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The
Whidbey Dance Team is a core group of people who join together for the purpose of facilitating the Dances of Universal
Peace on Whidbey Island.
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Bob
Effertz started with the dances on Whidbey in 1999. After a few years of dancing, he joined
the 3-year Dance Deepening Group on Whidbey lead by Vayu Jameson. During this time, Bob asked Munir Reynolds to be his mentor and went to various Dance retreats in the
U. S. and abroad. In 2007, Bob was certified by Munir
Reynolds as a dance leader. He has led dances on Whidbey Island, at the Wilderness and Lava Dance retreats, at several church
services and for a few youth programs sponsored by different organizations. Bob
also led the youth program at Lava and worked with others in running the youth program at Wilderness. Currently, Bob is on the Oneness Project Youth Committee.
Lisa
Fladager has been a certified dance leader since
2002 and she is mentored by Narayan Eric Waldman. She leads regularly at Whidbey’s monthly DUP events, at community
festivals, and has co-led at three local retreats. She has a concentrated interest in Druid practice and the Celtic
Wheel of the Year, and dances which connect to, support, and celebrate the cycles of nature and human activity. As a certified
movement analyst, she is exploring the interface of Laban and Bartenieff’s concepts of Body, Effort, Shape and Space
as tools to make dancing a deeper embodied experience for those in the dance circle.
As a dance/movement therapist, she uses the dances in a therapeutic context in the clinic where she works. She
is also experimenting with using inner directed or “authentic movement" in between and following dances (similar to
practicing seated meditation in between dances) to expand and deepen embodied consciousness - culminating in a method
of working she calls "Sacred Body Practice". For further information, see: www.lisafladager.com
Linda Lindsay came to the Whidbey Island Sunday night dance on Halloween 1999 following a tip from a friend
and an ad in the newspaper. She fell in love with the dances, attending many dance meetings, weekend retreats and camps over
the next few years. In 2002, Linda began organizing the bi-annual Marsh House retreats on Whidbey and special events with
visiting dance leaders from all over the world, as well as a 3-year dance-leader training with Brian Vayu Jameson.
Linda is currently the Executive Director of ONEness Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the Dances
Of Universal Peace around the world. Through her work with Oneness Project Linda has become familiar with many dance leaders world-wide
and has been able to bring a number of them to Whidbey Island. Our circle has been greatly enriched by these precious
relationships and experiences shared with friends far and wide, and by the opportunity to dance many of our
favorite dances with their originators. Linda loves making and maintaining these connections between the Whidbey dance community
and DUP circles all over the world.
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Gaea Van Breda is a founding member of the Whidbey Dance Team. Gaea was instrumental in
bringing monthly dances to Whidbey Island in 1998, and her vision and commitment to the dances thriving on Whidbey Island
has remained strong and steady since that time. Gaea has been dancing since 1994 and has participated in dance
and Sufi camps all over the United States. In 2000 she attended the Peace Through The Arts Dance Camp in England and
the Summer Solstice Dance Camp in Russia. She is a circle tender, ever mindful of the health and attunement of our energetic container. Gaea
completed a three year dance leader training on Whidbey Island with Narayan Eric Waldman in 2002.
Ron Ward was introduced
to the Dances at the Marsh House
retreat led by Narayan Eric Waldman in October 2006 and was profoundly moved by
the powerful inner enlivening and the intimate community coherence generated
there. Since then he has not missed a
Dance event when here on Whidbey, and has participated in numerous Dance
events, retreats and camps including two Dances that he organized in northern
Italy. He is enthusiastic about
spreading the Dances and bringing more young people and families into the Dance
community. He began playing the djembe to accompany dances under
the careful direction of the Whidbey Dance Team and later has had the joy of
studying with other skilled drummers.
Grateful for the opportunity to support the dances as a musician he cherishes
the experience of deep harmony in the center of the Dance circle.
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For
those who are interested in how the Whidbey Dance Team works, we have posted here our purpose statement, the guidelines (or "covenants of peace") that we follow when we work together, and our requirements
for membership. We developed these to create a focus for our work, a "healthy container" in which that work can happen, and a method
of working that is both peaceful and effective. Our particular way of working does not necessarily represent
the views or methods of the Dances of Universal Peace as a whole. It is our hope that by doing our best
to cultivate right relationship with one another that the Dances will be supported and will flourish.
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