The second Sacred Dance Guild newsletter (later renamed the Journal) was indicated as Fall Issue 1958.
The second Sacred Dance Guild newsletter (later renamed the Journal) was indicated as Fall Issue 1958.
“The annual meeting of the Eastern Regional Sacred Dance Association was held Feb. 10, 1958 at the Unitarian Church in Winchester. …. “ “The new by-laws were read and discussed at length, much time being spent on the question of a suitable name for our organization.
It was voted that the name of the organization shall be – “The Sacred Dance Guild”.
The Sacred Dance Guild began issuing a “newsletter” to members 2-3 times per year in 1958 which continued until 1978. In 1978 the “newsletter” was changed to the “Sacred Dance Guild Journal” continuing with three issues per year until 2009 when it changed to twice per year until the final printed issue in 2012. So – 54 years of print – we have a total of 154 Newsletter/Journals in our archives “box”!
As we reflect back on the 65 year history of the Sacred Dance Guild, we recognize many changes and shifts that are part of our story since the beginning in 1958. During the last two and a half years of…
During our Sacred Dance Guild journey to the UK in 2017 a Mercyhurst College senior, Sarah Ruesch, asked if I would fill out a questionnaire regarding liturgical dance. I agreed and therefore it became part of her research for her senior capstone project.
One day in November 2017, I had decided to participate in a meeting and dance workshop offered by the Sacred Dance Guild, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting dance as a sacred art and as a means of integrating the physical, spiritual, emotional and mental aspects of the self. I had researched and written about sacred dance, but had never experienced it physically.
Thank you for joining me as together we enter the Sacred Ground between us and thank you for taking this time to explore the healing power of our most precious gift of Sacred Dance.
Bharatanatyam dance explores the path towards Spirituality. Dance is a form of praise, a way to connect with the divine. The purposes of the practice of a religion are to achieve the goals of salvation for oneself and others. Salvation, for the Hindu, can be achieved in one of three ways: the way of works, the way of knowledge, or the way of devotion.
Dance can be a profoundly personal experience of transformation. But when we dance for others, it is important that we become vessel for the prayer or healing to move through us and touch others. We start by remembering that indeed we are in ritual to illuminate for others.
as we engaged with open welcome in a dance workshop in a space where faith has been expressed in many ways over centuries, at least one woman from the local area found a renewal of faith expression through movement that had lain dormant for some time. As we engaged the mysticism of Julian of Norwich in a circle dance, those present connected with the spiritual ancestry of our context.