Before the inception of "Music Therapy", "Art Therapy", or "Dance Therapy", tribal and village cultures renewed their sense of connection and place in the Cosmos through ritual celebrations. Singing, dancing and chanting to music were natural ways to invoke the Great Mysteries of Life, and to mark the seasonal rhythms of the Earth.

The Dances of Universal Peace revive this human tradition with a new awareness of the Earth as our global village, and with peace as the acknowledged root desire of all her peoples. Through simple movements and songs we tap the essence of the world's wisdom traditions and bring them into a circle of wholeness where we can start to experience the reality of unity through diversity.

The Dances were founded in the late 1960's in San Francisco by Samuel L. Lewis, with the purpose of promoting peace worldwide. They consist of uncomplicated movements performed in a circle, combined with short lyrics, ranging from meditative to celebratory in quality. Together with live music, they create an uplifting atmosphere and a sense of unity and community among the participants.

The simple acts of joining hands, lifting our voices in thanksgiving, looking deeply into the eyes of other dancers and moving our bodies in the rhythms of the music, create an ease of belonging to a greater community.

The dances evoke feelings of love, joy, compassion, ecstasy, peace, stillness, and unity. Now shared by millions of people worldwide, the Dances of Universal Peace express a feeling deeper than language, a connection that transcends nationality, and even personality.

Come observe a diverse array of holidays including: New Year's Eve, May Day, Earth Day. Good Friday, Easter Sunrise, Solstices and Equinoxes, Full Moons and Kwanza. Special guest musicians and traveling international artists are periodically invited to present as well.

DANCE LOCATIONS:

Boulder Dance
$10/class
High School and University Students with a valid ID $7
Every Friday 7:15 p.m.
Community United Church of Christ
2650 Table Mesa Dr. (1st driveway on left west of Lehigh)

Denver Dance
$10/class
High School and University Students with a valid ID $7
Every Wednesday 7:15 p.m.
The Administration Building at the Clayton Early Learning Center
3801 Martin Luther King Blvd.

Directions: from Colorado Blvd. turn west on MLK Blvd., turn right at the first drive into campus (approx. 200 yards from CO. Blvd.) Admin. Bldg. is straight ahead with a circle drive. Parking on east side of the building.

Dancing Deeply at Starhouse
$12/class
2nd Saturday 7:15 p.m.
3472 Sunshine Canyon Dr.
Boulder, Colorado
(3.5 miles up Sunshine Canyon from the hospital at 4th and Mapleton)
For those with previous experience with at least one dance

Spiritkeepers
Sunday 10:00 a.m. (Except for 1st Sunday)
The West Boulder Senior Center
909 Arapahoe Avenue (NE corner of 9th & Arapahoe)
Boulder, CO

Click here to find directions on Mapquest