A few days ago, I got the opportunity to see a Semâ at the Galata Mevlevihanesi Müzesi in Istanbul. The museum was closed when I was here 5 years ago so I was excited to finally get to see it.

The ceremony is made up of seven parts.

The first 2 parts are eulogies followed by a ney taxsim

The dervishes then greet one another. The fifth part is when the whirling begins. There are 4 “salutes”  during this time.

The final parts include a reading from the Quran and ends with a prayer.

Whenever I watch a dance performance or something resembling dance, like spinning or whirling, I have a tendency to watch feet. As a dancer I’ve always found spinning very complex as there are many ways in which you can spin. Watching the Dervish, I went to their feet, I was curious how the did it. Though each varied from one another in their technique, it seemed that their left foot stayed planted on the ground while the right foot/leg kicked up and around them. I tried it when I got home, it was different then most spinning I’ve done, it requires balance but I didn’t get as dizzy while doing it. Of course this technique wouldn’t work in many styles of dance where you could see the persons leg. None the less, if I’m wearing a big skirt and I need to spin for awhile, I think I’ll use it!!