From the moment you begin seeking Love, you begin to change, inwardly and outwardly.
– Shams-i-Tabrizi
Tale - The Butterfly and the Flame
Once upon a time, on one summer evening, the butterflies gathered in assembly. They all secretly adored the flame of a candle, and burned to know Love. The eldest among them, their sage, presided over the circle.
— One of us must go to her and bring back news, they said.
The first flew off. From a distance, through a curtain, he glimpsed a golden glow. He returned and described what he had seen. The sage shook his head: “This one has not seen the candle. He cannot speak to us of Love.”
A second was sent. This one drew closer, brushed the flame with his wing, and hurried back, singed, to tell what he had felt. The sage replied: “An incomplete account. We wish to know more.”
A third rose, drunk with passion, and went without being asked. He entered, embraced the flame, caught fire and was lost in her. From afar, he was seen for a brief instant, lighting up the darkness.
The sage said: “This one alone has become the flame. He alone knows Love.”
After Farîd ad-Dîn Attâr, The Conference of the Birds (12th century)
The Path of the Butterfly
The Path of the Butterfly offers a journey from Sufi dance to inner silence.
Sufism — or Tasawwuf — is an ancient mystical path, the way of the heart that Rumi speaks of. This thirst for the divine that passes through the body, the breath, music, poetry, beauty.
A path of shedding the old skins, to return to what is essential.
Samâ — spiritual listening — is at the heart of this path: a space where dance, Zikr (sacred chanting), music, poetry and tales converge. A space between the visible and the invisible.
The Path of the Butterfly is an invitation to taste. To dare to enter the flame rather than contemplate it. And to dissolve into the space thus created.
My approach is inspired by practices from the Sufi tradition, shared with respect and sincerity from my own journey. It does not constitute a traditional transmission, but offers a space for discovery and sharing.
This work is based on my training with Rana Gorgani and my practice with Videha. It is a path for those who are seeking a living, embodied, and sensitive way — and who are ready to commit to it with sincerity. No prior dance experience is necessary. Only the desire to step into this dance.
Upcoming Retreats
The Rapture of the Heart
This retreat is a progressive initiation to the Sama, the whirling dervish dance. My approach is rooted in the teaching of Rana Gorgani, with whom I trained.
We will work on the basic movements, posture, breathing, the vertical axis. You will learn to anchor yourself deeply in the body, to befriend the dizziness and find stability within the movement.
From Movement to Stillness
Five days to explore Sufi dance and silent meditation.
A path from body to heart, and from heart to silence.
This retreat is a progressive exploration of the Being, weaving together two practices that mirror each other: whirling and sitting in silence.
In the whirling, the mind quiets, the heart opens. Gradually, one discovers the silence at the centre of the whirling — and begins to inhabit the dance from that still place within.
in Gökçedere, Turkey.