This vibrant, energising, circle dance, often called "We Circle Around" derives from the Arapaho Sioux Ghost-Dance Uprising - A 19th century Spirited Revival Religion. The Ghost Dance movement arose at a time when the Native American Tribes of North America, after prolonged contact with the "White Man" immigrants, were losing touch with their traditions, their ancestors and their close connection with nature. They were falling into alcohol addiction, crime and the breakdown of family and community structure ("soul-loss").

This dance derived from that uplifting tradition and affirms that we are not just human individuals living in a material world, but also part of a bigger community of spirited beings who are deeply connected to the earth and also capable of flying beyond the limitations of the material world on an exhilarating flight of free spirit. We respect and enjoy the boundaries (limits) of our earthly life experience and the co-creative experience of community life, but we are not limited by these resources. You can read more about the historical origin of this dance in "The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890" (Amazon links: UK & Europe   Canada   USA)

 

The movements and words ["Wearing the long wing feathers as I fly..."]
of the third phase of this dance are a symbolic acting out of the Native American "Firebird" - igniting the spark of our transcendental reality.