Workshop Leaders for 2025

Gulzar [DUP / Integration Practice in Community]

Sharing the Dances and creating heart-centred community is one of the greatest joys in my life.
I lead Dance days and Retreats in the UK and abroad, also combining the Dances with the powerful practice of Heart IQ (Emergent Space) which I offer with my partner, Simon.

I am a Mentor for Dance Leaders and am delighted to be able to share the love of the Dances in this way.

I have been co-creating and teaching 2-year long international Dance Leader Training programmes for 8 years and we are launching a new programme starting April 2025. I have also been involved in Dance Leader trainings in other countries like India and Spain.

I am currently honoured to be serving as the Camp Advisor for our beautiful camp. Apart from my love of the Dances, I hope to bring to camp safely held spaces to practise deep listening where people feel included and accepted, especially deeper connection and understanding across the generations.

My passion is that camp can serve as a resource and inspiration for the world we want to create in our communities.

Grace D Marie [DUP]

Grace D Marie is an international teacher and facilitator, teaching Dances of Universal Peace, voice, Harmonic Temple, 5 Rhythm Wave, Nia, Barre Fitness, and movement meditation that are interwoven to balance health for body, mind and spirit.

Grace is an initiator with the Sufi Ruhaniat International, and a Dances of Universal Peace Mentor. She has organized and co-facilitated Dance meetings, camps and leader trainings worldwide.

Grace co-facilitates and organizes group Dance journeys and pilgrimages worldwide, blending the group within the culture.

Working directly with many wisdom traditions worldwide, Grace has enriched the DUP repertoire, adapting traditional prayers into meaningful songs and accompanying them with original, insightful and inspiring Dances.

Her 4 albums, Kunda, One Love, All My Relations, and Life as a Garden, recorded in Peru and the US, are listened to worldwide.

Dakini [DUP]

Born in Estonia, Dakini started leading regular dance groups in Eastern Europe 30 years ago, initiated a dance camp in Estonia (2001), and following a move to Scotland in late 1990-s, began leading dance and sufi events worldwide, started a Sufi camp in Scotland (2012) and co-founded a Buddhist retreat centre in Findhorn, Scotland (2005).

Now based in the North West of England, she serves the international dance family as a senior mentor, a Sheikha (sufi teacher), as well as a newly appointed member of the DUP International Ethics Council.

Having worked professionally with children and teenagers all her life, she loves to spark the enthusiasm for the dances and Sufi path in younger people, and has supported and held teenagers at dance camps in UK and New Zealand for many years.

Tom [DUP]

I love the way the dances bring people together to open our hearts and creating a space where prayers can flow, for peace, and for healing of the earth.
I lead dances regularly in York where I live and sometimes with friends further afield around the North.
I love the morning dance session at Sacred Arts Camp, where the richness of our community’s dance leaders shines.
It will be my privilege to look after this session and I look forward to spending time in the field with friends old and new.

Karim Hadden [Bajans]

I have been leading Bhajan and Devotional singing groups for over 25 years. My first inspiration for Bhajan singing came from Louisa Willow who used to lead Bhajans at camp. I just fell in love with this way of singing and it has taught me so much over the years. Coming to camps and being part of other groups where we were encouraged to sing naturally in a non-judgemental space helped me to find my voice in an embodied way so I really like to encourage others to just sing from the heart and let everything else go as that is what worked for me. Essentially I feel that Bhajans are a practice of surrender to devotional feeling and I often say that the best experience is when the Bhajans sing us rather than us singing them.

Alan Withers [5 Rhythms]

I am a 5Rhythms teacher, and I trained with Gabrielle Roth in 2004/5

I have been teaching in Wales for 20 years, as well as The sacred Arts Camp and Dance Camp Wales.

I’m inspired by magic and love to work with whatever presents itself in the moment.

Dancing is a healing process for me, and I have found simple works best for me.

Chris Sylla [Community musician (leading daily drumming and facilitating firenight)]

Chris is a community musician specialising in West African percussion. She has a wide ranging portfolio stretching over 30 years and has mostly 'been there and done that'. Her teaching style is accessable and empowering and she is passionate about connecting people through rhythm. A 'camp veteran' she'll also be facilitating Firenight this year and playing for the Wave led by Alan, a musical/dance association going back many years now . As usual she intends to bring the joy of drumming and spread it around as much as possible between all ages.

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