Sufi Dancing

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Sufi Dancing was a Pune One phenomenon, beginning probably in late 1976 and lasting through Jun 1981, when Osho left for the States, and possibly a month or two longer. It was led by Aneeta, and consisted of an hour and a half or so of energetic and/or soft heart-opening singing and dancing, every day even during camps, a prominent feature of Shree Rajneesh Ashram.

Osho asked her to lead Sufi Dancing almost immediately after she arrived in Pune, and so it happened, first in Radha Hall -- Buddha Hall had not yet been built -- then in Buddha Hall. Image second right is from Radha Hall.

There were many songs from the Sufi tradition included in Aneeta's repertoire but that was far from all of it; songs and chants came from every tradition, sometimes with modified words: Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Native American, pop music and some original sannyas-oriented songs. And most of the songs were choreographed: image top right is one of many pages from Aneeta's notes giving directions for each song, simple moves with changing partners or in lines or circles, with a lot of gazing into each others' eyes.

The heart-opening-with-music mode was a big hit with sannyasins of the time; many with time to spare after breakfast would wander in to share and connect in this way. Its counterpart in the evening was Music Group, run by Anubhava, Aneeta's life-partner. Anubhava would come sometimes to accompany Aneeta on guitar but more often that role would be played by Ramananda.

see also
Sufi Dancing in Poona (songbook with words and dance directions)
Sufi Dance (1977 - 1978) (91-min music audio incl 23 songs)
Sufi Dance (1980) I and II (87-min music audio incl 13 songs)
Sufi Dance (1981) (45-min music audio incl 8 songs, mostly written by Anubhava)