June Watts Circle Dancing: Celebrating the Sacred in Dance

June Watts Circle Dancing: Celebrating the Sacred in Dance

"The challenge that Sacred Circle Dance offers is to find freedom within form. It is after all the eternal challenge of any society - how do I find my own dance, live the life I want to lead, within the confines and rules and obligations of the community."

This book combines lively and candid autobiography, with a history of the development of Sacred Circle Dance since its introduction at Findhorn by Bernard Wosien in 1976. June Watts speaks movingly of her connection with Terpsichore, the Muse of the Dance.

The book also functions as a dance manual; exploring technique and form whilst emphasizing the inner spirit. Clear distinctions are drawn between Sacred Circle Dance, folk dancing and more popular forms, such as salsa. She explains that the circle is the oldest dance form on the Earth and that it is "predominantly the awareness of energy that puts sacred circle dance on a different level Sacred Circle Dance in a gentle healing way brings body, mind and spirit together. It relieves stress, releases creative energy and helps the dancer feel both centred and connected. It is meditation in movement."

June explains that because there is "meaning and energy encoded in the dance" the form of the steps function as a gateway to the formless, and that this can only come out, once the steps have become automatic." She talks about how the dancers integrate the vertical and horizontal axes, and unite them with the centre of the circle to create inner and outer harmony. At the same time, the essence of Sacred Circle Dance is not about "getting the steps right" and nobody is watching, but rather "the sense of oneness and peace that comes from moving rhythmically in a supportive circle." "On a deeper level, and put simplistically and baldly, what we are doing is re-creating balance between masculine energy and feminine energy, between the circle and the line."

There is something vast in this book which links the reader to the heart of culture, the heart of art - the heart of 'The Dance' that is life. It is a valuable and original contribution to the body of literature on creative movement. It is very accessible and will appeal to anyone who longs to dance, but has never quite found the right form; as well as being inspirational for dancers, body workers, therapists and expressive movement teachers of all genres.