The Dances of Universal Peace were initiated by American mystic Samuel L. Lewis (1896-1971), a Sufi murshid (teacher), Zen master and student of many sacred world traditions. As both a folk art and a spiritual practice, the Dances have a dual heritage: one free-flowing and expansive, the other a sacred trust and spiritual transmission.

The latter aspect deals with nurturing the growth of the Dances for future generations. Any transmission of the sacred has always been achieved, throughout human history, in a person-to-person relationship, a living existence regardless of organizations and institutions. This aspect of the Dance work is guided by the Mentor Teachers Guild of the Dances (MTG), a group empowered by Murshid Moineddin Jablonski (Samuel Lewis's spiritual successor) and the Sufi Ruhaniat International (SRI, the Sufi order started by Murshid Samuel Lewis). The work of the Mentor Teachers Guild has been confirmed by Pir Shabda Kahn, the present spiritual director of SRI. Guild members are of many faith backgrounds. Dance leaders are invited to join in a "traveling-with" relationship with a member of the Guild or another certified teacher.

The "traveling-with" (or supervision) is independent of any interest in certification. However, it does involve mutual agreement to written ethical guidelines and the Guild's Way of Working. In recommending teachers to the public, the Dance Network and its regional networkers give preference to certified and supervised teachers because of both their expertise and their agreement to be ethically guided in their leadership of these powerfully transformative practices. Similarly, use of the official Dance logo of entwined hearts is limited to supervised teachers who are dues-paying members of the Dance Network. For a full packet about the certification and supervision process, please see other links on the MTG web page or write the Dance Network administrative office, PO Box 55994, Seattle, WA 98155-0994, USA.

If you visit Dances of Universal Peace meetings worldwide, you should realize that Dance teachers differ dramatically in their experience, repertoire, ability, attunement and commitment. More than 400 different Dances currently exist and the body of Dances continues to grow to embrace all the sacred traditions of humanity. Some leaders know only a few Dances casually learned from a booklet or tape in order to share with their local community group or family. Others have studied for years, have deeply pursued their own emotional and spiritual processes with the Dances and have taken them as their life's work. It is natural for all levels of commitment to exist in a sacred practice which offers both surface and depth approaches, both the traditional and the radically creative.

Rev. September 2002