Loose Leaf Notes

– The following was first published at Floyd Times on December 17, 2025.

Drawn from the World’s wisdom traditions, the Dances of Universal Peace are simple, meditative circle dances that use sacred phrases, chants, music and movement to cultivate inner joy and peace. The dances, originally called “Sufi Dances,” were first introduced to the world in the late ‘60s by Sufi teacher Samuel L. Lewis and are currently practiced worldwide.

“We will be honoring this time of deep darkness and anticipating the return of light,” read the invitation for December’s Dances of Universal Peace, held at the Floyd Center for the Arts on Sunday.

“It’s an embodied peace practice,” said Rachel Theo-Maurelli, one of the three dance teachers present. “The point is to create peace within that we can then share with the world.”

The songs and dances are chosen to align with and celebrate the seasons. “We choose a theme that celebrates the solar aspect of creation through all of the world’s traditions, through the lens of inter-faith and inter-cultural expression,” said Dances of Universal Peace teacher Ashera Rose. “In December it’s the celebration of light, which we are doing tonight.

A third dance teacher, Tajali Tolan, who had just moved to Floyd from Montana, led some of the dances, along with Theo-Maurelli and Rose. Jeff Tiebout provided acoustic guitar music to accompany the dances.

The dances and singing went from introspective to playful and celebratory. “Deep down in the valley of the night… dream deep winter dreams… lie safe in your grandmother’s arms… still as a seed…” the first song began. Silence is observed before going on to another dance.

The group Facebook page for Dances of Universal Peace in Floyd states that there are 68 members. Because of the frigid weather, Sunday’s dance turnout was small, but it was deeply engaging and devotional.  The next Dance will be February 22, 2026.