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Dance Leader Training and Development Programme 2025-2026

Guided by Christina Gulzar Lausevic and Jilani Cordelia Prescott

A two year course including four residential retreats in beautiful and comfortable venues

This programme is for mentored leaders of the Dances of Universal Peace, and also for those new to the path of Dance Leading. 

We invite you to embark on this deeply enriching and exciting journey with us, not only on your path as a Dance Leader, but also as an opportunity for profound personal development, spiritual growth and self-discovery. Jilani and Gulzar are currently the only mentors offering a Dance Leader training course in the UK. After running our highly successful course in 2017/18 and again in 2020/21 we are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity for a third time in 2024. 

YOUR GUIDES

Jilani Cordelia Prescott trained as a classical musician, and has over 30 years of teaching experience. Her main focus is now leading the Dances. She has led Dance and Sufi retreats, teacher trainings, and camps across the world. She is also a Sufi guide, and acts as the Facilitator on the Board of Trustees for the Sufi Ruhaniat International. Her passion is to work with people, enabling them to shine more fully as themselves, and to share their gifts with others.

Christina Gulzar Lausevic is a highly experienced teacher, having been a teacher and teacher educator in her first career. She is engaged in Dance Leading and developing Dance Leaders in many countries.  Trained as a Facilitator in personal and collective transformation, she founded Emergent Space with her partner, with whom she runs Retreats. Gulzar is passionate about how the Dances help people heal and awaken to their highest potential.

ASPECTS OF DANCE-LEADING TO BE STUDIED

  • Breath Practices
  • Voice Work
  • The Sacred Phrase
  • Leadership Skills
  • Developing Magnetism
  • Spiritual Walks 
  • Dance Repertoire
  • Musicianship
  • Confidence
  • The Dances as a Healing Practice
  • Energetic Holding Skills 
  • History and Background of the Dances 

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS TRAINING PROGRAMME?

We will guide and support you on this journey every step of the way. Included in this 2 year training are: 

Four residential training retreats, including 16 nights full board accommodation. The retreats are held in comfortable and beautiful venues with expansive grounds. We will have sole use of these country houses for our own group. 
Between these live trainings, you will be supported in your unfolding development with regular group video conference calls (16 calls, or 24 hours in total). 


As a Dance Leader, you will: 

  • Find and develop your unique voice as an expression of your heart and soul
  • Expand your Dance repertoire and deepen in the spiritual traditions and practices of the world
  • Develop an understanding of the power of sacred mantra and the energetic and healing effects of sound 
  • Develop your musicianship and learn how to embody a greater sense of rhythm
  • Explore how different Dances support our grounding and expansion in different ways
  • Understand group harmonisation and how you can use this to support healing and transformation
  • Expand your energetic range so that you can embody different qualities, elements and polarities at will
  • Develop your capacity to speak to peoples’ hearts and open them with your words
  • Allow your gift to flow through you from a place of empowered surrender and magnetic presence
  • Discover practical marketing tools to help you to take your transmission of the Dances out into the world 
  • Explore how to adapt the Dances for various situations and needs, to support a wide range of communities

Many Dance Leaders, even those who have already completed a training, still feel held back in their leading, or in putting themselves out there in their communities. In this particular training, with its added focus on supporting you with personal development as well as leadership ability, we aim to help you from the start to discover and overcome potential obstacles to being a successful and magnetic Dance Leader. 
Both Jilani and Gulzar are trained and very experienced teachers and guides, and a particular skill they share is to see your gifts and to let these unfold joyfully and with ease. 

We will help you to be the best Dance Leader you can possibly be. 

PRACTICAL DETAILS

Residential Retreats in two beautiful country house retreat centres, in Northumberland and Cheshire, both easily accessible by air, rail and road. 

  • 10th – 14th April 2025 Shepherds Dene, Northumberland (pictured above right)
  • 16th – 20th October 2025 Wistaston Hall (pictured above left and centre)
  • 1st – 5th May 2026 Shepherds Dene
  • October 2026 Wistaston Hall

16 conference calls with the whole group via Zoom or similar interface 

APPLYING FOR A PLACE

The first step is to fill in the form to apply for a place by clicking on this link: https://forms.gle/LwJfHhN2vefzNZ5p8

Please also let us know when you have completed the form. If you are successful we will offer you a place and send you payment details.

Prices

Investment:  £3670

Reduced price for full payment received by 18th October 2024:  £3470

Supplement for a guaranteed single room on all retreats: please add £240

Subsidised price for people who have completed a training with us before: Deduct £200

Deposit to secure your place: £400 (non-refundable – this is less than what we need to pay the venues to book your place)

Absolute deadline for all bookings: 5th February 2025

We prefer people to pay in full if they are able to do so, due to the high non-refundable deposits we have to pay to the venues.  If you need to set up an instalment plan, please contact us as soon as you can.  We will work to find a suitable arrangement for you and for us, taking into account our fixed expenses and costs.

Bursaries:  We hope to be able to offer some generous bursaries to those who would really need one in order to attend. Please contact us to discuss your needs.  And if anyone would like to donate to our bursary fund, to support someone else attending, it would help immensely – please let us know.

For more information, click on the links to contact Jilani or Gulzar

TESTIMONIALS

I really value and honour the visible and invisible work you’ve been doing, inviting me in a very sensitive way to explore some paths where I wouldn’t have been by myself. I felt really safe and joyful about the way you’ve been holding the group and all the training.Thank you. (Solène Garrin – France)

Your capacity of listening and channelling all the situations was impeccable. Keep going please! Congratulations!  (Juan Nuraddin – Spain)

I grew up so much! Thank you!!!!!  I’m so grateful…(Paloma – Belgium)

Jilani and Gulzar know what they are doing. You can trust them. (Sarah McCulloch – UK)

“Wow! No words! It was amazing”

“A very sensitive way to explore some paths where I wouldn’t have been by myself.”

“I would highly recommend this pair of very gifted and experienced dance leaders. Thank you so much.” 

“Beautiful holding of a very diverse group.”

“I have attended two training courses before, and on this one my heart has felt safe enough to open fully to feel joy and pain, and to connect with the Divine within.”

“Gulzar and Jilani create a safe, warm, heart-centred, non-judgemental space in which to overcome fears about leading dances.”

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Winter Solstice Celebration with Jilani and Salik

21 December 2024 2-5 pm

Jilani and Salik warmly welcome you to join us for our celebration of the return of the Light this year at Om Yoga Works.

Gather together with like-minded friends in a heart warming celebration at the Celtic festival of the Winter Solstice.

Using chant and movement, with the Dances of Universal Peace, we invite you to open your hearts to the light and to each other.

The Winter Solstice can be a time to look back and reflect, but also to look ahead, to dream into the coming year, and to rejoice in the light returning. We will feel into and explore the nourishment and regeneration of this time of fertile darkness, and we will rejoice in the rebirth and returning of the light. We will work with simple sacred chants and movements, beautiful live music, powerful breath practices, and sharing; and the power of ritual and ceremony.

Everything will be clearly guided and held. All are welcome, whether you are new friends or old.

If you’d like to join us for a shared meal afterwards, please bring a contribution of something delicious to share. Read more about the Dances of Universal Peace at www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org

Khankah of the Heart 2025

The Khankah of the Heart is a vision of a Sufi community, a Khankah, based not in a building of bricks and mortar, but in the relationships between the deep and loving hearts of its members. All fervent seekers are welcome to join, whether new to this or having been walking the path for many years.  The core of this community will be the practices and teachings of Murshid Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti (Samuel Lewis) and the Sufi and Dance lineages that he birthed.  Dances of Universal Peace will be central to our group practice.  In our experience and understanding, the Dances of Universal Peace are rooted in the whole of S.A.M.’s teachings and practices including the Walks and that they will flourish more fully, firmly attached to their roots from which they can not be separated. 

Last year Jilani Cordelia Prescott & Shamsia Sandra Sunfire initiated our gathering together with a shared purpose. The Khankah of the Heart is envisioned to meet in different places at different times with different people guiding us through retreats.  We are living in the UK but retreats here will welcome those from other countries and future retreats could also be held in other countries.  This particular retreat will be 16th-19th January 2025, from supper on Thursday to after lunch on Sunday, at the Oblate Retreat Centre, Crewe, UK. Further details are on the attached flyer.  The retreat will happen just after the Urs of Samuel Lewis, the anniversary of his death, of when he returned to the Source from which he came.  There is a hope to expand this to a week long annual retreat, with other online and in person gatherings keeping us in touch in between.  The retreats are envisioned to serve and nourish the Sufi community and friends, wherever we may call home, returning to our home in the heart, our Khankah of the Heart, where we can gather to “eat, dance and pray” together.  

We are guided by our teachers.

“One who has learned friendship has learned religion; the one who has learned friendship has attained spiritual knowledge. The one who has learned friendship need learn very little else; morals in Persian is friendship” (Hazrat Inayat Khan)

“…real meetings are mergings; they change the parties involved leaving them more fully themselves.” (Murshid SAM)

We follow in their footsteps, walking with them. 

As Mentors and Dance Leaders we strongly feel that in order for the  transmission of the Dances of Universal Peace to be healthy and complete, we need to provide opportunities for Dance Leaders and potential Dance Leaders, to deeply experience SAM’s Dances & Walks, teachings and practices. This can provide strong roots for DUP to grow and bloom anew, setting new seeds for future growth in our young people.

We are applying for grants to start an ongoing bursary fund to enable us to support those encountering financial difficulties to be able to join us.  This will be available to all including those who will in future serve and support our communities, the young people.  We recognise that these are challenging times and that financial challenges are becoming more widespread and that a bursary fund will help our community to be more supportive and inclusive. If you are experiencing abundance and feel inspired to support our bursary fund, please contact us.

We are grateful for the grant we received from Dances of Universal Peace International for this retreat. If bursary help would be necessary for you to be able to join us, please get in touch.

We are committed to exploring sustainable ways to continue to gather as a Sufi Community, financially and based on caring for the Earth’s limited resources.  This venture has been unfolding in our hearts and our lives each and every time we meet, we nurture and pray for its past, present and future. 

Ramadan in Morocco with Jilani

at the beautiful eco-lodge retreat centre ‘La Maison Anglaise’ in Taroudant

February 26 – March 5 2025

Plus the option to travel there overland through France, Spain and Morocco in a Caravan of the Dances!

There are still a few places available for the week in Morocco, at La Maison Anglaise in Taroudant, and it can be booked right away, from this website:

Br250226 – Holidays with Heart

My intention is to travel there and back overland through France and Spain, and you are welcome to join me. We will stop in various places en route to meet with local people and share the Dances of Universal Peace together. There will also be opportunities to do a little sight-seeing and to enjoy local food. 

Our accommodation will be partly in AirBnBs or hostels, and sometimes may be in local homestays. There will be the option to arrange your own accommodation if you prefer something more luxurious. Some of us will travel together by train, others will drive and car-share. In the south of Spain we will visit places where there are no trains, so we will all share cars for that part of the journey. There should be enough locals with cars to accommodate those of us who arrive by train.

We have stops confirmed in Angers in France, in Barcelona, Alicante, Granada and Malaga in Spain, and in Tangiers in northern Morocco. I am still working on a possible stop in the South of France, but the journey is viable without it. The outward journey will take around 10-14 days, depending on whether we stop again in France or not.

The return journey will be more direct, but we plan an overnight stay in Tangiers and Madrid, and a weekend retreat near Plum Village in southern France. The whole return journey to the UK should be just under a week.

It’s perfectly possible to join for just a part of the caravan, or just for the week in Morocco, or any combination. We can’t book the trains yet as they haven’t been released. I recommend buying an interrail pass which makes it much more affordable. I’ll give clear details when the stops have been finalised. Or of course you can drive yourself, or request a car share place.

Things are still coming into focus but plans are well underway. Do let me know if you have any specific questions, and let’s keep in touch. If you want to be part of the week in Taroudant I recommend that you book that as soon as possible as there are only a few places left.

Aramaic Prayer in Pembrokeshire, Wales

‘Abwoon d’Bashmaya’

‘Oh Thou, the Breathing Life of All, Creator of the Shimmering Sound that Touches Us! You Create All that Moves in Light…’

Sat 12th October, Brynberian Village Hall 11-5pm, 7-9pm

Please book early so we can have an idea about numbers!

Teaching session during the day, and an evening ceremony: come to either or both!

The Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic – Simple and powerful Chants and Body Prayers, led by Jilani Cordelia Prescott

All welcome! Everything will be taught on the day – no prior knowledge or experience necessary.

‘Who danceth not, knows not what is being done.’ (Hymn of Jesus)

Cost: £55 day £25 eve ceremony £60 for both eve and day

Bursaries available – please ask

with live music from Jilani and Salik, on Viola, Guitar and Drum.

Contact Rachael – full payment by Oct 1st please

Please bring vegetarian food to share for lunch and dinner.

For bookings or further information, 

contact Rachael info@rachaelcrow.co.uk 

Our Life is the Message

International Camp in France 3-9 September 2024

An event organized by the Papillons Voyageurs association.

Papillons Voyageurs is a French association whose purpose is to open

spaces for sharing, learning and putting ourselves into action, through the

co-creation of transformative experiences at the service of life.

Based on the 7 petals of the permaculture flower, with a predilection for

agroecology, eco-construction and living together, we participate through

our light and colorful wingbeats in what we perceive as a global evolution of

humanity.

GUIDES OF THE DANCES

J I L A N I C O R D E L I A P R E S C O T T

A dedicated musician and guide, she has been combining music, meditation, and Sufi practices

since 1997 to promote inner peace and healing. She organizes retreats and workshops at the Heart

Centre near Hebden Bridge, where she resides. With an approach that is both accessible and

grounded, she helps young and aspiring leaders realize their potential. Her work focuses on

personal and collective growth, bringing joy, unity, and deep connection to participants through

practices that celebrate life, music, and simplicity of heart.

>> https://www.jilanicordelia.com/ <<

M A L I K A E L E N A S A L A Z A R

Colombian by birth, initiated in the lineage of Sufi Ruhaniat International. With formal studies in

music, literature, transpersonal psychology and anthropology. She is certified in Kundalini Yoga,

Universal Peace Dances (DPU) mentor, flutist, performer and singer of sacred music from various

mystical philosophies. Malika leads meditation sessions with mantras and has explored a path to healing through her voice and transpersonal psychology.

>> Listen on Spotify <<

HOSTING PLACE

Les Damias is a hamlet in Éourres, a village of initiatives… a little remote, at the

end of a green valley, a haven of peace and nature! At an altitude of 1000m, the

winter is harsh, the spring late, the summer full of sun and the autumn is adorned

with a thousand colors. Each season has its charms: spring and autumn ideal for

hiking or relaxing stays, summer for welcoming families and seminars, and winter…

for rest.

Les Damias is a collective farm which cultivates, with minimal mechanization, its

own fruits and vegetables for personal consumption while offering a quality table

d’hôtes. It also practices conscious sourcing of foodstuffs not produced by the farm

and favors local producers (flour, cheese, beer, etc.). Food is one of the pillars of

Damias and we will have the pleasure of tasting the buffets prepared by their

kitchen team every day. The products, served generously, will be local, organic and

mostly from their vegetable garden, served generously!

LOGISTICS

By car

Via Lachau or Barret sur Méouge (Col d’Araud), direction Eourres. Do not go up to the village of

Eourres, follow the direction of Les Peyres/Les Damias. Cross the hamlet of Peyres and

continue the asphalt road to the end.

Public transportation

By Sisteron or Carpentras stations (shuttle from Aix TGV) or Laragne. From Carpentras, Sisteron

or Laragne, from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., a Drôme taxi (Transdrôme

service) can pick you up and drop you off in Lachau where we will pick you up (Let us know in

advance, €5 contribution requested).

Accommodation and equipment list

A list of equipment will be sent to those registered at the beginning of August in order to make

their stay as pleasant as possible and to give them the latest practical information related to

the course.

Any other question ?

Please write us to ensemble@papillons-voyageurs.net and we will be pleased to answer you !

RESERVATION

60 places are available for this camp, taken in order of validated registrations. We have 20

campsite places and 40 lodge places. The food offered includes lunch/dinner and as often in

peace dances, breakfasts are freely managed by the participants.

CAMP PRICE – Package

The balance allowing the sustainability of the

event and the following ones

280,00€

ACCOMMODATION IN GITE- Per night 40,00€

Allow 5 nights on site. Shared rooms

CAMPING OR VEHICLE – Per night 10,00€ Allow 5 nights on site

Prepare your camping/truck equipment

FOOD – Per day 30,00€

Allow 5 days of camp

Organic/local buffet for lunch and dinner

Confirm your reservation

Places are limited to 60 people and will be allocated in order of registration. We ask you to pay

a deposit of €250 to reserve your place, regardless of the option you choose. Please make this

payment by check or bank transfer to the account of the PAPILLONS VOYAGEURS association:

Mail address : Papillons Voyageurs, 62 rue du Coulet, 04240 Annot

Any place confirmed by email will be held for 10 days, if payment of the deposit is not

made within this period, we will release this place again. In the event of cancellation by you

up to 1 month before the course, €200 will be refunded to you, less than 15 days before half

of your deposit, less than a week before we will keep your deposit. In the event of

cancellation due to Papillons Voyageurs, you will be refunded 100%.

Membership of the Papillons Voyageurs association

The team

Vanessa Languasco & Michael Gauthier

Co-founders of the association and certified

trainers Gaïa Education, members of GEN

Email ensemble@papillons-voyageurs.net

Website https://www.papillons-voyageurs.net/

Phones +33 6 38 89 57 13 – +33 7 85 86 97 01

Sufi Camp with Jilani, 25-31 August 2024

Come and immerse yourself in the beautiful Welsh countryside and ‘the Sacred Manuscript of Nature, the only book which can enlighten the reader’ (in the words of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the Sufi mystic). For these days we will live together close to the land and deepen our connection to Mother Earth through many different practices, culminating in a beautiful co-created ceremony to honour and bless the Earth.

In the afternoons there will be training sessions for dance leaders – circles where new or more experienced dancers, dance leaders and musicians can explore the dance leading journey, with guidance and supporting practices held by Jilani, who is a very experienced mentor and trainer of dance leaders.

Rissa and Sky of Yew Tree Camps have this to say about the site:

‘Meadow Ground overlooks the gorgeous Welsh Valleys and enjoys dramatic views and spectacular skies from its position on the hillside. The Stone Circle is a formation of English and Welsh stones, which came together serendipitously to create a deep and mystical place for the dances. We are immersed in nature amongst the hedgehogs, owls, buzzards, bluebells, orchids and new and old trees.

The land has been lovingly tended to and developed to create the beautiful and magical setting for these camps. We are blessed by the full range of weather that Wales provides; beautiful sunny days, misty rainy days and everything in between – it is therefore good to pack for all seasons!

We have various sheltered spaces for workshops, lovely compost loos (including a new accessible compost toilet) and a mains water supply for drinking, hand washing, cooking, and basic off-grid showering and bathing. We will maintain an open fire which marks the centre of our camping circle. 

Please ask us about alternative accommodation and any other access needs you may require. Our field may not be suitable for everyone as the ground is uneven in places, but we would love to accommodate you as much as we can. We have options available to help you attend more comfortably if you aren’t able to camp or don’t wish to. If you need to travel light, we can help with some basic supplies like tents or bedding, however these are limited. 

We have three cats who love the freedom of the field. Therefore we are not able to accommodate other peoples pets on the field. We also have an older cat and a small dog who live down at the house.’

This exciting new event is designed to be affordable, and please do enquire if you need further help to be able to attend. Conversely, if you find the price is reasonable or cheap for the value which is being offered, please consider offering a donation to subsidise those who are less well off.

Bring your own plate/bowl/mug and cutlery, plus everything you need for a vegetarian breakfast. You might also like to bring teas/coffees and delicious snacks to share. Our main meals will be suitable for vegetarians with vegan and gluten free options, and are included in the price you pay. We will all offer our karma yoga services in turn to chop wood and vegetables, wash up and clear away.

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment! Contact Jilani with any questions prior to booking.

Click here for booking form

No Fields Found.

Cultivating a Peaceful, Grateful Heart

11 & 12 May 2024, Saturday and Sunday

a Non-Residential Weekend Retreat with Sheikh Muiz Brinkerhoff, assisted by Jilani and Salik

Sufi Practice, Dances of Universal Peace, Zikr, and a variety of other Heart-Centered, Mindful Explorations of Breath and Body, Sound and Silence, Movement and Stillness.

In Hebden Bridge, in the beautiful Pennine hills of West Yorkshire

All are welcome, even those new to Sufi practice and the Dances of Universal Peace.

You may join for all or part of the weekend. Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, Sunday 10 am – 4 pm

Nearby B&B and Hostel accommodation or campsites may be available. Book early to be sure.

£150/£130/£110, with a £20 discount for bookings received and paid before 1 April 2024.

Please bring food to share for two lunches.

We’ve kept the pricing deliberately low to help include those whose resources are limited. Please be generous as you self-select your price band. At the same time, if you can only attend part of the retreat, or if you are in financial hardship, please contact us. Money should not be an obstacle.

To book a place, or for more information, please contact Jilani

Standing at the Door of the New Year

29 December 2023 – 1 January 2024

Jilani Cordelia is delighted to be back in France, in the Alps, to welcome the New Year with Dances of Universal Peace, Meditations, Celebrations, Live Music and Games.

The Dances of Universal Peace are sacred, healing dances. They draw inspiration from spiritual traditions from around the world. Through song and dance, they open us to inner peace, unity, joy. (No prior experience required, open to all.)

Through dances and various practices, Jilani Cordelia will invite us to look back at the past year with gratitude and forgiveness, and to look forward at the year to come with confidence and trust.

Info & reservation: +33 658 25 14 17

odiledouressamy@gmail.com

Participation: €80 before December 1st, €120 after.

Accommodation and meals extra.

Registration form on request

Accommodation: It is extra. Prices are set by Dhyan who runs “Home Shanti Home”: 20€ in your truck, 30€ for a room for 3/4 persons, 35€ for a room for 2 persons (25€ per person for a couple), 40€ in caravan or chalet for 2 persons, 50€ for a single room. These prices are per person and per night. Everyone brings sheets, pillowcases and towels.

Accommodation is limited. The first to register will be the first to be served, otherwise you will always have the option of staying outside and then joining our group.

Meals: Meals will be prepared by a cook and a cook’s assistant. Each meal will be 12€,except the festive New Year’s meal being 15€, this will make 75€ in total. Breakfasts remain your responsibility.

Registration: complete the Registration Form & make a money transfer of 30% of the total amount (participation & accommodation) to Association “Joie de l’Etre”, organizer of the event. On site, upon arrival, you will be asked for the balance in cash. If you cancel your deposit will be kept as compensation.