For the One Dance History

The “For the One” Dance is a two-day "singing dance" whose purpose is to awaken the memory of who we are and where we come from. It combines fasting, movement and sound to help participants heal what is out of balance, and experience a state of "oneness" in which they remember their connection with all things.

We did three of these dances in 2003. The first two were in North Carolina. The third was in South Africa at the end November, in a place known by the Zulus as “The Valley of the Eagle.” It was there that we were told this dance is the fulfillment of two ancient prophecies – one Hebrew and 3000 years old, and the other African. The prophecies, taken together, said, “A time would come when people of many colors and cultures would come together to sing and dance as one.”

When we returned to the States, we received an invitation from the Center for Peace in Tennessee to do the “For the One” dance in their arbor over the Spring Equinox. We gladly accepted. But like many things we’ve said “yes” to, the significance of doing the fourth dance there wasn’t immediately apparent. The number “four” brings things into form. So, doing the fourth dance will fully manifest the energy that has been put into motion so far. It will be a very powerful dance. And, it will be a springboard for the next cycle of Dances starting in Israel (May 4-6). As I thought about this, I suddenly realized that the “For the One” Dance was also seeded at the Center for Peace just over seven years ago!

At the end of September 1996, during a cold, rainy weekend, Jeanne did a three-day vision quest in the dance arbor at the Center for Peace. The arbor sits on ancient Cherokee land, so the vision quest also allowed Jeanne to connect with her maternal roots. Over that long weekend, fasting from both food and water, Jeanne danced sixteen paths in the arbor – the four directions of the four directions. During that time, the “Old Ones” came to her and began to sing through her. This was the weekend when Jeanne was taught how to sing the vowel sounds with spontaneous melodies. The five vowel sounds (ah-eh-iii-oh-uu) are the primary energies of creation. Singing them spontaneously is a very powerful practice that has resulted in two CDs and many peace concerts around the world. Yet, it was this same weekend that the seed for a singing dance was planted. Jeanne danced it. And when she was done, sixteen hawks circled above her for a long time. They even followed her from the arbor up to the house. In the Native American tradition, hawks are the messengers of the ancestors. So, it was clear that something important had happened.

It took nearly three years for the seed to grow within Jeanne and emerge, in 1999, as a vision to take this powerful, prophetic “singing dance” to the people. It took another four years for it to gestate, and become a reality in April 2003. Now, during the weekend of the Spring Equinox, 2004, it is coming back to the arbor where it started – to be given roots, and anchored – adding power to the next cycle of “For the One” dances.

The experience of this dance has been amazing so far. It is quickly becoming an international dance that is gathering together people of many races, colors and creeds. To date, people from the US, Germany, Israel, South Africa, Croatia and France have danced or helped in this dance of remembering.

As the drum carries the dancers to the sacred center, the dancers spontaneously sing the sounds that take them to the original vibration from which all creation comes. In this process, each dancer experiences themselves as the hollow bone through which Spirit blows the breath of life. We have watched them move at lightning speed out of a “head” space and into a state of unity consciousness. And in this place of “oneness,” they begin to remember that they are connected with all things. Indeed, the time of separation is over.

Come dance with us and experience this for yourself!

For further information, please contact:

Margarita DiVita at ancientjaguar@bellsouth.net is our worldwide “For the One” Dance coordinator, and can be contacted about any of the dances.
Or, send an email to: fortheonedance@aol.com .
Patty Coleman is International Director of Fundraising, raising funds that make the dance possible in the many countries. Her email is: blueearth48@bellsouth.net .

	*For the One Dance* History and Vision
Hawks are the messengers of the ancestors.

Visit our "For the One" Dance page for current dance schedules.