Telluride’s Palm Complex: Zikr Dance Presents “Runes” & More, 9/25

18 Sep Telluride’s Palm Complex: Zikr Dance Presents “Runes” & More, 9/25

Telluride’s Palm Complex hosts Denver’s Zikr’s Dance Ensemble’s critically acclaimed “Runes.” The dance takes place Saturday, September 29, 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for students; $20 for adults; $35 day of performance, available here.

Scroll down for a sample of Zikr in action.

The word “Zikr” has acquired a large number of associations in religious literature, especially in Sufi literature: to remember; to praise by frequently mentioning; to rehearse; to celebrate or commemorate; to make much of; to cherish the memory of as a precious possession.

In Sufi devotions, zikr represents both a solemn ritual and a spiritual state in which the devotee seeks to realize the presence of God. Thus there is zikr of the mind and zikr of the heart. For some the one leads to the other, but in many cases the epiphanies occur simultaneously. There is also a subtler distinction, between the zikr that is open, and the zikr that is secret, corresponding to the two doors of the heart, that of the flesh and that of the spirit.

The Zikr Dance Ensemble offers a spectrum of works that include transcendent dance rituals from different ancient world cultures throughout history, along with original and contemporary dance/theatre realizations. The company’s purpose is to offer performance experiences for both participants and audiences alike which are both theatrically engaging and educational.

​The dances are supplemented by slide projections and visual effects, completing a multi-media experience that audiences and presenters alike find visually and artistically stimulating, as well as intellectually compelling.

The Zikr Dance Ensemble’s “Runes,” which will be presented in Telluride at The Palm on Saturday, September 29, focuses on the ancient magical northern European alphabet as it was used in its symbolic form for divination and prophecy. The stunning work features the use of a cyr wheel along with a breathtaking set of monolithic structures designed by Perspective Design Fabrication visionaries Devin Gores and Charles Lefkowitz.

Also on the program will be one of the most intriguing and historic samples of The Gurdjieff Sacred Movements, a 2000 year old year-old work entitled “The Assyrian Women Mourners,” along with the Zikr Dance Ensemble’s signature work and audience favorite, “In Your Eyes.”