Sacred Women Sacred Dance: Amazon.ca: Iris Stewart: Books

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Review

"Stewart has provided a multitude of lovely pictures and illustrations to underscore her discovery of the existence of earlier sacred dance and her aspiration to encourage its growth. Although all of what she describes is available elsewhere, she has performed a valuable service by bringing it together under a single cover."

Today's Books, August 2000

Exceptional.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

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4 star:		(2)
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4.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Woman Dance!, Jan 6 2004

By

Tamala Gage "East Song" (Roscommon, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sacred Women Sacred Dance (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book for any woman who is searching to uncover her own hidden "feminine" gifts thorough dance, or for one who is searching out all woman history to re-build her own. Dance has been changed through out the centuries but the core is still present.
A book that will expand the beginners understanding of how dance is connected to the spiritual. Much substance.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual Dance, Mar 12 2003

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Wendy A. B. Whipple (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sacred Women Sacred Dance (Paperback)

This book has an unusual approach to the history of dance. It has lovely photos/illustrations, and thorough notations throughout. I recommend ot for its unique approach to dance, but not for its (sometimes suspect) history. It's an interesting book, with a lot of information.

I can see using this book as a form of meditation I suppose that's as spiritual as you want it to be. There are interesting ideas here, and women who are exploring the meaning and origin of dance will probably find it a good read. As women's studies (which is one of the subjects this book falls into), it's a little lacking. She doesn't really provide enough hard evidence with some of her theories and interpretations to consider this a scholarly work. Women who are interested in the goddess will also find value in this book.

I recommend it as an interesting read, as long as the reader understands that much of what she writes is an interpretation of history, and cobbled together from whatever sources were available. Since much of women's history was never written, interpretation is necessary, of course, but I don't know how much is interpretation and how much is embellishment.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Dancing With the Universe, Jun 22 2002

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Terrie (Little Chute, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Women Sacred Dance (Paperback)

Many years ago when I first realized in a crystalline moment that I was one with the Universe, I was alone in a dew-wet field at sunrise with a very large old tree, and I suddenly and gently percieved that the tree was dancing with the Universe and I allowed myself to join in the dance. Ever since that time dance has been an important part of my spiritual expression and discovery. I am pleased to have come across this wonderful book by Iris J. Stewart because it is a treasure for any dancing soul. It is filled with inspiring illustrations from ancient to modern times of dance as a soulful pursuit of sacred knowledge. The author, herself a dancer, has written beautifully about her own experiences awakening to the spiritual aspects of movement as well as the history and applications of this creative and feminine form of spiritual expression. She introduces the reader to the dancing Goddess and the dancing Priestesses. She introduces us to some of the pioneer dancing divas like Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham and Mata Hari. We meet women from many cultures dancing evocative and colorful prayers to the Goddess. She inspires and invites us to allow ourselves to be moved and to follow that impulse into movement. She shows some of the many applications of the dance in theology, and in the art of healing, expressing lament, and in celebrating the coming of age among other creative uses. She has fresh and moving ideas for creating rites and offers descriptions of dances one can perform for moon rites and labyrinth meditations. She discusses the role of costumes and drumming. There is a brilliant chapter on the Dance of the Elements with lively and clear instructions for each of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. The back of the book has a thorough list of resources that include addresses, phone numbers and websites that are concerned with sacred dance including a list of pilgrimage/study tours. The writing is so interesting and filled with details about the female experience of the sacred that even if one is not particularly interested in dance one will still be enriched by this contact with women for whom it is a part of Life. I recommend it to any woman who wishes to know herself better and to thereby know her sisters better. It is a joyous expression of the feminine vibration and one that should not be missed.

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