Frame drumming and dervish dancing

After a whole summer of cultural performances and outdoor cinema nights in the heart of Nicosia, the Faneromeni24 Arts Festival will close this Thursday with the musical-dance performance The Pulse of Life.

A bi-communal creation by Tribal Fusion Duet Moires, frame drummer Ianthi Sparsis and Turkish Cypriot whirling artist Dervish Zeybek, with the participation of the Mystics Group of Dancers and Women Frame Drumming group MA*GAIA, the performance is inspired by the rich legacy of women drummers and dancers of antiquity.

Centred on the sound of the primordial drum, the sacred musical instrument of the Mother Goddess, the performance aims to highlight the importance of sound, music and rhythmic movement/dance as worship practices and means of connecting us to the ever-pulsating rhythmic universe. Drums and dance movement were at the centre of all rituals throughout the ancient world, including Cyprus, which is confirmed by the abundance of statues of dancers and drummers found in temples of the Great Goddess throughout the island, north and south.

The performance is divided into four sections: In principle, Female Principle, Male Principle, and Union. Beginning with a background of the primary pulse, the first sound babies hear in the mother’s womb, the beating heart of the universe, and with the projection of images, and narrative, the framework will be set within which the music and dance ritual will unfold. Viewers will experience the sacredness of the awakening of the feminine and masculine beginnings and the perpetual rhythmic, circular dance of their union with each other as symbolism, worship, and celebration of the unending pulse of all life and creation.

The Pulse of Life

Performance with frame drumming and Dervish whirling dancing. Part of Faneromeni24 Arts Festival. September 26. Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Nicosia. 8.30pm. Free