Join us for a very special Dance Lab gathering featuring an Ecstatic Dance journey with DJ Omar Aena and an opening workshop in Sufi Whirling by guest teachers Dervish Aziz & Anna Whirling.
In the opening workshop, we will practice movement exercises with Sufi chanting and begin to learn the practice of Sufi whirling. We will share mystic poetry and a short discussions about Sufism. This is a physical practice that uses body movements and chanting for a heart-opening experience of the Unity of Love in the human body. We will be given a taste of this Sufi ecstatic experience.
This workshop is open for everybody in all levels of experience.
Come with an open heart, wear comfortable clothing for movement and bring socks.This will be a safe and inclusive space, welcoming people from all walks of life to freely express themselves through movement. No prior dance experience is required, just come as you are!
Make it an overnight getaway! We are offering a 20% discount on guest rooms for Dance Lab ticket holders on the night of Sunday June 18th. To book a room after purchasing your ticket, contact us at info@rblodge.com or 413.229.2916.
Sunday, June 18th, 2023 / Doors open at 230pm, event begins at 3.
In the Barnspace at Race Brook Lodge
864 South Undermountain road ( AKA Rt 41 ) Sheffield, MA
Ticket Price: $20- Advance tickets/ $25- at the door.
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS | Facebook Event Link
Artist Bios
Omar Aena is a world-music DJ, community organizer and event producer of Iraqi descent, based in NYC. Omar is the founder of Dance Lab, a Brooklyn-based collective that explores dance as a form of somatic therapy. As a DJ, Omar mixes together traditional world music with electronic sounds, with a particular focus on songs from his middle-eastern heritage + hip hop from his upbringing in NYC. Listen to Omar’s DJ mixes on Soundcloud.
Anna Whirling is from Ukraine. In the beginning of the war she moved to Turkey and then came to the US. Anna has been practicing whirling all her life since childhood, and she has been teaching and performing on stage for over 20 years. Aziz Abbatiello was raised in an American Mevlevi family, as he started to walk the path of the mystics following in the tradition of the Sufi. He was initiated as Semazen in 1996, and has made Sema with several Sufi groups in America and abroad.
Dervish Aziz Abbatiello was raised in an American Mevlevi family, as he started to walk the path of the mystics following in the tradition of the Sufi, he longed to turn Sema with the dervishes, he waited in service for several years before he was formally admitted into study of the Turn, and trained with Postneshin Jelaluddin Loras, Pir of the Mevlevi Order of America. He was initiated as Semazen in 1996, and has made Sema with several Sufi groups in America and abroad. He has traveled the world in pursuit of spiritual experience, and participates in many global peace, traditional & new music, and interfaith events. Aziz seeks to embody the experience of union with the Divine, with his feet rooted deep in faith. He is a carpenter by trade, specializing in fine woodworking.
Race Brook Lodge is a hidden gem in The Berkshires, at the foot of Mt. Race and a short hike from the Appalachian trail. The yoga & event barn at Race Brook is simultaneously rustic and sublime, steeped in hundreds of years of New England history. The Stagecoach Tavern is unpretentious fine dining, exquisite farm-to-table cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. Much of the food is sourced from Race Farm, right on the property!
EXPLORE RACE BROOK LODGE
