Whirling Dervish Dance Workshop

Adult Group Class / Dance Program

Abandon your egos and desires through music and movement and learn the dance of the whirling dervish. Sufi whirling is a form of physically active meditation found in the Sema rituals of the mystical life in Islam. The tradition dates back as far as the 13th-century poet and Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi and is still performed throughout Turkey, Persia, and other parts of the Middle East. Join resident artist Mira Hunter as she teaches this ceremonial dance in a workshop at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

This gathering is for anyone interested in elements of whirling; the powerful, challenging and ecstatic moving meditation of Rumi, the Sufi Whirling Dervishes and beyond. Bring your passion, patience, loose clothing and extra pairs of good socks.

It can be argued that Emine Mira Hunter has been whirling for most of her life. A visual artist and second-generation Sufi Mevlevi, she began her traditional training at the age of 16 with her father Semazenbashi Raqib Brian Burke and Postneshin Sheikh Jelaladdin Loras. She has performed and taught across Europe, Turkey, Japan, Canada, and the U.S. in collaboration with Mercan Dede, Ludovico Einaudi, David Michalek, Peter Murphy and the Open Secret School of Whirling among others. She currently studies sufism under Sherif Baba Catalkaya and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Grouped with: Global Traditions