DANCED LECTURE
The Secrets of Sufism and the Power of Love
DANCED LECTURE
The Secrets of Sufism and the Power of Love
Rana Gorgani, a leading ambassador of Sufi dance in the West, offers an unprecedented experience: a sensorial immersion into the Sufi universe. In this artistic creation, the whirling dervish presents different dimensions of Sufism, where spirituality, symbolism, and socio-cultural realities are interwoven. Through both words and movement, she builds bridges between the arts: poetry, miniature painting, architecture, music, and of course, dance.
This event is not only a transmission of rare Sufi knowledge but also a dance performance. Trained in dance anthropology and ethnomusicology, the artist shares her understanding of Sufism. Far from an academic or didactic approach, the lecture adapts to its audience and seeks to be interactive. In a conservatory, the content focuses more on music; in a library, on poetry and sacred texts.
The artist, trained in the anthropology of dance and ethnomusicology, transmits us his knowledge of Sufism. Far from the academic aspect and educational, this conference adapts to the public and is intended to be interactive.
In a conservatory, the content will focus on music, in a library, on poems and sacred texts…
Unveiling Sufism
A true mystical quest, Sufism is fundamentally an inner journey, a deep listening to one’s being through meditation, music, or states of trance. Dance, introduced through the poetry of Rûmî, becomes a path of understanding the universe. The 13th-century Persian mystic places Love at the heart of this journey :
“ There are many paths
that lead to God and I chose the path of music and dance.”
- Rûmî -
The connections between Sufi dance and the natural cycles of the Earth, celestial bodies, the cosmos, and the universe are explored, along with parallels to other Islamic arts such as calligraphy and miniature painting.
“ Do you know why the disciples of love, in the midst of their dancing, raise and wave their arms?
It is the door of divine effluvia that is opening before them at this moment, and with this inspired gesture they seem to be pushing back the whole of creation.”
- Saadi -
This introduction to Sufi dance has a strong feminine bias. In a world where whirling dervishes are mainly men, my identity as Rana Gorgani sheds new light thanks to my particularity as a woman whirling dervish.
The major mystical symbols of Sufism are introduced. They are identical in architecture, miniatures, poetry and dance movements.
In Sufi dance, each gesture carries a strong poetic symbolism. The sun, the candle, the rose or perfume: these metaphorical and sacred elements each have a meaning that nourishes the dancers’ steps.
DANCED LECTURE
The Secrets of Sufism and the Power of Love
The Countries and Histories of Sufi Dance
The lecture presents the various countries where Sufi dance is practiced today: Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq. Each territory’s specificities are retraced. The historical context is also addressed, explaining where the dance has flourished or been repressed, with references spanning up to 2,000 years before our era.
A moment of questions and answers concludes the performance.
Dance and Music at the Heart of the Experience
The danced interludes give body to the lecture. The whirling, a true ascending spiral, touches spectators intimately, a dialogue from heart to heart, from soul to soul.
Music holds a central place: the soundscape, built through extensive research, reveals the richness of Sufi musical traditions. Optional live musical accompaniment further enhances the experience.
Sufi Artist, Rana Gorgani expresses herself like a whirling dervish.
As Rana Gorgani explains:
The power of the body in movement
leaves no room for the psyche.
It’s a new encounter
with oneself that takes place.
The movement of the turner is the emancipation of the soul.
This spinning movement sweeps
away everything, the only thing that remains
is the breath.
Unprecedented Visual and Archival Material
Photographs, reproductions of paintings, sound recordings, and dance costumes: rare and precious materials are revealed. The artist shares images from archives unavailable elsewhere, Persian miniatures, unique artworks, and historical photographs dating back to the 1930s. Some sound recordings were created specifically for this performance, and most of the music presented is difficult for the general public to access.
Texts and poems by Persian authors such as Rûmî, Hafez, Attar, Saadi, and Shoravardi are shared; they have been at the core of Rana Gorgani’s research for more than thirty years.
A disciple said:
‘I have traveled a great distance to meet you.’
The master replied:
‘One single step would have been enough, had you started from your soul.’
– Shoravardi –
A Sensory Experience Carrying a Universal Message
Through this event, audiences understand that religion or meditation are not the only gateways to spirituality. Poetry, writing, painting, and dance offer other possible paths. The whirling dervish shows that Sufi spirituality is not merely intellectual, it is above all a quest for beauty through experience. Sufism becomes accessible to all, far from any elitist or closed dogma.
THIS EVENT IS NOT
A lecture on religious art
A course in rhetoric
A historical lecture
An academic interpretation
Rana Gorgani conveys a universal message present in all cultures and traditions, a message of beauty, love, and peace.
O day, rise!
The atoms dance, and the souls lost in ecstasy dance.
I will whisper in your ear where the dance leads.
— Rûmî —
THIS EVENT IS
An original form of performance
A showcase for Sufi dance
A musical and poetic discover
A presentation of a little-known art form, recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage site
Presented at:
the Louvre’s Arts of Islam exhibition in Tourcoing,
the Joigny-Le-Pont Conservatory,
Carré d’Argent, Théâtre de Pont-Château,
the AME Media Library in Montargis,
the Bleu Pluriel Festival in Trégueux,
the Lettres Persanes Association in Paris, and more.
Biography of Rana Gorgani
Rana Gorgani is revolutionizing Sufi dance. As one of the rare female whirling dervishes, she elevates Sufi dance to the level of a spiritual art. Born in 1984 in Germany to an Iranian mother and a Kurdish father, she grew up in France, where she still lives. As a teenager, she joined a Sufi brotherhood; since then, this spirituality has nourished her thought and her art.
In 2009, she founded the company L’Œil Persan, the first in Europe dedicated to highlighting the traditional dances of the Persian world. Prestigious collaborations soon followed: with the Guimet Museum, the Institut du Monde Arabe, and others.
In 2014, she began a Master’s degree in Dance Anthropology, conducting research among one of Iran’s nomadic peoples. Although not Sufi, their daily life embodied the essence of this spirituality. Rana realized then: everything belongs to everyone.
In 2016, upon completing her research, she chose to stop performing traditional dances, feeling they no longer aligned with her authenticity, and devoted herself entirely to Sufi dance.
She shared her practice with broader audiences through The Paths of the Sacred, a documentary by Frédéric Lenoir for ARTE. She is regularly invited to perform and teach at festivals in France and abroad: the On danse chez vous Festival at Théâtre National de Chaillot, the Festival des Suds in Arles, the Balbek Festival in Lebanon, the Al-Burda Festival in Dubai, among others.
In 2017, she accepted an invitation from étoile dancer Marie-Agnès Gillot to perform in a carte blanche event in Paris. It was a success and the beginning of many collaborations with major artists such as Birds on a Wire, choreographer Dimitri Chamblas, the Haïdouti Orkestar, choreographer Mehdi Kerkouche, pianist Simon Ghraichy, and others. She has performed at the Institut de France, the Institut du Monde Arabe, and the 1001 Notes Festival.
Through her many artistic collaborations, her performances, and the knowledge she generously shares, Rana Gorgani is undoubtedly one of the foremost ambassadors of Sufi spirituality in the West.
Technical conditions
Presented at:
between 60 minutes and 90 minutes
Presented at:
between 60 minutes and 90 minutes
Presented at:
between 60 minutes and 90 minutes