Thursday, January 23, 1997
DANCE:
Tour to partake in spellbinding spiritual performance at
theaterBy Susan Lee
Daily Bruin Contributor
Like a twister touching down briefly, the Whirling Dervishes
pause to perform for a sold-out audience Friday at the Wadsworth
Theater before spinning off along their 13-city North American
tour.
Similar to their visits in 1978 and 1994, the Whirling Dervishes
plan to enlighten Western audiences as they partake in the Sema, an
ancient Mevlavi whirling ceremony. Kabir Helminski, the company
manager for the group, will lead a CenterStage Lecture before the
performance.
"The Sema is a ceremony of worship, a meditation in movement, in
which the human being becomes a pure axis, integrating all levels
of being within himself, including the physical, emotional, mental
and spiritual levels," Helminski explains.
Known for holding audiences silent and spellbound with their
spiritual performances, the Dervishes will twirl to Turkish tunes
performed by the Mevlevi Ensemble and Koran recitations of vocalist
Kani Karaca.
The Mevlevi Ensemble, which consists of Turkish musicians
playing traditional instruments like the ney (flute), oud and
tanbur (lutes), percussion and kemenche (violin), will perform
alongside Karaca, whom Helminski describes as a "combination of
Pavarotti and Ray Charles."
Spiritually influenced by founder Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
(1207-1273), a literary master who was both poet, philosopher and
Sufi mystic, the beginning of the mystic order known as the
Whirling Dervishes dates back to 1247. In a small Konya garden,
according to legend, Mevlana began a spinning which brought him
closer to God.
Once performed for religious reasons, the institutions of Sufism
have been banned in Turkey since 1925. Performances are now only
tolerated when done on behalf of the culture or heritage of Turkey,
rather than as a form of worship. The Whirling Dervishes are also
allowed to perform once a year on the December anniversary of
Rumi’s death.
Though Western audiences may enjoy the spiritual mysticism and
hypnotizing whirling, they may also wonder what exactly a Dervish
is. Helminski explains that Dervishes are "people who stand between
the material and spiritual worlds between slavery to worldly desire
and freedom."
With the left foot planted firmly on the ground and the right
one pushing, the Dervishes spin in a state of hyper-consciousness,
never once showing dizziness. With arms open and outstretched, each
Sufi spinner focuses inward as he revolves on his own center, right
arm lifted to receive heavenly blessings while the left hand is
turned palm-down toward the earth to transmit it to earthly
existence.
As the Whirling Dervishes rotate counterclockwise, each wears a
wide, flowing white skirt, representing a shroud, and a camel hair
hat, representing a tombstone. When they first walk out, they are
dressed in black cloaks. By removing this cloak, the Dervish is
spiritually reborn to the truth.
"The individual Dervish must be able to expand his awareness to
include several dimensions at once," Helminski says.
"He or she must focus on his or her own physical axis …
revolving 360 degrees with each step, inwardly pronouncing the name
of God, keeping an awareness of exactly where he is in the space
and the narrow margins of error in this tight choreography, while
turning with a deep love of God," adds Helminski.
Integrating the mind, love, and the soul, the ritual is deeply
personal for each Dervish and provides a link between earth and
divine love. They have nothing but love to give, which is why
audiences of all ages will find that the Dervishes turn a dance
ceremony into something that is both spiritually and aesthetically
moving.
DANCE: The Whirling Dervishes perform Friday at the Veterans
Wadsworth Theater. Tickets are $30, $27, $13 for students. For more
information, call 825-2101.
UCLA Center for the Performing Arts
"The Whirling Dervishes" will perform at the Veterans Wadsworth
Theater Friday.