It has been a great start to the new year at the Tuesday night dance group here in Findhorn. We started the year with some dances led by different Findhorn based teachers and I taught Zacharoula a Greek/Vlach dance which I love. The lifts in the Zacharoula really gives momentum to the movement, but the actual steps are very slow and bouncy.
I originally learned this dance from Leo and Francescea, who are both great teachers, and have danced for years in the folk tradition. We think the dance may have been taught in the past by Kyriakos in Findhorn. In the last few weeks we have been revisiting traditional dances from Greece, Armenia and a also few choreographed Nanni Kloke pieces. It has been fun.
Our group received our official “Findhorn Sacred Dance Angel” of the year – Balance, quite appropriate for dancers lol
It was a great New Year celebration at The Universal Hall with Peter Vallance taking us on the Grand March and my new kilt got aired for the first time. It was interesting dancing in Ghillie brogues as I have never experienced that before. Dancing with slippy shoes on a slippy floor had me a little worried but actually with my new soles it all turned out well.
Dancing in the kilt is really comfortable and the only problem is how to keep the shoelaces up around your legs. In the end I opted for the low tying of the laces as I found they fell down far too easily.
This video helped me.
Also here is the video of the Universal Hogmanay celebration.
It has been nice to have some down time and let my feet have a rest. I am bad though, as I did practice once or twice over the holidays. What is a holiday without dance? He He
I also attended Laura Shannon’s workshop, ‘Dances of Exile and Homecoming‘, during the Winter School of Sacred Dance where we enjoyed some dances from Greece and Armenia. I particularly enjoyed the candle lit dance as it was just the right time of the year for a contemplation dance.
We hope to have Laura back later in the year for another workshop.
I will be holding my ‘Surrender to Dance’ workshop again soon, perhaps May, and have a ‘Spring Tonic’ workshop arranged for March with Katharina Kroeber … more details here
Looking into the year ahead. Sacred Dance Wednesday nights will be back 5th Feb and are listed on my events page. My new Facebook page for my ‘Surrender to Dance’ workshop is live and can be found here.
Hope you all have a wonderful start to the ‘roaring 20s’ and I’ll see you all on the dance floor.
Blessings
Brant
Main blog Photo from Laura Shanon ( ‘Dances of Exile and Homecoming’ ) her Beautiful Centrepiece! Thank you to Laura for allowing me to use 🙂 – ‘The centrepiece from Laura Shannon’s dance day, Dances of Exile and Homecoming, with a ritual cloth specially commissioned from the last living embroiderer of traditional Goddess embroidery patterns in Karinthia, Austria’. – website
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Brant Bambery 