» learning of gestures. They are intense and require a real commitment from the participants.
The retreats are an immersion of several days. It's like taking the plunge! Everything is ritualised, even the meals. Some leave. Others return for several years. Being in love, being elevated, is not something that can be taken for granted. It's a demanding and powerful path. Sufi practice is not a skill. It is literally lived. It is an infinite inner journey.
A quest for initiation and truth.
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.
