Dance of the Soul Weekend Intensive

Sacred Dance and Healing Workshops

Sacred and Mystical Dances of the Silk Road

Saturday, Feb. 11, 12-3PM

Sacred Circle — A Shamanic Journey

Saturday, Feb. 11, 6-8PM

Turns, Circles, Spirals, and Sufi Whirling

Saturday, Feb. 12, 12-3PM

Registration

$130 for both days OR $70 for individual days.

$40 non-refundable deposit to hold your spot.

Farima Berenji

Farima Berenji is an award winning Dance Ethnologist and internationally acclaimed dance artist, choreographer, instructor, and an archaeologist specializing in ancient, sacred, classical, and folkloric dances of Persia, Ionia, and the Silk Road. Recognized as one of a few world scholarly experts of ancient and mystical Iranian dance ethnology by UNESCO, she travels worldwide to record, research, lecture, perform, educate, and to inspire dynamic creativity and rejuvenation through dance and movement.

As a Magi (Iranian Shaman), Sufi, and Semazen, Farima is an exceptionally inspiring instructor strongly connected to spirituality and healing. She seeks to lead people to the historic beauty and richness of Persia and the Silk Road culture and to aid them find inner bliss through dance, music, and spirituality. Farima teaches her own original findings, methods, techniques, and exercises to uncover the connection between the soul and dance movement and what make an ARTIST instead of just a dancer.

She will introduce you to ritual movements celebrating the grace and joy of life and to a society where and when women were honored and people lived in harmony with each other and with nature. She will show you how dance depicts the creation of the Universe through a spinning series of fantastic formations, metamorphoses, and rhythms. Farima will introduce you to ancient and contemporary Persian knowledge in a way that will make you proud to be a woman and yourself. Farima’s vision is to bring back the light and the power of the divine feminine, the Goddesses and Lionesses, through dance, education, and a sense of wonder and reverence. Farima infuses spirituality into her dance and teachings to impassion, empower, and inspire her students to deeply understand the meaning of culture and dance, to explore dance as a powerful means of expressing emotion and spiritual healing, and to use dance as a dialogue among cultures.

Farima is the founder and artistic director of the Simorgh Dance Collective (founded in 2007). She is the first Iranian dance artist to found a worldwide collaborative devoted to preservation, performance, and promotion of ancient, classical, and folkloric dance of Persia and the Silk Road. Farima is the founder of the Lioness project, Poetry in Motion project, and the Awakening project. She has appeared in scholarly documentaries hosted by National Geographic and the U.N., and has been highlighted in various international media Farima is the recipient of the prestigious UN award and has been recognized by Congressman Mike Honda, by the Iranian Women’s Rights Committee “30 Voices,” Music and Cultural Organization of Turkey, and is the first Iranian woman to be awarded the National Folk Dance Award. Farima and her Simorgh Dance Collective was the first Persian dance company, directed by an Iranian to perform during a reception for US President Obama.