HYDERABAD: Famous Persian sacred dancer, choreographer and founder of the Dance of Oneness Banafsheh Sayyad was invited by the Hyderabad-based National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, under the Union Ministry of Social Justice, to give a talk on alternative therapies on Wednesday.
The talk was around Banafsheh’s dance modality, the Dance of Oneness. Describing it, Banafsheh says, “It is a transformational dance modality that fuses mindfulness, sacred embodiment and personal development. It has an empowering and healing capability that opens you to beauty and divine service.” The Dance of Oneness works in three dimensions — the art of dance, wisdom and healing.
Banafsheh’s dance is comprised in part by the Persian alphabet translated into gestures and movement, which when put together, emotes words and poetic stanzas from the works of the great mystic poet Jalaluddin Rumi, whom she has studied extensively.
These movements resonates with the fierce yet gentle essence of Rumi’s writings, which beckon everyone to break through conformity and limitation to find their individual glory. Banafsheh started forming the dance form at an early age. She combined the dance with what she calls ‘the invisible force’ that keeps our souls alive and one that has also helped her become whole.
“Dance is more of a ceremonial ritual, that is where we receive most of our healing energies from. I have kept the dying Persian dance art alive. Dance is a sin in Islam, especially when it is performed by women. Persian dance is not being able to thrive because of our culture.” “Love yourself and your body, and live in the world as a lover,” adds Banafsheh.