She still dances at age 89!

Marj
at our booth at Strawberry Festival
my painting is in the background

Barely 5' tall and 120 pounds soaking wet (she thinks she's overweight!) this young woman is still dancing at age 89! That's my mom! She's set the bar pretty high, don't you think?

And now she plans to be in a play! I don't think she has been in a play since high school! She will be the old lady ("type casting," she says) in A Child's Christmas in Wales, adapted for stage, to be performed Dec 19-26th on Vashon Island.

That's my mom. She does Qi Gung daily, and is working on her 3rd historical novel. She plays the stock market and wins, writes a regular cooking column for a local paper. And she always has an answer when I need a natural remedy for what ails me.  

I would only believe in a God who knew how to dance.

drummer

Friedrich Nietzsche
: Without music, life would be a mistake… I would only believe in a God who knew how to dance.

I have been having such fun at the Dances of Universal Peace! These are circle dances, easy to learn and to sing, from traditions all over the world,  prayers in song and motion. I love this quote from Rumi:

“Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.”
― Rumi

musicians and dance leaders preparing for the dance

A typical Dance evening might include movements to Ava Maria from the Catholic tradition,  La illa ha il Allah from Muslim worship, a Celtic earth song, a Hindu song, and a Jewish song. Each short song is taught by a trained dance leader, then danced and sung several times until there is an easy synergy flowing among the dancers. The dances are easy to learn. Musicians accompany the dances to keep the beat and the melody.

And they are coming to Vashon! Rifaat and I are organizing for dances every month starting in January. Musicians will come from Seattle, and everyone is invited! Initially we will dance in my living room, and will find a larger venue as needed. 

musicians preparing for the dance

http://dancesofuniversalpeacena.org