Trans n Dance | Sufi whirling by Rana Gorgani

Rana and I started the project “Trans n Dance” few months ago. We’ve met at the Micadanses studio where she was giving and workshop. She invited me there to see how she teaches soufi dance.

I arrived to the studio and the atmosphere was amazing, silence ! The sound of Rana’s leather shoes steps was breaking the silence in a nice way. The participants were there on the floor of the studio, sitting there focused, relaxed… Then came peaceful words from Rana. Asking the attendees to lay down on their back, to take a deep breath and to relax. For me, especially that I came there walking fast, it made me relax too. I wasn’t expecting that, I had no idea how the workshop will go. Somewhere I was thinking they are just coming there and they start to whirl like dervish, this is how the Sufi dance goes, right? It’s how it looks, but to arrive to the point of whirling like a dervish you need to get ready for that, to enter this universe, to put yourself in the condition… and it’s here where Rana is holding your hand to guide you through.

Trans n Dance | Sufi whirling by Rana Gorgani

Relaxation

The partcipants were laying down and forms a circle, their eyes closed, foscused on what Rana’s instrcutions. They started to move and to try to stand up in slow movement. The aim was to find the balance with their body. After that they started to walk while they were breathing deeply. Rana started walking between them with a daf in her hands. She broke the silence and she gave the rythme with a deep and loud sound of the beats. I almost forgot that I was there for the photography. The sound of beats were the opportunity to release the shutter of my camera and to follow Rana’s rythme with my clicks. Since the participant were not expecting me there, and while they had to keep their eyes closed I didn’t want to distract them.

Trans n Dance | Sufi Dance by Rana Gorgani

Then they started to whirl…

After this long peacefull and relaxing hour, the group of participant received the first advises for how to manage to turn and whirl. The position of the hands and important things to know about the sufi dance. After that, Rana offered them to wear the dresses that she brought to the workshop. The dresses are realy nice, personally I’ve dind’t wear any but why not maybe I’ll be intiated to whirl one day with the help of Rana !

Since few months I’m working about movement, body gestures through the “YogaGraphy” project or “Trans n Dance“. For me photography is about to freeze one particular moment. I’ve always been impressed of how we move how we are and especially about at a specific moment when you catch a moment on a picture.