Dance of the Soul Honoring Rumi

Sema, Semah, Sacred Dance, Music, and Poetry Honoring Sheb-i Arus

Join us this night to celebrate our fellowship in love and spirit with whirling dance (Sema and Semah), meditation, music, and poetry. Sheb-i Arus commemorates the death and thereby union between the Persian mystical poet Rumi and the universe.

We will open with sacred and mystical Sufi poetry (Farsi and English), meditation with sacred sounds, candle gazing, Hu meditation, healing circles with ancient Zoroastrian rituals, journey into whirling with live and recorded music, then close our gathering with prayer. sacred circles and zikr.

Farima’s monthly Sema Gathering offers a unique expression of sacred culture, inspired by nature, ancient Iranic rituals, and the beautiful spiritual traditions of Sufism. We will whirl and journey together to celebrate love, unity, and allow the light to enter our soul.

Open your heart! Listen! Turn, dance, and move in anyway that makes you feel alive!

Our gathering welcomes musicians and other spiritual or healing teachers to come and share their art.

$15-20 sliding scale donation. Your donation is greatly appreciated to help cover cost of rent.

Light snacks and drinks will be available.

Musicians — Feel free to bring your instruments and join our music circle. Let your heart guide your music during our open floor Sema.

Semazens — Open your heart and whirl!

Lovers, Seekers, and Watchers — Come and join our sacred circle. You are welcome to set and feel the healing energy, bring a poem to share, join our Zikr, pray with us, or just laugh or cry as we journey together to be closer to the light.

Guidelines and Tips

• We kindly ask for no talking on the whirling floor and to keep the Sema area quiet at all times. Respect yourself as well as those around you.
• For this gathering please wear comfortable clothing, whirling skirt (optional), socks or soft-soled shoes. Avoid eating a large meal 2 hours prior.

Farima Berenji

Farima is an award winning, internationally acclaimed performing artist, instructor, dance ethnologist, and archeologist. Recognized as one of few world experts and scholars of Persian dance history, Farima infuses spirituality into her dance and teachings to impassion, empower, and inspire. A Dervish and travels worldwide to research, perform, teach, and inspire dynamic creativity and rejuvenation through dance. Farima is founder and artistic director of the Simorgh Dance Collective, a member of the International Dance Council (CID-UNESCO), and a 2018 TEDx lecturer.

As a scholar, Farima presents new archeological discoveries and research upon Sufism and its connection to the ancient Zoroastrianism, the human body, and its symbolic meaning in the Universe along the pathway to the soul. She will introduce you to ritual movements celebrating the grace and joy of life and to a society where and when people lived in harmony with each other and with nature. She teaches her own unique movement and techniques that are researched and inspired during her various studies in Khaneqas (Sufi Houses) and Fire temples of Khorasan, Kurdistan, Tehran, Azerbaijan, Altai Mountains, Turkey, and Shiraz.