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River of Silence
“Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
~ Kahlil Gibran
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“Dervish” literally means “doorway” and circling is the perfect motion in the ceremony of Sema. The dance is performed as an introspective revolution, circling deeper towards a true sense of self.
Each article of clothing bears meaning for the spiritual journey taken by the dancer, also known as a semazen. The black cloak represents the ego, the semazen removes this upon engaging in the dance. The camel’s hair hat serves as a tombstone for the ego and the white skirt and vest represent the ego’s death shroud. All become lost in the turning as love for divine transcendence takes over.
The dance itself is a system of surrender, transcending the notion of separateness altogether, each step a submission of both body and soul dissolving into a singular, divine form. It is also said that the ritual represents the planets (semazen) revolving around the sun (the sheikh)
— Rene Jaime Gonzalez
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I remember a ballerina Elèna Vadislowa, rich family, well taken care of, beautiful. She wanted to dance as much as I did, but later I realized it wasn’t like that. She danced for all the auditions, for the end of the course show, for the teachers watching her, to pay…
