Weekend Exclusive | Zia Nath's Mystical World of Sufi Dance

Zia Nath is the founder of Sufi Splendor, a culmination of three diverse dances forms into one show, with Sufi music and poetry as the common thread that connects them all. Sufi Splendour was originated by her in 2007 and since then she has performed these dances at several cultural and prestigious events around the country. Nath is also a teacher of The Gurdjieff Sacred Dances and Sufi Whirling, regularly holding workshops in Mumbai and around the country, teaching and sharing this sacred art form. She trained as a jazz and ballet dancer with Shiamak Davar and performed with him between 1990 and 1996. Later, she began to learn the Gurdjieff sacred movements at the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune, a secret sacred dance of the temples of the Middle East that Armenian mystic George Gurdjieff promoted. She began learning the temple dance Odissi, five years ago.

When Adgully met Nath she shared some beautiful insights about her the art she has mastered in her career. She is essentially a solo artist specializing in the fusion of Sufi Whirling and Odissi Recitals. Upon invitation she has collaborated with many accomplished artists, musicians and dancers, bringing versatility and creativity weaved into the mystical music, poetry and dances for Sufi Splendour. When not spreading the work on Sufi whirling, she practices Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy at her clinic Quanta Health Care Solutions in Mumbai.

She went on to explain in detail the history  behind Sufi whirling and Sacred Dances. Whirling, or turning, is as old as dance itself. Every dance discipline around the world has turning or whirling techniques. It is believed to have originated as a whirling discipline in Egypt as far back as the 9th or 10th century and was taught and practiced in sacred esoteric temple to ascend to higher consciousness. It was revived again with the meeting of Shams and Rumi and Rumi’s personal journey with the whirling movements. Jalal ad-Din Rumi a 13th century philosopher and Sufi mystic of Persian origin was introduced to whirling dances by his teacher, Shams of Tabriz, who was an enlightened mystic and Sufi dervish. For Rumi, whirling was not just a dance or movement; it became a phenomenon that helped him along his path to enlightenment. The stillness in the body that came out of whirling movements became a bridge to his higher consciousness, realising that all that is outside and within is the expression of the divine. He experienced the mystique of life and the divine as he whirled. The whirling movement outside carried his presence deeper to the very centre of his being, where he found a moment of rest and stillness—a meeting with the divine. Rumi’s students of Sufi Whirling formed the Mevlevi Order – Order of the Sufi Whirling Dervishes and this became a spiritual practice towards personal enlightenment and liberation.  This journey that these dances inspire brings sacredness to our life and hence called the sacred dances.

When asked, how she was released into this mystical world of sufi dance form, she said, “About 20 years ago, I watched a meditation of Sufi whirling at the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune. I jumped in and started turning. It was a profound experience; I was so tuned in to the music, that I allowed it to carry me. I whirled and turned and I stopped only after the music stopped 45 minutes later. It was a timeless space and I felt a strong sense of oneness in my body and with the music. Identities and separations melted away. I knew then I would never stop turning.”

When asked about the association with the Conde Nast Traveller magazine, Zia Nath said, “Mariza  from Conde Nast India heard a radio interview of mine about Sufi Whirling. And she remembered this when they were planning a feature on Turkey. So she got in touch with me and organized this wonderful workshop.” 

Alongside her performances she also started to teach this dance form. In regard to this she said, “I spent about 10 years of practice in the tradition of Gurdjieff Sufi Sacred Dances with world-renowned teachers of the path. I was also simultaneously going deeper into the self practice of Sufi Whirling…. I found the discipline and the orientation of self-awareness for both dances to be similar and complementing one another.”

“The practice of each of these disciplines of sacred dances was supporting the deepening of the other. After about 10 years of being submerged in this work as a student, I started to teach and share these dances. I conceptualized and originated my dance show Sufi Splendour in 2007. Bringing together the 3 different dance forms that I had studies – Gurdjieff Sacred Dances from ancient Sufi temples, Sufi Whirling and Odissi Temples dances of India. Sufi Splendour is a confluence of sacred art – dances, music and poetry,” Nath adds. 

Some of her landmark performances include Sufi Splendour at prestigious dance festivals around the country, such as Kartik Poornima at Jag Mandir, Udaipur in 2007, at the Ahlaan International Awards Dubai, 2011 and she has also performed for The World Sufi Music Festival of Jahan-e – Khusrao at Delhi, Lucknow and Jaipur, 2012.

Speaking about the response she has received till date , Nath stated that audiences are always wowed by the dance form and dance technique. They are very appreciative of the aesthetic synthesis of blending the 3 diverse sacred dances together. They all love the music I use – which is exclusive and gifted to me by very gifted talent sufi musicians and I always thank them for this music. So the music is something that people from all age groups and backgrounds can relate to – its universal and timeless in its quality and this is the same essence that is present in my dances – its old and new, its coming from the past and influenced by the present. So people love the diversity of this work.

According to her, while in the process of the dance, the dancer’s consciousness shifts to a state of meditation and the people watching resonate with this and feel a shift within themselves too. They often convey to her their different emotions viz. of feeling  elated, a sense of stillness or a deep silence, a quietness of mind and joy in the body etc. The dance practice, the dance performance, the dance space and the audience are also embraced by an esoteric sacred experience and this is what touches the audience most. They forget about the dance technique as they are so deeply touched by the experience of sacredness within.