Whirling Dervishes with a Turkish Sacred Music Concert December 16, 2006

The Mevlevi Order of America presents: The Sema Ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes with a Turkish Sacred Music Concert.

Directed by Postneshin Jelaluddin Loras, the evening will feature Master Sufi Musicians direct from Turkey.
The Turkish musicians include Necati Celik, oud, Arif Bicer, ney and vocals (singer and Hafiz) and Ahmet Erdogdular, vocals (ayinhan). Musicians of the Mevlevi Order of America will include Jemaluddin Henke, ney, Talia Toni Marcus, violin and viola, and Nuruddin Crammatte, kudum (drum).

The evening will be a celebration of the tradition of 13th century poet and mystic Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, now the most widely published poet in North America. His teachings of transformation and tolerance, love and inclusion have inspired people for nearly 800 years.

At the United Nations, UNESCO has declared 2007 as the "Year of Rumi". To welcome in this celebration, Postneshin Loras will lead the semazens (whirlers) in a public presentation of the Sema Ceremony. Guests will witness semazens dressed in flowing white skirts and tall felt hats spinning in a prayer dance richly symbolic of planets and atoms turning - of the eternal sun and of a human being's true place in the universe.

About Mevlevi Order of America:
A 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization dedicated to the traditions and teachings of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th century poet and Sufi mystic known worldwide as the original Whirling Dervish and for his message of tolerance, inclusion and the religion of Love.

$15 (floor and bleachers), $25 (first two rows) at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or 800-838-3006.

Official Website: http://www.hayatidede.org