October 2022 Leaders Guild newsletter

About the Dances Leaders DUP International Payments Contact Links Events Newsletters

October 2022

Leaders Guild newsletter

In this issue

Small Grants Program - successes

Erasmus camp, Latvia

German dance camp, Summer 2022

Invitation to New Zealand

Survey of dance leaders

Leader recognitions

DUP IN

Small Grants Program 2022 –

this year’s successes

Chiapas, Mexico, February 2022

DUP IN’s Small Grants Program is three quarters of the way though its second grant cycle that began in January 2022. Since the beginning of this year, we have approved grants to more than two dozen Dances of Universal Peace projects around the globe. These inspiring events have shared the Dances in Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Turkey and the United States. Photos from some of these events (in Mexico, the Czech Republic and Spain) are included with this article.

Since it began in June 2021, the Small Grants Program has received over sixty grant applications from twenty different countries. To date, we have provided funds - usually in $500 awards - to support more than four dozen in-person and online Dances of Universal Peace events and activities.

Grants for programs,

not for individuals

As pandemic restrictions have eased around the world, we have experienced a steady increase in the number of applications for in-person retreats, camps and trainings.

Pictured here is the event in Valencia in Spain.

We remain grateful to the Oneness Project for their generous financial gift that funded this program.

As a reminder to applicants: we provide funds to DUP event organizers for costs related to their programs. We do not accept grants from individuals seeking money to travel to or participate in events. A mentored leader of the Dances must be involved with the event and listed on the application.

Next year’s grants program

Our current grant cycle will end on December 1, 2022. A new cycle will begin in January 2023. If your DUP event is scheduled for very early in 2023, please feel free to submit your application before December 1st.

Pictured here is the Czech dance camp, July 2022

If not, please wait until the third cycle opens in January. Our dedicated, international grants review committee meets periodically to review, discuss and decide upon applications. It is most helpful to our process if applications are received at least 6-8 weeks before an event is scheduled to take place.

So… if you’re a mentored leader organizing a Dances of Universal Peace event, we welcome your grant application! Please visit the Small Grants Program page on the DUPIN website: dancesofuniversalpeace.org/grants. The online application is available in a number of different languages (look for the choice of language on the right of the menu bar on this web page), and our contact information is displayed in case you have any questions.

Rukmini Miller

Grants Manager

Erasmus program meets DUP

in Latvia,

August 2022

We are back home from a week full of dancing, hugging and sharing our hearts on the bank of Perse river in a cosy guest away in the Latvian countryside.

It was our first experience and also experiment of blending Dances of Universal peace and Erasmus+ education programs for European union. We were unsure at the beginning if it would work with the formal structure of the project and if we really could meet the requirements for the funds we were asking for. We are used to having “hippie” style circles without boundaries and almost no rules, to dance and sing for Peace under the skies and to travel light with our backpacks. Having enough money to sponsor this heart-opening event was always an issue in our small country. We were on the edge of cancelling the camp as we had only 10 locals signed for it. Our tiny community survived many transformations during 30 years of DUP in Latvia and continued the tradition of the camps in the Baltics.

We’ve been given an opportunity from our friendly non-profit cultural organisation called “Alternative reality” to work with youth and Erasmus. We’ve been focusing on bringing Dance leaders from 8 European countries to share their unique styles of leading and providing the training for the new dance leaders.

Heart language was the main language at the camp, but we tried to express ourselves in English with French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Russian, Latvian, Estonian, Ukrainian and even Farsi accents! At some point we were about 70 people holding hands and dancing for Unity. Youngsters coming for the first time were keen on Aramaic and Arabic dances!

We discovered that we also have the same goals as informal learning and participation among young people, cooperation, quality, inclusion, creativity and innovation, as well as green Europe! At the formal sharing sessions, we discovered that in its very core Erasmus goals do not contradict ours! In the dances circles it is an “unwritten law”, coming from an open heart as a natural response to what we share together. I hope it will be a start for the fruitful cooperation in the future at the times when the world is striving for peace!

Special thanks for all dance leaders – ZubinNur (UK/Netherlands), Eleonora, Anita and Simone (Netherlands), Juan Nuraddin, Elvira and Jorge from Spain, Petuka and Mishka & Ham from the Czech Republic, Francesco from Italy, Lorraine, Sarah and Nicolas from France, Fabrice, Dorothee and Joachim from Belgium, Silje Devi from Estonia and Narayan from USA! Thank you to all the dancers who travelled across Europe to support their teams and to those brave souls who were coming to the Dances for the first time!

All ideas, insights and future projects are most welcome – dupdance@gmail.com

Love, Yelena and Victoria.

German dance camp for families -

we're back!

Alhamdulillah!!! – after a two-year break the 26th German Family dance camp met again at the Lauterbach youth hostel near Eisenach.

A diverse group of 220 gathered for a week of dance, song, prayer and sharing the One breath.

As you can imagine, much was new and different, and much was familiar. So we welcomed in the circle, on the earth and in the stream of blessing in the dances everything that moves us, that makes the world move. We met the issues of today’s world with love harmony and beauty.

It is a blessing to see how children from back then, who are parents today, come together across the generations, to sing and dance, and to relax in their own space. We are a family who after our individual journeys move into a shared house, one in which we each have our own room, and can be with friends and eat dance and pray together…. as we sing ‘My house shall be a house of prayer…’

It was such a treat to be able to experience this, and we hope we can repeat the experience next year.

Ya Fattah, and see you in 2023.

Blessings.

Khabir.

Want to work at Dance Camp Aotearoa New Zealand?

5 - 12 January 2023

Applications are invited for Overseas Wwoofers (kaiawhina):

roles include kitchen hand, camp assistant, etc.

Half price place on camp and all board and lodging in exchange for 4 hours work per day at the beautiful Tauhara Retreat Centre, Taupo, New Zealand.

Staying on after camp may be possible.

Please write with details of yourself to: Hadi at Hadiradio@gmail.com

Dance camp website: https://dancecampaotearoa.co.nz/

The venue: https://www.tauharacentre.org.nz/.

DUP International:

results of survey of dance leaders,

June 2022

The survey was sent out by newsletter in English, with an introduction in 5 other languages, in mid June 2022.

Much of the feedback we received, about trainings, may be best addressed by mentors.

Some leaders expressed interest in volunteering, and they are already making a valuable contribution on specific activities.

Summary of responses

The response rate from dance leaders (145 out of 1203) was about 12%. 54% of respondents probably speak English as their mother tongue. We had no responses from Switzerland or Russia. The highest proportionate response was from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. (This might have been because Arjun sent a reminder by Facebook, in Spanish.)

Responses by category of leader:

41 – mentored

65 – certified

17 – mentor in training

17 – mentor

5 – senior mentor

A similar proportion of leaders responded across all categories.

Results

1. WhatsApp

Two thirds of respondents use WhatsApp.

2. Are you attending dance meetings at the moment?

· not at the moment, even before covid: 5

· not at the moment, since covid: 19

· yes, only occasionally and online: 19

· yes, only occasionally, and in person: 87

· yes, frequently, and mostly online: 15

Thus, about 60% of respondents are attending in person meetings. In comments to the survey, some people mention they would like more, or less focus on vaccination.

3. Are you currently leading DUP?

· not at the moment, even before covid: 6

· not at the moment, since covid: 21

· yes, only occasionally, and online: 12

· yes, only occasionally, and in person: 38

· yes, frequently, and mostly online: 12

· yes, frequently, and mostly in person: 56

Thus, two thirds of respondents are leading dances in person.

4. Do you share this dance leading space with others?

· no: 34

· yes: 111

5. About dance camps and in person workshops:

· I go to camps or workshops once or more a year: 97 – two thirds of respondents

· I used to go but not any more: 44

· I’ve never been a dance camp fan: 6

6. About DUP online events:

· It’s not really my thing but I participate sometimes: 50

· I love them and I participate as much as possible: 40

· It was great during lockdown but now I’m saturated: 30

· online is not my thing: 25

7. About organising DUP events

· I’m doing it already: 80

· I want to start organising in person events for my community: 38

· I don’t want to be an organiser: 25

· I want to start organising online events for my community: 2

8. Your relationship with your mentor

· is active, we speak and/or see each other several times a year: 83

· we are on good terms but we have minimal contact: 58

· we stopped talking a few years ago: 2

· I don’t have a mentor at the moment: 2

9. Which of these online trainings would you love to take part in?

· personal growth: 52

· DUP outreach: 46

· improving music skills: 37

· training in elements of mastery: 36

· networking and community building: 26

· training as an in-person camp or workshop organiser: 22

· white privilege: 21

· conflict management 18

· training in DUP mentoring guidelines and best practice: 17

· training as an online DUP meetings organiser: 13

10. Are you satisfied with the work that DUP International does?

· yes, very satisfied: 102

· more or less: 37

· I don’t really understand what DUP International is or does: 6

11. Would you be open to volunteering some time for DUP International?

· yes: 75

· no: 70

Aziz Dixon

Executive Director

DUP International

Leader recognitions

The Guidance Council would like to congratulate and acknowledge all the Walks and Dance leaders

who have been certified or recognized at a new level since our last newsletter:

Mentor

Amarelys Ama Baraka Garcia Sosa, Venezuela

Mentor in Training

Carmen Zahira Neuberger, Germany

Certified Leader

Victoria Etxenike, Spain

Catalina Romo Gatica, Chile

Andrea Zaleekha Hiller, Germany

Dora Marques, Spain

Ashani Pluchino, France