Sacred dances have been considered an essential subject
of study in all the esoteric schools of the East, as much in ancient times
as now, preserving its deep religious and scientific meaning in its real
sense. The movements that compose them have a double aim: they express
and contain certain knowledge, an unknown dimension that reveals what
is hidden for the ordinary man and, simultaneously, serve as method to
obtain a harmonious state of being. The combinations of these movements
express different sensations, produce several degrees of thought concentration,
create necessary efforts in different functions and show the possibilities
of individual force.
According to the teaching of Gurdjieff, in human beings there exist two poles. One pole corresponds to his potential, to his real possibilities. The other corresponds to the way he lives, in a state of hypnotism. He is content with a tolerable life, doing the minimum, doing the impossible to forget the drama of his mortality and his not knowing. His life centers on a set of insignificant and superficial interests. He is enslaved in automatism that governs his thoughts and feelings and this is closely related with the movements and positions that he adopts. It is necessary, he says, that the individual realize his present condition. To try to wake up from this dream should be the direction of his life at every moment.
If we were able to raise our ordinary level to a higher one, it would mean that something in us has changed. Defined cosmic laws govern the changes and the knowledge of these laws exist and can be discovered.
The Movements and Sacred Dances that Gurdjieff bequeathed to us provide special conditions for the work of transformation and is a method of study which helps dancers to wake up this potential, the permanent and unified "I". According to him, they introduce a series of new positions coming from a conscious humanity and originated from real knowledge, which can open us to a different order within ourselves, helping us to leave the narrow circle of automatism and habits. They provide us with a new quality of attention and presence that can take us back to the awareness of the energy source which lies behind all existence and to the latent capacities that belong to the unknown part of our nature.
The language of these Dances is mathematical, responding to exact measurement. Each movement has its specific place, its duration and its weight. The combinations and sequences are calculated mathematically. The positions and the attitudes are defined to produce definite emotions. In this kind of movement, those who observe can also participate, can read them as if they were a book, in which a mind and an emotion of higher degree take place. In the composition of these movements, each detail has its meaning. The smallest element is taken into account and nothing is left to chance. There is only one gesture, one position and one rhythm possible to represent a definite human or cosmic situation. Another gesture, position or movement would not be true. If the minimum lack of calculation takes place in the composition of a movement, the dance would be profaned and fantasy would take the place of knowledge. All his life, Gurdjieff dedicated himself to the study of these sacred dances, respecting its principles, which constitute a branch of objective art. Understanding the principles, Gurdjieff was able to transmit truths through these movements.
Seen as exercises or dances, the aim of the Movements is the re-balance of the body-mind-emotion and a new order of their functions. They reveal the existence of a sacred science, an exact science able to open us to the experience of another dimension, of anothersource of life, acquiring its real meaning only when the appearance of a higher energy reveals to us another level of being.
In order to approach this vital source, it is necessary to undertake a process, to see the state of mental dependency which divides us, that limits our field of awareness and makes us even doubt and forget our own ability to set ourselves free. It is only after having suffered, after recognizing the limitation that a deep acceptance and opening can appear. The inner being becomes permeable to an action of a totally different order. In the practice of the Movements our opening to this action is put to test constantly and this is the essential exercise.
Mme. de Dampierre gave a very interesting description of what it is to observe the Movements:
According to the teaching of Gurdjieff, in human beings there exist two poles. One pole corresponds to his potential, to his real possibilities. The other corresponds to the way he lives, in a state of hypnotism. He is content with a tolerable life, doing the minimum, doing the impossible to forget the drama of his mortality and his not knowing. His life centers on a set of insignificant and superficial interests. He is enslaved in automatism that governs his thoughts and feelings and this is closely related with the movements and positions that he adopts. It is necessary, he says, that the individual realize his present condition. To try to wake up from this dream should be the direction of his life at every moment.
If we were able to raise our ordinary level to a higher one, it would mean that something in us has changed. Defined cosmic laws govern the changes and the knowledge of these laws exist and can be discovered.
The Movements and Sacred Dances that Gurdjieff bequeathed to us provide special conditions for the work of transformation and is a method of study which helps dancers to wake up this potential, the permanent and unified "I". According to him, they introduce a series of new positions coming from a conscious humanity and originated from real knowledge, which can open us to a different order within ourselves, helping us to leave the narrow circle of automatism and habits. They provide us with a new quality of attention and presence that can take us back to the awareness of the energy source which lies behind all existence and to the latent capacities that belong to the unknown part of our nature.
The language of these Dances is mathematical, responding to exact measurement. Each movement has its specific place, its duration and its weight. The combinations and sequences are calculated mathematically. The positions and the attitudes are defined to produce definite emotions. In this kind of movement, those who observe can also participate, can read them as if they were a book, in which a mind and an emotion of higher degree take place. In the composition of these movements, each detail has its meaning. The smallest element is taken into account and nothing is left to chance. There is only one gesture, one position and one rhythm possible to represent a definite human or cosmic situation. Another gesture, position or movement would not be true. If the minimum lack of calculation takes place in the composition of a movement, the dance would be profaned and fantasy would take the place of knowledge. All his life, Gurdjieff dedicated himself to the study of these sacred dances, respecting its principles, which constitute a branch of objective art. Understanding the principles, Gurdjieff was able to transmit truths through these movements.
Seen as exercises or dances, the aim of the Movements is the re-balance of the body-mind-emotion and a new order of their functions. They reveal the existence of a sacred science, an exact science able to open us to the experience of another dimension, of anothersource of life, acquiring its real meaning only when the appearance of a higher energy reveals to us another level of being.
In order to approach this vital source, it is necessary to undertake a process, to see the state of mental dependency which divides us, that limits our field of awareness and makes us even doubt and forget our own ability to set ourselves free. It is only after having suffered, after recognizing the limitation that a deep acceptance and opening can appear. The inner being becomes permeable to an action of a totally different order. In the practice of the Movements our opening to this action is put to test constantly and this is the essential exercise.
Mme. de Dampierre gave a very interesting description of what it is to observe the Movements:
when
you see a performance of these movements, you understand that they are
something more than simple rhythmical exercises accompanied by appropriate
music. You observe that they are a series of beautiful examples, which
follow patterns in accordance with strict laws. It is possible to feel
that they demand a deep concentration from the dancers. In fact, what
they demand is the constant coordination of several corporal and mental
positions, in ever- changing patterns. These movements must be practiced
with absolute precision, quickly and subtly. This requires a great attention
from the participant. At every moment the dancer must relate to what
he supposes to be the necessity of inner attention, with the possibility
of being in contact with a state of being in which, the knowledge can
be woken up in him."
