Testimonials

Sufi dance training with Rana Gorgani is very enriching. Master of Sufi dance and Sufism, she is a very inspiring, courageous and radiant woman. She transmits a real energy, to learn with discipline and generosity. Her teaching is clear, complete and varied: musical, technical, sporting, artistic, spiritual ... Her patience, enthusiasm and kindness create an ideal atmosphere for learning. She guides us in a deep work that helps to develop the technique and beauty of dance, self-confidence, personal expression and faith. Thank you Rana for enlightening us and accompanying us on this path, and for shining with your dance.

A transcendent experience, where movement liberates as much as it elevates. Like the galaxies that turn on themselves and form the world, we turned on ourselves, both alone and together, in a tonic and ordered chaos, with overflowing poetry. By practicing Sufi dance, I felt an extraordinary mixture of love, power, humility and communion. I wish everyone to live this type of experience at least once in their life. Thank you for this moment.

Just to thank Rana for coming to us this Sunday to open this space to us with all her presence.
I loved it and felt right at home.
Simply to say that I look and listen within myself to everything that happens from this movement within me.
This desire to come back, to return to the circle to dance with you, with everything, remains very strong.
I would also like to testify that I have always had a calligraphy of Rumi, a magnificent dervish, who accompanies me in my room.
This is what I see before falling asleep and when I wake up since forever.
I dance, I pray, I listen, I ride horses, I love life.
What I sensed in the circle and the dance on Sunday was that everything was there at the same time.
Since then, it is mainly my body that has aligned itself and seems to have purified itself.
I want to take care of him, too.
I could stop everything to do just that, turn and listen. Thank you! Thank you Rana and to you who were there.
See you soon for sure.

These 3 days of retreat at the Rana Sufi Temple were simply magical.
Time stops,
Space takes on its full meaning, Concentration becomes Queen.
I was able to “be” for the first time.
Thank you so much Rana for this moment of divine grace.

I came across Rana when I was researching Sufi whirling dance/Sama' online and Youtube kindly obliged. This was some 9-10 years ago and it took me that long to find my way to Rana's workshop in Paris, first, then to commit to one week of the STOA summer school. Due to family commitments, namely, to my children as a single mother, I was unable to logistically stay for all three weeks, though I wished so much, whilst there, that I could have stayed for the whole three weeks.

My experience of the summer school was a cross between a spiritual retreat (the location, retreat building/space itself, the delicious light vegetarian food, the quiet calm of the surrounding nature and the spiritual element of Sufi teaching) and an intense dance school. I grew-up with Sufi poetry, and had a wonderful Sufi teacher, a very calm, quiet spiritual man with gentle humor and, by the time I met and worked with him, was quite old and whilst long, deep and powerful, sessions and retreats were slow and had little instruction in terms of technique. Rana is, to me, first and foremost a dancer, an artist, strong and strict on technique and discipline. Her direct manner reminds me of teachers at my old drama school. She is direct in her instruction, at times uncouth, though never unkind or mean. Her intention to guide, both technically and spiritually, were clear to me at all times. Rana is young, compared to my former teacher who was in his late 80's, and her energy is intensely bright, her opinions seem set and her conviction strong, and she is unafraid to dictate her boundaries. I found the latter especially, very inspiring, though appreciate it is not for everyone. If someone is too sensitive, or to put it differently: if they take instruction and criticism personally, then Rana is not for them (yet). Though as a woman of Middle Eastern origin, I found Rana's defiant position, her tendency to direct instruction (both in the studio and out) and her ease with herself, her body and sensual presence, very powerful to witness.

My hope is firstly to return to the summer school to do at least two weeks, and to find somewhere in London where Rana may be interested in coming to give a workshop (!). I miss the quiet and calm at STOA, especially at mealtimes, as I now sit rushing through my meals with children swinging from the ceiling… One piece of advice: do not talk to Rana when she is eating :)

Ineffable… the initiation that I had the chance to follow this summer with Rana in Türkiye was a wonder on the path of my spirituality.
I was transported spiritually and physically by this beautiful journey of initiation to Samâ.
It was only sharing, love and emotion with the group that was present, beautiful encounters just as spiritual and rich.
I am full of gratitude
A veil has been lifted..
I wish I couldn't stop dancing..
Thank you Rana
Souad

I am 68 years old and it has been a great joy for me to be able to practice Sufi dance. I have been happy to share the physical efforts of this journey with others, and to exchange spiritually.
I was welcomed into the group with extreme kindness.
I thank Rana very much, and the whole team. See you all again…

In these few privileged days with Rana, I was able to benefit from her teaching that she transmits with an impressive passion, patience and rigor. This stay at the Sufi Temple allowed me to push my limits and I leave with many tips to continue my learning and my path - whether in music, dance or reading.

It is rare to meet people of such depth and Rana is one of them.

I am grateful for these teachings received, it was truly a grace on my path.
I could not have imagined how intense, rich and powerful this training would be and I could not have imagined how much it would transform me.

Now I carry with me something precious and the desire to shoot again and again...

Thank you for all this light received through these transmissions. Thank you.

Cindy

This encounter with Sufism, Samâ and Rana Gorgani comes into my life, as the natural end point of an exciting journey on the path of my spiritual development. Christianity, Buddhism and today Sufism. I have had the immense luck to meet spiritual masters on my path who have been able, in each of these traditional paths, to reveal their totally universal ontological value.

This stay in contact with Rana and all the participants proved essential on many levels:
=> Rana's posture: a committed woman, I was able to feed on her strength drawn from the anchoring of her faith and the radiant power of her fight for the liberation of the Feminine. Rana likes to quote Rûmi who danced like a compass: one foot anchored in his faith, the other traveling the 72 nations.
Rana fully embodies this aspiration of Rumi, in this spiritual openness without borders which inhabits him.
=> The group: I was fascinated to see that we came from the 4 corners of the planet: Russia, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Mauritius, Peru, Costa Rica, New York, London, the Mediterranean basin and… the very powerful beauty of seeing an Iranian woman (Rana) hugging a young Iraqi woman, both children at the time of the war that divided their two countries.
=> The timid but lively emergence of my own soul which begins to dare to free itself and express itself through this danced prayer that is the Samâ.
I have been dancing every morning since then, wherever I am, fascinated by this body language and by the symbolism of gestures which express the depth of my inner prayer much better than words.

I feel extremely lucky to have had the chance to cross paths with him.
My enthusiasm is inspiring others... many people around me now want to explore this practice and this tradition.

But the journey is not over... looking forward to continuing this great adventure that is Life.
Thank you…

I discovered Sufi dance more than a year ago through the magnificent teaching of Rana Gorgani.

Recently I participated in three weeks of Sufi dance training at his school.
And I still haven't gotten over it.

It's not just about learning how to turn.

This dance is a real journey through the body, the soul and the universe and this is what Rana made me discover.

In his teaching of Sufi dance, throughout the residencies and hours spent together,
Rana was very attentive to the differences and limits of each person with great kindness.

In recent weeks, we have been talking about dance but also about spirituality, listening and letting go.

Thus, she allowed me to touch a part of my soul by making me discover, with love, this spiritual listening and
better perceive the rhythm of this light which beats in my heart.

Since those days spent diving into the heart of Sufi dance, my journey has continued.

Here and now

With gratitude, thank you Rana

R*

Rana's teachings are very deep. From technique to spirituality with great demand and authenticity.
I'm back from Turkey and I'm full of creative energy to launch my show and classes in service of something bigger than I felt in the twirling.
I fell even more in love with the truth and beauty of Persian poetry.
I was apprehensive about dancing and everything went away on the third day.
I built a space for dancing in the living room where I currently live.
I feel strength inside me and deep joy.
I will look forward to returning next year to complete my final module.
Many thanks to Rana for this precious transmission which I receive as a treasure to be widely distributed.
A necessity to dance for greater, for celestial and earthly causes.
It gives meaning to what I do and a lot of confidence.
The group was great and there were some wonderful encounters.
In the heart forever.
Sufi my love.
Goods.

Julie

I had the immense luck and privilege of being able to participate for a week in the Sufi Dance training offered by Rana in Turkey.

This week was like a beautiful escape, full of discoveries, learning and life lessons.

I came home confident, lighter, liberated and centered.

I am infinitely grateful to Rana for the quality of her teachings, her strength and her determination to transmit to us the humanist and fraternal values ​​that inhabit her.

Thank you also to the group for integrating, encouraging and inspiring me throughout this week.

I came home with the certainty that I will continue to “tour”, with all humility and joy 🌟

I am very fortunate to have been part of the first group of Sufi dance training in Türkiye.
I literally come back stretched, enlarged, freed from tough mental and physical limitations. Moved, molted, moved.
I can turn, I want to turn, I have to turn! that's how it is, I participate in the universal gyration! It's so right, all children know it!
Thank you Rana for the very high quality of your teaching, and the kindness of your conduct! so radiant and inspiring!
Thank you also to the student-comrades from everywhere who took this royal road with me on the path to Love: Souad, Myriam, Cecilia, Emilie, Mia, Tara, Victoria, Melissa, Sophie, Rodolphe.
The World is perfect! ❤️

Sufi dances, particularly those of the whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order, symbolize a mystical journey of the soul in search of truth and divine love. Inspired by the mystical poet Rumi, Rana transmits this spiritual and meditative practice with exceptional depth. His teachings are punctuated by swirls that recall the harmonious movement of the planets around the sun, symbolizing spiritual union with the divine. Each movement, each explanation is imbued with its gentleness and accuracy.

Rana is not only an exceptional dancer; she is a guide to reconnecting with ourselves. Through her presence and her passion, she transforms my personal quest into an adventure of the soul. Dare and settle down for a while to whirl like a compass around the world with it, revealing and rebalancing everything in perfect harmony.
Rana is the meeting with myself through her classes. With a delicacy mixed with a benevolent rigor, everyone has their own path in life, this inner rebirth. Under his guidance, I am learning to open my heart, soul, and mind, and reconnect with the creator of all that is! East!

Attracted by the meditative aspect of Sufi dance, I signed up for the online workshop...magnificent discovery...Ms. Gorgani guided us (and yes we were all women 🌸) ....learning the steps and gestures... enter the spiritual path….turn….joy…..turn….heart soothed….turn again…..not having fallen 😃. Ms. Gorgani generously and passionately gave us the keys to Sufi thought...magnificent poetry and wisdom...thank you very much for this discovery and transmission.

A week ago, I experienced for the first time a Sufi dance workshop led by Rana Gordani in Paris.
What a deep and captivating journey!
The framework woven by Rana, mixing culture, bodily preparation and spirituality, allowed me to slide with complete confidence into the dervish tour.
In this unique space, both intimate and infinite, I humbly found myself, and generously recharged.
I will return Inch'Allah to this living source, thank you Rana.

Deep gratitude for having lived on March 30, 2024 with Rana Gorgani and other beautiful souls a new spiritual listening and at the same time so close to that which I have been experiencing for several years connected to the heart(s), to the stars, to the circles, to the cosmic laws 💙 A listening in the movement, and the non-movement, nothing more and so much, Sacred Experience 🙏 A before and an after. Stephanie SuRya

Hello everybody
I would like to testify about my participation in a Sufi dance workshop offered by Rana Gorgani. I would like to point out that this was the first time I attended such a workshop and that I did not shine at all during this dance. On the other hand, I had two revelations.
The first revelation took place during a stage which concerned a form of preparation, of initiation to dance. I experienced a trance. I cried with joy in a state of grace where I was no longer myself while still being me. Madam Rana Gorgani is a master. That is to say that she accomplishes a mission here below: the first role of the master is to transmit and ensure passage. A door opened, I passed through and experienced another state of consciousness. I thank Madam Rana Gorgani for this feeling of the divine, within me and outside of me equally because “the Kingdom is within and without” we read in the New Testament.
The second revelation took place when I left the participants on the dance floor and sat down at the height of
the room, on steps. I saw no longer bodies but flames which moved and each one swirled in a way
singular because the dervish's tricks take an original form for each being. This dance does not place the dancer in a
mold, on the contrary, it reveals its interiority. Thus, Madame Gorgani dances with strength, power and her inspiration is a breath that regenerates us.

I would like to add that Rana is a humble and spontaneous choreographer. She retained a joy and a naturalness which testifies to her spiritual height: it is the purity of quality souls which was given to me to see. THANKS.
I end my testimony by quoting a verse from Paul Valéry while transforming it to adapt it to my intimate experience of
this moment with Rana: “Sufi dance is the language of God in the lost flesh. ”

Rana Gorgani, I thank you for your generosity.

Leonore, from Nîmes.

A priceless encounter that leaves an indelible imprint on the depths of my being.
The words resonate from this whirling of the body:
The interior and exterior are linked by communion, spirituality, commitment, love and freedom.
Thank you Rana
Aisha

Sometimes, when an experience is particularly touching, it is difficult to find words to describe it. But it is perhaps enough to adopt the language of simplicity and to share that for me, the discovery of Sufi dance was like glimpsing on the surface, what exists deep within me... But in a simple way , surrounded by the kindness of Rana and all the beautiful people who made up this workshop.

I had forgotten that I was created for Joy.

My mind was too busy and my heart was too heavy to remember that I have been called to dance the Sacred Dance of life.

Now I know that I was created to smile
I love
To be lifted up and to lift others up.

O ' Rana Gorgani
thank you dearly for showing me a new way to untangle my feet from all the traps.

To Free my soul.

Now, together, we shall Dance
and that dancing might be infectious 💞

(A transformation of Rumi's quote)

Several hours after the workshop, I still haven’t gotten over it…
Accustomed to dances from different traditions, I had not yet dared to perform the danced prayer of Rûmî. Here I am… 750th wedding celebration…

During this workshop, I lost my bearings, felt destabilized and unbalanced. Torn between an imperative desire to continue the whirling while feeling my weak ability to hold on to the power that was at play within me. “Find comfort in discomfort,” Rana invites us. Here, no cutesy prayer or ecstatic exaltation but the gravity of a responsible, symbolic and meaningful act.

Rereading my words above, I realize how incomprehensible they are, a sign of the unspeakable and the fact that I am still incapable of coming to terms with what I experienced. So, just one piece of advice: LIVE this unique, harsh, moving experience, which brings together being by forcing us to hold our center to welcome the force of the divine.

Rana,

Your teaching, your strength, accompanies me every day in what I want to do today
I have infinite gratitude
Each memory still infuses me and makes me grow

A big thank you Rana for this retreat rich in lessons, liberations, emotions.
I experienced a moment outside of time in presence. I will continue to dance, cultivate this beautiful experience.

I saw the magnificent ambassador and artist Rana at the Petit Palais at her Nuit Blanche performance✨I was so deeply moved by her generous presence and message of peace that I cried throughout the entire magnificent performance.
⭐️Thank you a thousand times Rana🙏🏻✨

For the peace of the world,
Sincerely, Brian

A timeless retirement
A daydream
A sublime discovery
A lively collective
A swirling dynamic
An unsuspected wealth of varied and enjoyable activities
Thank you Rana for this full of emotions

Imagine a tree in bloom! This cherry tree in full bloom is Rana's teaching.
We sit in a circle under the branches, it snows petals. Is it possible to assimilate all this data? No matter! We keep these petals and everyone carries their share of knowledge. And in the Circle of the Circle, we shape a sky of flowers.
Thank you thank you thank you……

Imagine a flowering tree! This cherry tree in full bloom is Rana's lesson.
We are sitting in a circle under the branches, it is snowing petals. Is it possible to assimilate all this data? What does it matter! We keep these petals and everyone carries their share of knowledge. And in the Circle of the Circle, we shape a sky of flowers.
Thanks thanks thanks……

A timeless retreat
A daydream
A sublime discovery
A lively collective
A swirling dynamic
An unsuspected wealth of varied and enjoyable activities
Thank you Rana for this full of emotions

A few days passed.
My bag well filled, I continue the way. The experience continues; All facets of the precious continue to shine.
Here in Marseille,
A nice Moroccan trader adding saffron to a green tea…
And the rose petals…, the beauty and depth of Zakaria Yousefi’s music,
Some texts too,
A host of strong and new inspirations arise;
in my material life and in the practice and teaching that are my Life.
The sea here is not the ocean, but it is there, calling, calling, again and again. Good looking.
Today I saw a Canadair training. It releases all its load of water into the sea. It's like a lightning sparkle. The sea spits out all the drops in a powerful breath that would come out of the depths.
Poetry and the force of the sacred are invited, a thread is woven.

My hands seek contact with the Daf like lovers who timidly dream of the next meeting.
They also dance as they know how to do, carried by the CHI, like antennas,
They feel (and/or seek) something new.
My legs, unaccustomed to hugging each other, experience this new intimacy,
Food for anchoring, verticality, for belly sun (Hara, Tan Tien, etc.), .

Eternally in love.

In Rana,
Thank you for the generosity,
Thanks for the risk,
Thanks for the quality in the transmission,
Thanks for the depth,
Thank you for Grace.

A few days have passed.
My bag well filled, I continue the path. The experience continues; all facets of the precious continue to shine.
Here, in Marseilles,
a nice Moroccan trader adding saffron to a green tea…
And the rose petals..., the beauty and depth of Zakaria Yousefi's music,
Also some texts
A host of strong and new inspirations arise;
in my material life and in the practice and teaching which are my Life.
The sea here is not the ocean, but it is there, calling, calling, again and again. Beautiful.
Today I saw a Canadair training. He drops his entire load of water into the sea. It's like a lightning flash. The sea spits out all the drops in a powerful breath that would come out of the depths.
Poetry and the strength of the sacred invite themselves, a thread is woven.

My hands seek contact with the Daf like lovers who timidly dream of the next encounter.
They also dance as they know how to do, carried by the CHI, like antennas,
They feel (and or are looking for) something new.
My legs, unaccustomed to hugging each other, experience this new intimacy,
Food for anchoring, verticality, for the belly sun (Hara, Tan Tien, …), .

Eternally in love.

To Rana,
Thanks for the generosity,
Thanks for the risk,
Thank you for the quality in the transmission,
Thanks for the depth
Thanks for the Grace.

Thank you for this wonderful new world that you let me enter with intelligence and emotion.

Thank you for this marvelous new world in which you let me enter with intelligence and emotion.

OPEN YOUR ARMS TO THE UNKNOWN, TAKE THE PLUNGE WITH RANA GORGANI AND DISCOVER THE TRANSCENDENTAL EXPERIENCE.
ENTER THE DANCE OF WHIRLING DErvISHES AND ALL THAT ACCOMPANIED SAMA.
LEARNING DAF WITH POWERFUL SOUNDS, SACRED AND CATCHY SONGS, RITUALS WITH SYMBOLS.
JOIN THE CIRCLE AND BECOME VIBRATIONAL WAVES WITH ELEGANT, GRACEFUL AND CHISELED UNDULATING POSTURES, FOR A FEW MOMENTS, A FEW MINUTES OR FOR LIFE.
LET YOURSELF BE CARRIED AWAY BY THE BREATH OF THE WHIRLWIND OR MERGE BODY, MIND, VOICE AND DIVINE AURA.
AS LONG AS IT LEADS YOU INTO A SUDDEN PASSION OR THE TURNING POINT OF YOUR LIFE, THERE IS ONLY ONE STEP… OF SUFI DANCE.
I WAS CONQUERED.

OPEN YOUR ARMS TO THE UNKNOWN, GO WITH IT RANA GORGANI AND DISCOVER THE TRANSCENDENTAL EXPERIENCE.
ENTER THE DANCE OF THE WHIRING DERVISHES AND ALL THAT ACCOMPANIES SAMA.
LEARNING OF DAF WITH STRONG SOUNDS, SACRED AND LIVELY SONGS, FROM RITUALS TO SYMBOLS.
JOIN THE CIRCLE AND BECOME VIBRATIONAL WAVES WITH ELEGANT, GRACEFUL AND CHISELED WAVE POSTURES, FOR A FEW MOMENTS, A FEW MINUTES OR FOR LIFE.
LET YOURSELF BE CARRIED AWAY BY THE BREATH OF THE TOURBILLON WHERE BODY, SPIRIT, VOICE AND DIVINE AURA MERGE.
IF IT DRAWS YOU INTO A SUDDEN PASSION OR A TURNING POINT IN YOUR LIFE, THERE IS ONLY ONE STEP… OF SUF DANCE.
I WAS CONQUERED.

More presence in the so-called “banal” of everyday life is among the most remarkable and least predictable effects of this teaching and practice. What would be “the” spiritual? How does Rana manage to constantly adjust to each and every one according to her own artistic creativity, according to her temperament, according to her own mastery of listening, gestures and speaking? How could this so-called “ancestral” current – ​​among others – become a sumptuous resource to better meet individually and collectively the challenges of this tumultuous 21st century?
To discover / re-discover by oneself in the intimate and subtle of the meetings proposed by Rana.

to more presence in the so-called “mundane” of everyday life is among the most remarkable and least predictable effects of this teaching and practice. What would be “the” spiritual? How does Rana manage to constantly adjusting to each and everyone according to one's own artistic creativity, according to one's temperament, according to one's own mastery of listening, gestures and speaking? How can this current be described as “ancestral” - among others - could it become a sumptuous resource to better meet individually and collectively the challenges of this tumultuous 21st century?
To discover / re-discover for yourself in the intimate and subtle encounters offered by Rana.

Sucked into the door of Sama,
I saw men and women
enter their shadow;
metamorphosed,
in musical notes.

Black, spread your wings and become crooked,
on the partition of the world,
To your brothers and sisters, hang on.
Forms the circle.
Double the rhythms.

Lists
the flow,
Slow down
Lists
silence.
Dancing.

Drawn through the door of Samâ,
I saw men and women
to enter into their shadow;
metamorphosed,
in musical notes.

Black, spread your wings and go crooked,
on the partition of the world,
to your brothers and sisters, hold on.
Form the circle.
Double the rhythms.

Listen
the flow,
slows down
Listen
the silence.
Dance.

Rana Gorgani made me want to practice Sufi dance.
Before knowing her through the Sufi parties she organized in Paris, I was interested from afar in this practice.
I have now been following Rana's teaching for a few years and I am still in awe of her generosity and creativity.
Each seminar, each workshop is unique.
Its rigorous transmission and the discipline it imposes teaches us to be true. And this is a privilege.

These workshops and seminars now punctuate my life. It's continuous learning. I learn to surpass myself, to become aware of the group, the energies that surround me, to become aware of my body, my mind, my limits too.
During these moments, I feel grounded, often liberated.

Beyond meditation and learning dance, Rana's teaching is a path.

I appreciate this communion also with the other dancers, without words, without looks, this sharing and this closeness.

Thank you so much Rana for this passion!

It's been almost 3 years since I discovered the practice of Sufi dance thanks to Rana's teaching.Each season has its seminar and by juggling between my family life and my professional life, I manage to free myself to leave the hustle and bustle or chaos of everyday life to win this “bubble” rejuvenating for a few days.
Obviously, by evoking the Sufi dance, we visualize the large spinning skirts almost hypnotizing, the beauty of the movement, the physical “performance” that surprises… But, it's much more than that.
The Sufi dance, I could describe it to you as a beautiful experience of the Circle and the Point: the Point can exist without the Circle. The Circle, him, cannot be conceived without the existence of its Center, the Point. The Man who wants to return to his Center, to his Origin, must fill this distance that separates him from this Point, by undertaking a spiritual journey. This is precisely what Sufi dance and its circular movement allow: a journey from human Exteriority to its Interiority.
Adopting this swirling movement so natural for children expressing their Joy, this divine flow that animates the entire Universe, helps in the quest for this Center.Some will call it Source of Life, others the Divine… Words don't really matter. It is simply a universal experience, that of Love.
Like the clay that takes shape on the potter's wheel, the Sufi dance polishes the heart, rids it of its slag and that far from any dogma. And I am very grateful to Rana for her high-quality teaching. Rigor is at the rendezvous. Precision, depth and passion in transmission as well. Strong but fair words during classes, a touch of typical Persian malice, a glass of water for the one who has been experienced by vertigo, a hug at the end of Samã (name of the Sufi dance)… Rana is a demanding, authentic and human teacher.
Sufi dance gives me this necessary anchorage so as not to disperse myself in the regrets / remorse of the past or in the sometimes anxiety-provoking projections of the future. This practice is perfectly in line with an awareness of the Present Moment. This dance also gives me, and above all, the opportunity to dive “body and soul”. The body in the swirling dynamics of movement… consciousness, motionless in the eye of the storm, in the absolute and powerful calm of Love.
Tender anecdote: to see me dancing, my 3 young children started to turn. One day soon, Rana may have them as students!

Bahareh

Rana Gorgani made me want to practice Sufi dance.
Before knowing her through the Sufi parties that she organizes in Paris, I was interested from afar in this practice.
I have now been teaching Rana for a few years and still am in awe of her generosity and creativity.
Each seminar, each workshop is unique.
Its rigorous transmission and the discipline it imposes teaches us to be true. And this is a privilege.

These workshops and seminars now punctuate my life. It is continuous learning. I learn to surpass myself, to become aware of the group, of the energies that surround me, to become aware of my body, my mind, my limits too.
During these moments, I feel anchored, often released.

Beyond meditation and learning to dance, teaching Rana is a path.

I also appreciate this communion with the other dancers, without words, without glances, this sharing and this proximity.

Thank you very much Rana for this passion!

It's almost 3 years since I discovered the practice of Sufi dance thanks to the teaching of Rana.Every season has its seminar and by juggling between my family life and my professional life, I manage to free myself to leave the hustle and bustle even the chaos of everyday life to gain this rejuvenating “bubble” for a few days.
Obviously, by evoking the Sufi dance, we visualize the large almost hypnotizing whirling skirts, the beauty of the movement, the astonishing physical “performance”… but, it is much more than all that.
Sufi dance, I could describe it to you as a beautiful experience of the Circle and the Point: the Point can exist without a Circle. The Circle, for its part, cannot be conceived without the existence of its Center, the Point. The Man who wants to return to his Center, to his Origin, must bridge this distance which separates him from this Point, by undertaking a spiritual journey. This is precisely what the Sufi dance and its circular movement allow: a journey from human exteriority to its Interiority.
Adopting this whirling movement so natural for children expressing their Joy, this divine flow which animates the whole Universe, helps in the quest for this Center. Some will call it Source of Life, others the Divine… Words have no it doesn't really matter; it's just a universal experience, that of Love.
Like the clay that takes shape on the potter's wheel, the Sufi dance polishes the heart, rids it of its dross and that far from any dogma. Only the Experience. And I am very grateful to Rana for her teaching of great quality. The rigor is at the rendezvous. The precision, the depth and the passion in the transmission also. Strong but correct words during the lessons, a touch of typically Persian malice, a glass of water for the one who has been tested through vertigo, a hug at the end of Samã (name of the Sufi dance)… Rana is a demanding, genuine and human teacher.
Sufi dance provides me with this necessary anchoring so as not to disperse myself in the regrets / remorse of the past or in the sometimes anxiety-provoking projections of the future. This practice fits perfectly into an awareness of the Present Moment. Also, and above all, gives me the possibility of immersing “body and soul”. The body in the swirling dynamics of movement… consciousness, for its part, motionless in the eye of the storm, in the absolute and powerful calm of Love.
A tender anecdote: to see me dance, my 3 young children have started spinning. One day, Rana may have them as students!

Bahareh

“I left the seminary with a heart filled with love and great strength. Sufi dance makes us live emotions that transport us, make us grow and that we all share together: we laugh, we shout, we cry … These few days spent with Rana and the other participants taught me to surpass myself, to anchor myself to better let go. By rotating one becomes the infinitely large, the planets that revolve around the sun, and the infinitely small, the electron that revolves around the nucleus of the atom. This is the essence of life. Thank you to Rana for accompanying us, giving time to everyone and taking into consideration our differences, teaching us new things. Thank you to the musicians who transport us to the light. Thank you for the divine cuisine. Thanks to the photographer for immortalizing these moments. Thank you to all the other participants for their authenticity and beauty. Thank you.”

“I left the seminary with a heart filled with love and great strength. Sufi dance makes us experience emotions that transport us, make us grow and that we all share together: we laugh, we scream, we cry... These few days spent with Rana and the other participants taught me to surpass myself , anchor yourself to better let go. By rotating we become the infinitely large, the planets which revolve around the sun, and the infinitely small, the electron which revolves around the nucleus of the atom. It is the essence of life. Thank you to Rana for accompanying us, giving everyone time and taking our differences into consideration, teaching us new things. Thank you to the musicians who transport us towards the light. Thank you for the divine cuisine. Thank you to the photographer for immortalizing these moments. Thank you to all the other participants for their authenticity and beauty. THANKS."

It is said that Rumi told this story:
“A chickpea tries to jump out of the pot where it is boiling, and protests: Why are you doing this to me?
The cook brings it back with a ladle in the boiling water.
-Don't try to escape. Do you think I'm torturing you? I am giving you taste: once mixed with rice and spices, you will be a delicious source of vitality for a human being.”
(Excerpted from Women called to the path of Rumi. Shakina Reinhertz. HohmPress. 2001. p.200)

Learning Sama with Rana is to experience this chickpea anxious to escape suffering, seeking to jump overboard when the discomfort is too great… But the demand, the discipline offered by Rana bring us back to the pot: we will not taste the ineffable flavor of Sama without going just a little… A lot… passionately… beyond the comfort zone.

His high standards are matched only by his generosity and passion; So only watching her “work” with someone is already extraordinarily exciting. The ardor of his encouragement and his sustained presence, to make the dancer (the dancer) do a new experience gives him to taste the multiple flavors of Samâ, and we – the other dancers / her – immobile on the edge of the circle where the dancer accompanied by Rana turns, we also breathe the subtle perfume of Samâ.

With Rana's teaching, we integrate through experience, that passion can only burn and transport us if we accept the fire of discipline. Thus, beyond a technical practice of tricks, or a so-called “Sufi” practice, we join the underground current of all traditions that can live, vibrate and sing our soul in the world. I will not speak, I will not think anything: But infinite love will rise to my soul. (Rimbaud. Sensation.)

Demand, determination and rigor, nothing is left to chance by Rana. Experimenting beyond what I thought possible, through moments of nausea, fear, fatigue, Rana does not let go. I trust, Rana respects my limits and does not put anyone in danger, she guides us where it is possible to surpass ourselves.

The hours pass, I turn, we turn without losing the north, without getting lost, on the contrary, we turn on our axis in order to reconnect, refocus. In a short time everyone evolves at their own pace. At the end of a week of training, the neophytes turn, it's impressive.

With her broad, refined and delicate smile, she welcomes us in a magical place surrounded by nature and thinks of everything, both from the point of view of place, food, and her teaching.
We are here to work accompanied by engaging music and a professional musician.

Since the summer camp, I feel that my dance has gained power, I still have a long way to go and want to continue this learning. I needed to meet a person like Rana.
It is like a translation into gesture of emotions, thoughts or things that have inhabited me at the time or for a long time. At the same time, everything around me influences and enriches me. It is a double discovery, interior and exterior.

During the workshops, we are never placed in a situation of performance or competition. Rana invites us little by little to know ourselves more and to push our limits from what we are able to do. From time to time, it puts us in a more difficult situation for us to move forward. On the other hand, Rana speaks bluntly about the different symbols existing in Sufism, the links between this dance and poetry, the elements, the movement of the planets, colors, music etc., Chams, Rumi, the divine, without intervening on what we think about God.

From this, everyone is free to interpret and express what animates him. A bit like in music where from seven notes we compose a melody, we create a dance from seven gestures. The possibilities are endless

For this rigor in teaching.
For this power in transmission.
For all that it stirs in our heart and in our being.
For this luminous sweetness that we draw from it every time.
For these unique and precious encounters, these links woven in a subtle and intimate way.
For this egregore.
For those musicians who translate the divine into notes.
For this Love

These smiles, this Light, these caresses on the heart.
It's all there.
looks

I have been following Rana's teaching for several years, not assiduously, since I sometimes have periods of interruption but I like to come back to follow her Sufi dance courses, it is like a ritual but above all a need. Why this need?
It certainly has to do with Rana's personality. Rana's requirement is limitless, so there is always room for improvement in their work. If we are willing to evolve in her near search, Rana will accompany us.

The richness of Rana's teaching is due, among other things, to the fact that it never dissociates the practice of dance and the origin and meaning of the dances of Iran. She therefore leads her students to give meaning to their gestures, whether they are refined for Sufi dance or more symbolic and stylized for Persian and Afghan dances. I continue to search in dance with Rana's work, a simplicity stripped of all artifice and I still have a long way to go…

Rana is an extraordinary teacher. To the rhythm of the daf, she transmits her knowledge of Sufi dance with tact, endurance, dynamism and creativity. Her presence and her qualities as a speaker allow us to be guided towards the inner spiritual discovery of ourselves and to sublimate it in everyday life.

When I am carried away in the tour, the thought is no longer and a new energy is anchored.

Since I encountered this intoxicating dance, my vision of the whole thing has changed. My mind is more open and a quest for truth and love naturally set in. Here, I particularly recommend stays with the company l’Oeil Persan, the trip is all the most intense.

Sufi dance opened my eyes to another way of conceiving dance. I embarked on the Sufi dance workshop in August 2015 having little experience of dance and until then. Dancing was above all, in the way I represented the act of dancing, to produce an aesthetic effect. Without realizing it, I associated dance with the realm of laymanship and appearance, and although I had heard that Sufi dance has a more spiritual aspect, I did not know concretely how to understand it. Often, we dance to make beautiful movements, and often in a setting where seduction has a role to play, such as in a ball or a nightclub.

And more specifically when it comes to professional dancers who dance for an audience during a show, I told myself that dance was above all the result of technique and rigorous work. But Sufi dance allowed me to realize that dancing could also be a language, a way to express oneself and externalize what lives in us. Work, technique and rigor are nevertheless present, but they are not enough. As I felt, they are simply at the service of dance, however what allows Sufi dance to be what it is lies rather in an attitude of listening and openness that intervenes when one enters the samâ. From the profane, one then passes to the sacred; from appearance, to interiority and feeling. So Sufi dance changed my view of dance.

But I have also noticed, when talking about the Sufi dance around me, that many people misrepresent it in my opinion. The word “trance” associated with Sufi dance, gives an image that does not correspond to what I have experienced. With this word, we imagine that Sufi dance rhymes with delirium, state of possession or search for thrills. In fact, Sufi dancing for me simply rhymes with the joy of dancing!

During the course, we learned that turning on oneself, like a spinning top, was in fact a universal movement, found in many traditions, long before Sufism made its appearance as such. It is also the movement that children spontaneously make when asked to turn, and circle dances are also very old. Perhaps this joy of dancing by turning on oneself and sometimes also in a circle is simply explained by the spontaneity of these movements? Their presence both in ancient traditions and, more disorderly, in the movements that children make, perhaps show how these gestures are inscribed in us, as they are “natural”. And it seemed to me that the spiritual aspect of Sufi dance comes precisely from this return to the spontaneity, naturalness and joy of a child who starts dancing. It is not spirituality in the sense of a hermetic esotericism, but in the sense of simplicity and joy. But this does not exclude technical work within a constant search for balance: spontaneity is not chaos and confusion, it flourishes precisely because it is based on solid foundations. Learning balance in movement therefore becomes essential to push the experience of the dance of the trick as far as possible.

To conclude this little testimony, I would say that Sufi dance has allowed me, thanks to a new language for me, to externalize a feeling that I do not always have the opportunity to put forward, while in harmony with the people and the ambient atmosphere . And if I had to define my experience of Sufi dance in a few very brief words, I would use these: listening to yourself, listening to others.

I have a burning fire in my chest after the internship.
During this cycle, I went through all possible states, from deep fear to pure will but impotence but also anger as joy: pure will when I wish the skirt to turn and it seems so heavy; deep fear when I am faced with going in one direction; anger at that skirt that still doesn't want to turn and distracts me; the joy of no longer being, of being only Earth-Sky axis, of this freedom; Abandonment in the fall.

When I leave my path or refuse it or go too far, beyond my limits, the fire has always burned me on a physical level (falls, burnout, over-infected blisters). It makes me feel good to experience the fire in a setting where I can surrender completely in “safety” to go further. What a joy to find a community of dancers of life and to share this Joy in dance! I feel that it will also really enrich my personal practice. It makes me want to go further in the path of dance but I do not yet know how and where.
My life has already changed.
I shoot every night in a dream.

What I experience every day since I returned home is unspeakable. Simply, everything is stronger, more alive, more intense, joy is everywhere even in the desert. I feel like I could walk for days in the desert without that fire going out. Other times, I feel like a thirsty, feverish pilgrim looking for something I've tasted and know there but can't reach. Still other times, I want to share what I live with the whole world and that the whole world lives this joy and love but only a few friends can hear me.

I feel that my path is taking a new and still unknown but essential direction. I have a stability in me, a form of determination, a strength and solidity (which was there, as a child) that I thought I would never find again. It allows me to choose where I go by refusing any choice made for others, the only choice that exists is the one that makes my sun shine. Thank you for being here. For the first time, I experienced in myself the presence of the master: I completely abandon myself to the master and his love to take the step that I could not take without him. Once this step is taken, I am no longer for Being even more. Once revealed, I shoot again. With each fall, I came out more confident, thirsty, more attentive. I offered myself even more to the experience.

I also learned and felt the difference between hopping and the support of the feet that allow to find the Earth-Sky axis. Every step is hammered by the music that guides and sustains me. This support allows verticality and balance. Without him, I waver. This is my axis of gravity. When I turn, this axis mixes with that of the Earth. When I tour, I am incredibly present, – even if my mind no longer has a grip and had to fade away for the vertigo to disappear – entirely listening to the body and this axis and the music. I am contained and gathered by this listening in the outer space where I spin and in my body: I ​​am then one and nothing at the same time. The gestures are still mysterious to me, I feel their differences and how they resonate with my heart. But I still don't take enough time to taste the changes in slow motion, related to the heart.

I turned facing the sun on Christmas Day, my feet in the damp grass; I shot in New Year's during a celebration with friends dear to my heart.
Great joy to find you again.

In the context of Sufi dance, Rana has a very special way of transmitting her art. And this is something very interesting for those who feel called to the study of this dance.
Rana gives and asks for a lot in return, and it is precisely this requirement that will allow the overcoming of achievements, securities, habits, comforts, to always go further, beyond his own limitations. Rana never gives up…

A great quality for a teacher. Thus, this spirit of rigor accompanies all its transmission which is expressed through: anchoring, technique, exploration, creativity … in terms of the broad outline.
When I met Rana, I had this need to be firmer in my support, to anchor the technique, to develop the power, to dare to lose my bearings. Rana has accompanied me on this path and I express my gratitude to her today.

We never go somewhere by chance, but it is Destiny that guides us all. It is thanks to this that I met Rana, first the dancer, and after Rana my Sufi dance master, this to say my guide to the roots of the movement.

I have always loved dancing, it is a necessity of my body, a need that gives me freedom and joy, but one day I realized that I was looking for an explanation, in short, the essence and origin of all this.
My love for Iran, its music and dance, for Persian poetry and its connection to spirituality and Sufism… Fate brought me to my first seminar, August 2015.

Crest – it means being immediately touched by two things: a crossroads and a small hill, metaphors for my state of mind at this moment in my life; the need to make a choice and walk a path to rise.
To tell the truth, during this week, I had experiences that are difficult to explain in words; I wanted to go beyond my dance and I found myself facing myself: a soul that seeks itself. The road is long, the difficulties and obstacles are still there.

By living a seminar or a Sufi dance workshop the work is tiring and we know the fear, yes, the fear of vertigo, of falling, of vomiting the soul… That's why we have to trust the master. Rana has always been at home to my body and mind with a look, a word, the silence that speaks; Even the presence of a (very important) group helped me. Sometimes I wanted to go to the end of the hill at a running pace, but you have to slow down and above all have humility (A beautiful lesson for me).

Only then can we understand how the physical preparation, the meditation, the eyes closed, the breaths, the heartbeat to the sound of the daf and the ney, led me to Samâ, to the sacred dance and then it is the pleasure of turning ( “Find it, Tiziana!”), to be a magic lantern.

After my first seminar many things in my life have changed, Sama has now become my prayer and I still need my master who I know is there.
On the way, with my skirt and my daf, I am listening…

Requirement, determination and rigor, nothing is left to chance by Rana. Experimenting beyond what I thought possible, going through moments of nausea, fear, fatigue, Rana does not let us go. I have confidence, Rana respects my limits and does not endanger anyone, she guides us where it is possible to surpass ourselves.

The hours pass, I turn, we turn without losing the north, without getting lost, quite the contrary, we turn on our axis in order to reconnect, to refocus. In a short time everyone evolves at their own pace. At the end of a week of training, the neophytes turn, it's impressive.

With her wide smile, refined and delicate, she welcomes us to a magical place surrounded by nature and thinks of everything, both from the point of view of place, food, and her teaching.
We are there to work accompanied by engaging music and a professional musician.

Since the summer internship, I feel that my dance has gained strength, I still have a long way to go and want to continue this learning. I needed to meet a person like Rana.
It's like a translation into a gesture of emotions, thoughts or things that have been with me now or for a long time. At the same time, everything around me influences and enriches me. It is a double discovery, interior and exterior.

During the workshops, we are never placed in a performance or competition situation. Rana invites us little by little to know ourselves more and to push our limits based on what we are able to do. Every now and then, it puts us in a more difficult position for us to progress. On the other hand, Rana speaks to us bluntly about the different symbols existing in Sufism, the links between this dance and poetry, the elements, the movement of the planets, the colors, the music, etc., of Chams, of Rûmi, of the divine, without interfering with what one thinks about God.

From this, everyone is free to interpret and express what drives them. A bit like in music where from seven notes we compose a melody, we create a dance from seven gestures. the possibilities are limitless

Rana is an extraordinary teacher. To the rhythm of the daf, she transmits her knowledge of Sufi dance with tact, endurance, dynamism and creativity. Her presence and her speaking skills allow us to be guided towards the inner spiritual discovery of ourselves and to sublimate it in daily life.

When I am taken in the tower, the thought is no more and a new energy is anchored.

Since I first encountered this intoxicating dance, my outlook on everything has changed. My mind is more open and a quest for truth and love has naturally set in. Here, I particularly recommend stays with l'Oeil Persan, the journey is all the more intense.

I have a burning fire in my chest after the internship.
During this cycle, I went through all the possible states, from deep fear to pure will but powerlessness but also anger as joy: the pure will when I want the skirt to turn and that it seems so heavy to me; the deep fear when faced with going in one direction; anger against this skirt which still does not want to turn and which distracts me; the joy of no longer being, of being only an Earth-Sky axis, of this freedom; abandonment in the fall.

When I leave my path or refuse it or go too far, beyond my limits, the fire has always burned me on a physical level (falls, burn out, over-infected blisters). It does me good to experience the fire in a setting where I can surrender myself completely in "safety" to go further. What joy to find a community of dancers of life and to share this Joy in dance! I feel that this will also really enrich my personal practice. It makes me want to go further in the dance path, but I don't know how and where yet.
My life has already changed.
I shoot every night in a dream.

What I have been experiencing every day since I came home is indescribable. Simply, everything is stronger, more alive, more intense, joy is everywhere even in the desert. I feel that I could walk for days in the desert without this fire going out. Other times I feel like a thirsty, feverish pilgrim looking for something that I have tasted and that I know there but cannot reach. Still other times, I want to share what I am going through with the whole world and that the whole world experience this joy and this love but only a few friends can hear me.

I feel that my path takes a new and still unknown but essential direction. I have a stability in me, a form of determination, a strength and solidity (which was there as a child) that I thought I would never find again. It allows me to choose where I go by refusing any choice made for others, the only choice that exists is the one that makes my sun shine, I thank you for your presence. For the first time, I experienced the presence of the master in me: I surrender myself completely to the master and his love to take the step that I could not take without him. Once this step has been taken, I am no longer to be still more. Once revealed, I turn again, with each fall I came out more confident, more thirsty, more attentive. I offered myself even more to the experience.

I also learned and felt the difference between hopping and the support of the feet which allows to find the Earth-Sky axis. Each step is hammered by the music that guides and supports me. This support allows verticality and balance. Without him, I waver. It is my axis of gravity. When I turn, this axis merges with that of the Earth. When I shoot, I am incredibly present, - even if my mind has no grip and had to fade for the vertigo to disappear - fully in tune with the body and this axis and the music. I am contained and brought together by this listening in the external space where I whirl and in my body: I ​​am then one and nothing at the same time. The gestures are still mysterious for me, I feel their differences and how they resonate with my heart. But I still don't take enough time to taste the changes in slow motion, in connection with the heart.

I turned to face the sun on Christmas Day, my feet in the damp grass; I shot at New Year during a celebration with friends dear to my heart.
Great joy to find you.

Within the framework of Sufi dance, Rana has a very particular way of transmitting her art. And this is something very interesting for anyone who feels called to study this dance.
Rana gives and asks a lot in return, and it is precisely this requirement that will allow the overcoming of achievements, securities, habits, comforts, to always go further, beyond his own limitations. Rana never lets go ...

A great quality for a teacher. Thus, this spirit of rigor accompanies all its transmission which is expressed through: anchoring, technique, exploration, creativity… in terms of the main lines.
When I met Rana, I had this need to be more firm in my support, to anchor technique, to develop power, to dare to lose my bearings. Rana has accompanied me on this journey and today I express my gratitude to her.

We never go anywhere by chance, but it is Fate that guides us all. It is thanks to this that I met Rana, first the dancer, and after Rana my Sufi dance master, this to tell my guide to the roots of the movement.

Me, I always liked to dance, it is a necessity of my body, a need that gives me freedom and joy, but one day I understood that I was looking for an explanation, in short, the essence and the origin of it all.
My love for Iran, its music and dance, for Persian poetry and its connection to spirituality and Sufism ... Destiny brought me to my first seminar, August 2015.

Crest - it means being immediately touched by two things: a crossroads and a small hill, metaphors for my state of mind at this point in my life; the need to make a choice and walk a path in order to rise.
To tell the truth, during this week, I lived experiences which are difficult to explain in words; I wanted to go beyond my dance and I found myself facing myself: a soul that seeks itself. The road is long, the difficulties and the obstacles are still there.

By living a seminar or a Sufi dance workshop the work is tiring and we know the fear, yes, the fear of vertigo, of falling, of vomiting the soul ... that's why we must trust the master . Rana has always been in my body and my mind with a look, a word, the silence that speaks; even the presence of a (very important) group helped me. Sometimes I wanted to go to the end of the hill at a run, but you have to slow down and above all have humility (A great lesson for me).

Only then do we come to understand how the physical preparation, the meditation, the closed eyes, the breaths, the beating of the heart to the sound of the daf and the ney, led me to Samâ, to the sacred dance and then it is the pleasure to shoot ("Find it, Tiziana!"), to be a magic lantern.

After my first seminar a lot of things in my life have changed, Samâ has now become my prayer and I still need my teacher who, I know, is there.
On the way, with my skirt and my daf, I am listening ...

It is said that Rumi told this story:
"A chickpea tries to jump out of the saucepan where it is boiling, and protests: Why are you doing this to me?
The cook brings it back with a ladle into the boiling water.
-Do not try to escape. Do you think I'm torturing you? I am giving you taste: once mixed with rice and spices, you will be a delicious source of vitality for a human being. "
(From Women called to the path of Rumi. Shakina Reinhertz. HohmPress. 2001. p.200)

Learning Samâ with Rana is to experience this little chickpea anxious to escape suffering, seeking to jump overboard when the discomfort is too great… But the requirement, the discipline offered by Rana brings us back to the pot: we won't taste the ineffable flavor of Samâ without going just a little ... a lot ... passionately ... beyond the comfort zone.

His requirement is matched only by his generosity and his passion; so just watching her “work” with someone is already extraordinarily exciting. The ardor of his encouragement and his sustained presence, to make the dancer (the dancer) a new experience gives him to taste the multiple flavors of Samâ, and we - the other dancers / ses- motionless on the edge of the circle where the dancer turns accompanied by Rana, we also breathe the subtle scent of Samâ.

With the teaching of Rana, we integrate through experience, that passion can only burn and transport us if we accept the fire of the discipline, thus beyond a technical practice of tricks, or a practice known as "Sufi", we join the underground current of all the traditions which can make our soul live, vibrate and sing in the world. "I will not speak, I will not think anything: But infinite love will rise in my soul . »(Rimbaud. Sensation.)

For this rigor in teaching.
For this power in the transmission.
For all that stirs in our heart and in our being.
For this luminous softness that we draw from it every time.
For these unique and precious encounters, these links woven in a subtle and intimate way.
For this egregore.
For those musicians who translate the divine into notes.
For this love

These smiles, this Light, these caresses on the heart.
Everything is here.
Look.

I have been following Rana's teaching for several years, not assiduously, since I sometimes have periods of interruption but I like to come back in particular to follow her Sufi dance workshops, it's like a ritual but above all a need. Why this need?
It certainly stems from Rana's personality. Rana's demands are limitless, so there is always room for improvement in their work for everyone. If we are willing to evolve in his near research, Rana will accompany us.

The richness of Rana's teaching is due among other things to the fact that she never dissociates the practice of dance from the origin and meaning of the dances of Iran. She therefore leads her students to give meaning to their gestures, whether they are refined for the Sufi dance or more symbolic and stylized for the Persian and Afghan dances. I continue to search in dance with the work of Rana, a stripped simplicity any artifice and I still have a way ...

Sufi dance opened my eyes to another way of thinking about dance. I started the Sufi dance workshop in August 2015 with relatively little dance experience and until then. Dancing came down above all, in the way I pictured the act of dancing, to producing an aesthetic effect. Without realizing it, I associated dance with the realm of the profane and the appearance and, although I had already heard that Sufi dance has a more spiritual aspect, I did not know concretely how to understand it. Often, we dance to achieve beautiful movements, and often in a setting where seduction has a role to play, such as at a ball or a nightclub.

And more specifically when it comes to professional dancers who dance for an audience during a show, I told myself that the dance was above all the result of a technique and a rigorous work. However, Sufi dance allowed me to realize that dancing could also be a language, a way of expressing oneself and of exteriorizing what dwells in us. Work, technique and rigor are no less present, but they are not enough. As I felt, they are simply at the service of the dance, however what allows the Sufi dance to be what it is resides rather in an attitude of listening and openness which intervenes when one returns. in samâ. From the profane, we then pass to the sacred; of appearance, interiority and feeling. Sufi dance has therefore changed my view of dance.

However, I have also noticed, speaking of the Sufi dance around me, that many people have a misrepresentation in my opinion. The word "trance" associated with the Sufi dance, gives an image that does not correspond to what I experienced. With this word, we imagine that Sufi dance rhymes with delirium, state of possession or search for thrills. In fact the Sufi dance for me simply rhymes with the joy of dancing!

During the internship, we learned that spinning around, like a spinning top, was in fact a universal movement, which can be found in many traditions, long before Sufism appeared as such. It is also the spontaneous movement children make when asked to turn, and circle dances are also very old. Perhaps this joy of dancing while turning on itself and sometimes also in a circle is it simply explained by the spontaneity of these movements? Their presence both in old traditions and, more haphazardly, in the movements that children make, perhaps show how much these gestures are inscribed in us, how “natural” they are. And it seemed to me that the spiritual aspect of Sufi dance comes precisely from this return to the spontaneity, the naturalness and the joy of a child who begins to dance. It is not about spirituality in the sense of a hermetic esotericism, but in the sense of simplicity and joy. But this does not exclude technical work within a constant search for balance: spontaneity is not chaos and confusion, it flourishes precisely because it is based on solid foundations. Learning balance in movement therefore becomes essential to pushing the tour dance experience to the fullest.

To conclude this little testimony, I would say that the Sufi dance allowed me, thanks to a new language for me, to exteriorize a feeling that I do not always have the opportunity to put forward, all in harmony with the people and the surrounding atmosphere. And if I had to define my experience of Sufi dance in a few very short words, I would use these: listening to oneself, listening to others.