Beyond Words: An Interfaith Ritual for Peace
at the Parliament of World Religions in 2015
“Beyond Words: an Interfaith Ritual for Peace” was presented followed by a discussion led by Carla De Sola, Sister Martha Ann Kirk, Th.D., and Enver Rahmanov at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the largest religious gathering in the world, held in Salt Lake City, October 15-19, 2015. There were over 80 nations and 50 faiths represented. Read more about the Parliament here.
Beyond Words is a dance ritual choreographed by Carla De Sola that incorporates greetings of peace, chants, and movement from Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Native traditions. All are invited to participate in chants, simple gestures, and the discussion afterward. The ceremony begins with persons of different religions blending waters from sacred sites and sharing prayers of peace in their languages. Each of the religions is represented through a dance that gracefully integrates gestures and worship elements from that tradition, performed by trained dancers. Dances are connected through movement that symbolizes the river which knows no borders satisfying the thirst of all who drink from it. Water is significant in religious traditions, is critical for life, and calls us to environmental justice. The final movement culminates in a joyous spiral dance open to all participants to bestow the blessings of peace.
Carla DeSola will describe how the ritual has been used and how it could be adapted for groups. Discussion will be led by and Sister Martha Ann Kirk, Th.D., an author and professor focusing on arts and peacebuilding, and Enver Rahmanov, who holds an MA in Interreligious Studies from the Graduate Theological Union who has assisted with the ritual, in this video.
Presenters: Carla De Sola, sacred dancer, choreographer, teacher, and author, founded Omega Liturgical Dance Company at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City and Omega West in the San Francisco Bay Area. Omega was founded to express the spiritual-human-social-healing dimensions of dance, exploring inner aspects of movement integrated with world’s spiritual resources. She holds a Diploma from Juilliard and an MA from Pacific School of Religion. She teaches at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley.
Sister Martha Ann Kirk, Th.D., a professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, and the 2013 San Antonio Peace Laureate, is currently working on her seventh book, a biography of Carla De Sola. Among her books are Iraqi Women of Three Generations: Challenges, Education, and Hopes for Peace; Growing Seeds of Peace; Women of Bible Lands: A Pilgrimage to Compassion and Wisdom; Celebrations of Biblical Women’s Stories; and Dancing with Creation. More here.
Enver Rahmanov was born in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where he was trained as a folk dancer. He received his Master of Arts degree in Interreligious Studies from the Graduate Theological Union and the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. A former UN diplomat, and Contributing Scholar for the State of Formation, an online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders, Enver now works for Maitri Compassionate Care in San Francisco.
Dancers:
Claudia Florian-McCaffrey, a modern dance graduate from the Juilliard School, is a teacher, choreographer, and Yoga instructor in the San Francisco Bay area. She performs with the Omega West Dance Company and has been artistic director for dance in All Saints Church in Hayward, CA. Through the Julia Morgan Center of the Arts she teaches dance in public schools. She mentors students in the holistic exploration of the body through meditation and modern dance. www.claudiadanceyoga.com
Sabine Henrie came to liturgical dance with a background in ballet, modern, and folk dance. She began dancing with Omega West as a graduate student at the Graduate Theological Union over 20 years ago. She lives in Berkeley, California where she is a homemaker and mother of three boys, as well as, a childbirth educator and lactation counselor. Active in the Jewish Renewal community, she continues to explore ways to incorporate dance with davening.
Karin Jensen, a member of the First Congregational Church of Alameda, UCC, began dancing with Omega West in 2010. Karin has a background in classical ballet and has performed with the San Jose Dance Theater, Berkeley City Ballet, and Alameda Civic Ballet. She graduated from Ballroom Dance Teacher's College and is a DVIDA certified Argentine Tango instructor. She teaches ballet to children at Alameda Ballet Academy and ballroom dancing at Just Dance Ballroom, Oakland, CA.
David W. McCauley enjoyed almost 15 years with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation, Inc., as student, instructor, and performer. While in New York City, he performed with the Pearl Primus Dance Company, and Omega Liturgical Dance Company. Since 1990, David has been a resident of San Francisco, and is a founding member of Omega West Dance Company. He has directed Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp at Cal Performances on the University of California Berkeley campus since 2001.
Sylvia Miller-Mutia is a dancer and choreographer, an Episcopal priest, and a mother of three young children. She holds a BFA in ballet performance from the University of Utah, and graduate degrees in theology from Pacific School of Religion and Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She is currently serving as rector of St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, NM.
Ritual Assistance:
Poet, singer, scholar, sacred artist, world traveler, Stephen McDermott Myers teaches public school in his native San Francisco. For many years he sang bass (and toured South Africa) with the freedom song choir Vukani Mawethu, and the Negro Spirituals with the Lucy Kinchen Chorale, and performed as poetic soloist with Jonathan Dimmock's Artist Vocal Ensemble. He has an M.A. in Theology and the Arts from Pacific School of Religion. A Thunder Dreamer, Esteban was given the name Tall Tree by the Blackfeet elders of Alberta.
We are grateful to many helping to make this possible, including Betsey Beckman and The Dancing Word , Beverly Hall , James M. Somerville in memory of Beatrice Bruteau, Pacific School of Religion, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, and the University of the Incarnate Word.
Beyond Words is a dance ritual choreographed by Carla De Sola that incorporates greetings of peace, chants, and movement from Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Native traditions. All are invited to participate in chants, simple gestures, and the discussion afterward. The ceremony begins with persons of different religions blending waters from sacred sites and sharing prayers of peace in their languages. Each of the religions is represented through a dance that gracefully integrates gestures and worship elements from that tradition, performed by trained dancers. Dances are connected through movement that symbolizes the river which knows no borders satisfying the thirst of all who drink from it. Water is significant in religious traditions, is critical for life, and calls us to environmental justice. The final movement culminates in a joyous spiral dance open to all participants to bestow the blessings of peace.
Carla DeSola will describe how the ritual has been used and how it could be adapted for groups. Discussion will be led by and Sister Martha Ann Kirk, Th.D., an author and professor focusing on arts and peacebuilding, and Enver Rahmanov, who holds an MA in Interreligious Studies from the Graduate Theological Union who has assisted with the ritual, in this video.
Presenters: Carla De Sola, sacred dancer, choreographer, teacher, and author, founded Omega Liturgical Dance Company at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City and Omega West in the San Francisco Bay Area. Omega was founded to express the spiritual-human-social-healing dimensions of dance, exploring inner aspects of movement integrated with world’s spiritual resources. She holds a Diploma from Juilliard and an MA from Pacific School of Religion. She teaches at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley.
Sister Martha Ann Kirk, Th.D., a professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, and the 2013 San Antonio Peace Laureate, is currently working on her seventh book, a biography of Carla De Sola. Among her books are Iraqi Women of Three Generations: Challenges, Education, and Hopes for Peace; Growing Seeds of Peace; Women of Bible Lands: A Pilgrimage to Compassion and Wisdom; Celebrations of Biblical Women’s Stories; and Dancing with Creation. More here.
Enver Rahmanov was born in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where he was trained as a folk dancer. He received his Master of Arts degree in Interreligious Studies from the Graduate Theological Union and the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. A former UN diplomat, and Contributing Scholar for the State of Formation, an online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders, Enver now works for Maitri Compassionate Care in San Francisco.
Dancers:
Claudia Florian-McCaffrey, a modern dance graduate from the Juilliard School, is a teacher, choreographer, and Yoga instructor in the San Francisco Bay area. She performs with the Omega West Dance Company and has been artistic director for dance in All Saints Church in Hayward, CA. Through the Julia Morgan Center of the Arts she teaches dance in public schools. She mentors students in the holistic exploration of the body through meditation and modern dance. www.claudiadanceyoga.com
Sabine Henrie came to liturgical dance with a background in ballet, modern, and folk dance. She began dancing with Omega West as a graduate student at the Graduate Theological Union over 20 years ago. She lives in Berkeley, California where she is a homemaker and mother of three boys, as well as, a childbirth educator and lactation counselor. Active in the Jewish Renewal community, she continues to explore ways to incorporate dance with davening.
Karin Jensen, a member of the First Congregational Church of Alameda, UCC, began dancing with Omega West in 2010. Karin has a background in classical ballet and has performed with the San Jose Dance Theater, Berkeley City Ballet, and Alameda Civic Ballet. She graduated from Ballroom Dance Teacher's College and is a DVIDA certified Argentine Tango instructor. She teaches ballet to children at Alameda Ballet Academy and ballroom dancing at Just Dance Ballroom, Oakland, CA.
David W. McCauley enjoyed almost 15 years with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation, Inc., as student, instructor, and performer. While in New York City, he performed with the Pearl Primus Dance Company, and Omega Liturgical Dance Company. Since 1990, David has been a resident of San Francisco, and is a founding member of Omega West Dance Company. He has directed Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp at Cal Performances on the University of California Berkeley campus since 2001.
Sylvia Miller-Mutia is a dancer and choreographer, an Episcopal priest, and a mother of three young children. She holds a BFA in ballet performance from the University of Utah, and graduate degrees in theology from Pacific School of Religion and Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She is currently serving as rector of St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, NM.
Ritual Assistance:
Poet, singer, scholar, sacred artist, world traveler, Stephen McDermott Myers teaches public school in his native San Francisco. For many years he sang bass (and toured South Africa) with the freedom song choir Vukani Mawethu, and the Negro Spirituals with the Lucy Kinchen Chorale, and performed as poetic soloist with Jonathan Dimmock's Artist Vocal Ensemble. He has an M.A. in Theology and the Arts from Pacific School of Religion. A Thunder Dreamer, Esteban was given the name Tall Tree by the Blackfeet elders of Alberta.
We are grateful to many helping to make this possible, including Betsey Beckman and The Dancing Word , Beverly Hall , James M. Somerville in memory of Beatrice Bruteau, Pacific School of Religion, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, and the University of the Incarnate Word.