A Brief Dance History
The Dances of Universal Peace were first presented to the world in the late 1960’s by Samuel L. Lewis (1896-1971), a Sufi Murshid (teacher) and Rinzai Zen Master, who also studied deeply in the mystical traditions of Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity. Lewis was deeply influenced by his contact and spiritual apprenticeship with two people: Hazrat Inayat Khan, who first brought the message of universal Sufism to the West in 1910, and Ruth St. Denis, a feminist pioneer in the modern dance movement in America and Europe.
From his rich life experiences, Lewis, then in his early 70’s, began to envision and create the Dances and the associated walking practices, as a dynamic method to promote “Peace through the Arts.” Since those early days with Murshid Sam’s original 50 or so dances, the collection has grown exponentially of dances which celebrate the sacred heart of Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as the Aramaic, Native American, Native Middle Eastern, Celtic, Native African, and Goddess traditions.
The Dances have spread throughout the world, touching more than a half million people in North and South America, Europe, the former Soviet Union, Japan, India, Pakistan, Israel, Australia, Africa and New Zealand. New grass-roots Dance circles are continually springing up around the globe, with hundreds of circles meeting weekly or monthly in North America alone. During the COVID pandemic, dance circles have met safely through virtual technology.
“Sam hears that his dances are now spreading like wildfire. He has no monopoly and no copyright… Heart calls to heart and soul to soul.”
In the Garden from Diaries, Dec 14, 1969
The Dances Today
In addition to the Dance circles that meet regularly, the Dances of Universal Peace continue to evolve and expand to more areas: these Dances are led in schools, spiritual centers, churches, therapy groups, prisons, hospice houses, drug rehabilitation centers, homes for the developmentally disabled, retirement villages, holistic health centers, psychological conventions, weddings, other personal celebrations, peace gatherings and ecumenical worship celebrations. They have been presented at the Olympics, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and other ecumenical gatherings and conferences around the world. Due to the pandemic of 2020-21, dance cirlces adjusted to getting together in person by holidng virtual events, many by Zoom technology.
The Mentors Guild, with spiritual guidance from Pir Shabda Kahn, serves to guide the development and growth of dance leaders and to steward the transmission of the rich legacy Murshid Samuel Lewis left to the world.
Eat Dance and Pray Together
Samuel Lewis believed that when people “eat, dance and pray together,” the world finds peace. The Dances continue to be, as Samuel Lewis envisioned them, a way to make life-energy and deep peace a reality for all who come in contact with them, and to bring a joyous spiritual center to those who commit to deepening in them.