by Olga Livshin
Two Mondays a month, Vancouver dance instructor Corinne Chepil leads her students on a dancing quest, sharing with them her warm heart and enthusiasm. Corinne teaches Circle Dance, a new variation of one of the oldest dance forms on Earth.
In ancient times, tribes danced in circles around the fire, praying, celebrating, and mourning. In later centuries, the advance of civilization broke the sacred circle. Disconnected from Earth and from each other, people began dancing in lines, in threes and fours, in pairs, and finally alone, although many cultures still maintained folklore dancing circles.
After studying folk dancing for many years, Bavarian dancer and choreographer Bernard Wosien introduced Circle Dance to the world in 1976, when he brought the concept to the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. A blend of traditional and modern dancing, Circle Dance spread throughout Europe and North America, reconnecting the dancers to Earth and to each other.
Corinne hadn’t learned about Circle Dance until 2001. After moving to Vancouver from Edmonton in 1986, she studied dance and psychology at SFU and found employment as a dance teacher and an arts administrator. She also dedicated much of her career to working with seniors.
In September 2001, a few days after the 9/11 disaster, she drove with friends to Naramata near Penticton for a Wise Women Weekend. One of the largest women’s gathering in Western Canada, the annual Weekend provides a variety of workshops: from knitting to belly-dancing. Corinne attended a few workshops, Circle Dance among them. That weekend had changed her life.
“After my very first experience, I knew I had to teach Circle Dance,” she says. In the terrible aftermath of 9/11, Circle Dance — holding hands with friends, moving in simple steps to the sweet, rhythmical tunes — seemed like a road to healing and peace. Therapeutic and joyful, Circle Dance links the dancers together, providing not only an exercise for a body, but an uplifting journey for a spirit as well. “No other kind of dancing offers such a delightful balance to the dancers,” Corinne says. “Circle Dance promotes a sense of community. It reignites our connection with Mother Earth. It generates tranquility. And it’s fun.” A few months after the Wise Women Weekend, Corinne flew to Findhorn to get her Sacred Dance Teacher Certificate.
Every Corinne’s workshop starts the same way. She clears a room and arranges a kind of a pagan altar in the middle of the floor. There is no religious connotation there; rather an allegory of intertwined life forces, a nostalgic reminder of heathen traditions. A green scarf, a heart-shaped rock, and a vase of fresh flowers signify Earth. A lit candle represents fire. A small cup of water stands for itself. And a tiny plastic angel symbolizes air.
People of different professions and social groups join Corinne around that altar. Most are women, although an occasional man or two sometimes wander in. The ages stretch between 30 and 90. An old retired lady with a walker and a young silversmith, a home-stay mom and a nurse, a scientist and a secretary, they all unite in Circle Dance, reveling in their sense of belonging.
Corinne greets everyone with a hug, a smile, and a pitcher of ice tea. As the name of the workshop implies, dancers dance in a circle, often holding hands. The moves are easy, and the melodies vary from slow and meditative to lively and engaging. Nobody needs any previous dancing training. There are no wrong steps, only variations — is the motto of Circle Dance.
Most people come to the workshop after a day of hard work, dull-eyed and stressed out. In the beginning, they clasp hands in a circle and close their eyes, offering their good will to each other. Then Corinne demonstrates the steps of a first dance. After a few minutes of practicing, Corinne turns on her CD player, and the dance is on. Two or three dances later, the faces lose their tautness. Eyes begin to sparkle. Smiles appear.
Sensitive to the rising moods, Corinne escalates the tempo of the dances. Half an hour into the session, the participants’ restrained attitude vanishes, replaced by exuberance. They laugh and clap their hands, whooping like kindergarten kids: “He-He! Ho-Ho!” For that one hour of the session, thanks to Corinne, these tired adults are liberated from all their worries, transformed into the young, care-free children.
Corinne doesn’t charge fees for her Circle Dance workshop. Everyone is welcome, and admission is by donation. On the first Monday of a month, the circle is held in a seniors’ facility. The entire amount collected there goes towards the senior-residents’ entertainment fund, subsidizing their art projects and outings. Every second Monday of a month, the event is held at a church. Of the money collected there, 50% goes to pay for the use of the room.
“I don’t make a living teaching Circle Dance,” Corinne says. “For me, it has never been a way to make a profit. I want it to be affordable for everyone. In our troubled times, Circle Dance is an antithesis to war. When we hold hands in a circle, we are all equal, united in harmony and joy of the dance.”
For more information about Vancouver Circle Dance workshops — contact Corinne Chepil.
Phone: (604) 254-4360
Email: dancingmachine@telus.net
Great comment, love the design of the site too.
The author of ragmag.net has written an excellent article. You have made your point and there is not much to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not argue with: The less you know about something, the easier it is to hate it. Thanks for the info.
We were just browsing for appropriate site content for my assignment research and I happened to land upon yours. Thanks for the beneficial material!
I normally don’t take the time to leave comments however I found this post very internesting and informative. thanks for the great read.
i was beginning to reckon i might probably end up being the sole woman / man who thought about this, at least currently i find out i’m not nuts
i will make sure to have a look at a handful of other articles right after i get a little caffeine in me, it really is tough to read with out my coffee, adios for now 
I was just doing some web browsing on my Garmin Phone during my free time at my work place, and I came across something I thought was interesting . It linked to your site so I came over. I can’t really figure out the relevance between your site and the one I came from, but your site good none the less .
Hey, amazing, this is super stuff, hope to see more.Greetings
Great post on Circle Dance - Everyone Welcome RagMag - and good domain by the way!
i would not have supposed this was remarkable a handful of years back nevertheless it is surprising exactly how age changes the manner in which you respond to so many ideas, thank you with regard to the write-up it’s pleasant to look over some thing clever once in a while instead of the popular trash mascarading as a blog on the web, i’m off to enjoy a few rounds of zynga poker, cheers
I have been visiting your blog lately because I am interested in reading the quality articles that you post. Keep up the good work!
I’ve been reading through your site. You have some nice posts on here, especially this one - I really liked it…nice post. Consider yourself bookmarked
I rarly comment on blogs but I really like yours.Its hard to find good bloggers these days … everyone seems to be doing it for the money
This is my first visit here, but I will be back soon, because I really like the way you are writing, it is so simple and honest
Great post, will be back soon.
This is an interesting article. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for good information that comes out to
read.
nice share, good article, very usefull for me…thanks
I am not someone who is easily satisfied but I have to say your work blew me away. So much ideas and relevant detaisl that you put into it made me see your position. Thanks for contributing your reasonable inputs.
This article is really very informative. it actually provide me what i’ve searching for. Thank you for Sharing
Check this out…
Here is an interesting theme that might be of benefit to you….
I must say you have a cool post. This hit the spot and then some! Thanks for posting this and sharing it with the world. I’ve just bookmarked your site. And I will check back soon to read your other articles. Keep up your awesome work.
I have always been a little bit concerned by my health. Additionally, I’ve been very concerned about my memory. As you get older, it gets worse.
Hello could I quote some of the material found in this blog if I reference you with a link back to your site?
Thank you for your great
content.
I have visited your website before. The more I take in, the more I keep coming back! ;~)
good share, great article, very usefull for us…thank you
This blog can certainly touch lives. I appreciate all you have composed on this. I will definitely keep on coming back to read more of your articles.
Couldn?t be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
Thans
for the nice post.
Download Internet Explorer 8
wonderful share, great article, very usefull for me…thanks
That’s interesting. I’m from Toronto and see the same result. Anyway, I will be back tomorrow
Your blog is so informative … keep up the good work!!!!
Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.
Thank you for the work you have put into this post, it helps clear up some questions I had.
There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also. Keep working, great job!
I love your website! did you create this yourself or did you outsource it? Im looking for a blog design thats similar so thats the only reason I’m asking. Either way keep up the nice work I was impressed
It is nice to definitely find a website where the blogger is sensible. Thanks for creating your web site.
Just info i has been trying to find. Well put too.
Thx for this great information that you are shareing with us
Great post! I started following your blog about a month ago and I like your honesty. Good example to emulate.
What a exciting webpage, i desire to thanks a lot you for giving this sort of helpful information. I make a link on my web site to your website.
Hi,thanks for the great quality of your blog, each time i come here, i m amazed.
Very informative post, love the way in which you write and I feel that the knowledge helps in a way. I don’t usually say this, however I feel this is a great job done. Should you like to alternate links, I would be more than happy to supply a link again to your site. Hope to listen to from you soon. Cheers
I like your writing style, and I’m hoping for more stories like this one.
Hello. Great job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. This is a great story. Thanks!
Hah I am honestly the only comment to your incredible writing!
Super text, I will add this blog to my favorites.
Having been simply browsing for related blog articles for the project research and I happened to stumble upon yours. Thanks for the valuable information!
It is great to have the opportunity to read a good quality article with useful info on topics that a lot are interested on. The point that the data pointed are all first hand on real experiences even helps more. Keep doing what you do as we enjoy reading your work.
I are actually surfing on the internet a lot more than three hours today, however I by no means observed any exciting article like yours. It is pretty worth ample for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers created good content as you did, the net will probably be considerably more helpful than at any time previous to.