Resurrection and Renewal Dance 2021

Hosted by Dances of Universal Peace
Easter Sunday, April 4th, at 6:25 a.m.
Outside on the StarHouse Dance Grounds - 3476 Sunshine Canyon Drive, Boulder, CO

A Message from Timothy Dobson:

Dear Dormant Dancers,

I want to invite you to gather this Easter for a sunrise dance on the grounds of the Starhouse. Like many of you, I am reeling from the news of the mass shooting at the King Soopers store in Boulder on Monday afternoon. It is the place that I bought refreshments on my way to the Boulder Peace Dances for thirty years and where I continue to shop as recently as last Thursday. At first, it was just another sensational story on my T.V. screen, another virtual event. Then, as I listened to a shopper on the evening news recount his experience of fleeing from the gunshots, I began to well up with tears. We are all processing this tragedy at different paces and feel our woundedness to different degrees. 

When tragedy strikes so close to home, there is a visceral imprint of trauma. Trauma, isolation, fear, depression, corruption, insurrection and killing have been placed on our plates in ample portions particularly in the last year. Conflicting information has added to the confusion as we look for where to turn for solution, solace and a sense of inner peace and personal safety. Perhaps it would be good to move together.

The Resurrection and Renewal dance on Easter morning started as part of a senior project I was completing at Naropa in 1989. That first gathering of 16 people grew in number as the years passed and took on a life of its own as an annual ceremonial event. It served as a re-engagement with Life and a marker to the end of an often long contracted winter. It also has renewed my faith in the presence of Light in the darkest of times. I don't need to itemize the challenging events we have witnessed and survived in the past year as a community, as a nation, as humankind. I just need to say that Guidance is directing me to offer this invitation to gather as medicine for myself and anyone in our community that feels called to join us before sunrise on Easter morning.

I have sought permission and counsel from the Starhouse administration and board members. We all want as safe an environment as possible to celebrate through the Dances of Universal Peace and are asking that the following guidelines be followed. First and foremost, be self responsible in your choice to attend. Assess the risk factors for yourself. The protocols from health experts and government offices are changing weekly. There is still plenty of conflicting information, and you need to sort that out for yourself. Secondly, respect the needs of others if their bearings on safety and caution are different from your own. I will do my best to create a program of dances that allows us to connect physically, emotionally and spiritually without fear and with your support. My intention is to allow the spread of remembrance of the sacred, the regenerative power of nature and the resilience in a supportive, loving community, not a virus!

See the logistics below and please arrive on time. The StarHouse location is a ten minute drive from the Pearl St. Mall and remember to allow for a five minute walk from the parking lot to the dance grounds. If your guidance is to stay at home, you can be with those that gather in spirit and greet your Easter by rising to see the dawn from wherever you call home. "Wah, Taho, Taho, Wake ye arise, Life is calling thee. Wake ye arise, Life is greeting thee."

This is an outdoor gathering. If inclimate weather makes things too difficult, we will postpone the dance for one week and announce the new start time via email.

There will be some hand holding. Wear gloves for warmth or personal safety if you like. Sanitizing lotion will be on site as well. I will modify some of the dances for greater distancing, but do not want to sacrifice the intention of connecting and supporting one another. You will always have the choice of participating in a dance or not. It will not be a Miami Beach at Spring break scenario, but you will also not be in a plastic bubble!
For those new to this event... It is scheduled on Easter morning to resonate with the remembrance taking place in the mass consciousness of a risen Christ. It happens at dawn to symbolize the Creator's love for creation and the unwavering dependability of light returning in the darkest of times. It has always been an interfaith event in that the traditions that inspire each dance have their unique way of drawing us back to remembering the goodness of life and the Divine Presence so close and within each of us beyond the set of beliefs that we carry. I look forward to a morning of healing and connection with the brave souls that show up in the dark to welcome the light!

I want to share these words from "The Book of Flashes" from Pir Elias Amidon, a wise Boulder neighbor.

"Jesus rises from the ground,
his body green and slender,
offers you a flower no one can see.
Here, he says, this is forever."

Please arrive by 6:25 a.m. Sunday, April 4th.
There will be some logistical help needed, so if some people can arrive closer to six, that would be appreciated.
Location: The outdoor dance grounds due south of the StarHouse - 3476 Sunshine Canyon Drive Boulder, CO.
Please carpool if possible. (The Mt Sanitas trailhead parking lot at the foot of the canyon might serve as a good meeting spot.)

This has always been a FREE offering, and donations are gratefully accepted toward refreshments and musician travel expenses.