In mid-February, on two consecutive days, the Kalna skola
a dance meditation training takes place. The course was led by Sister Diana OP and Assistant Professor of the Department of Dance Education Guna Ezermale. In addition to participants from Catholic and Lutheran Madona parishes.
participated in the courses a Japanese girl who is currently studying in Ventspils and in her free time she studies Latvian folk dances because she wants to participate in the song and dance festival.
Impressions from some of the participants:
Marite:
It was very nice to meet after a long break, enjoy the dance and the shared experience. Also to hear the testimonies of the challenges in prayer and dance. This time, one movement in particular appealed to me in ” Dance of Silence.” Now I realized that the third position is like Jesus’ nailed feet on the cross, that I too must lean on my pain to breathe and change.
Sophie:
The dance meditation reached me in a roundabout way. First, it was about me getting into meditation. I got involved because all the circumstances fit together very well,
At that time, I set the goal of getting in touch with my body. Now I long for the special mood and atmosphere Sister Diana is able to create when we dance and pray. Sometimes it seems that the dance is too difficult, but then the music comes, we join hands and the dance happens.
Danute:
Sometimes it happens – the music starts and I think that I can’t remember anything, that I can only spin in circles, but – what a miracle!
When other dancers join in, we get a rhythmic movement and even a dance pattern! This shows the strength of the community, the harmony, the unspoken but existing support.
Sandra:
For me, meditation of dance means allowing God’s presence and not worrying about mistakes. Being able to walk through the awareness of my weakness and allow the group to help me. It is a great gift in dance to realize that you are accepted. Dance meditation is like a prayerful, straight path through the heart to God, bypassing the mind that tries to control and bring into tension. A great way to learn to trust And yet it’s a very different way to draw closer to God, to be in prayer, and to free yourself from everyday problems. I feel transported to another world, a little closer to the kingdom of heaven!
(from magazine “Kapt kalna” March 2023, Inese Elsina, translated by Sr.Diana)