Banafsheh Sayyad

Born in Iran into a family of performing artists, Banafsheh Sayyad is a Persian sacred dancer, choreographer and teacher. In 2005 she created Dance of Oneness®, her path of embodied spirituality. At UCLA she earned a Master of Fine Arts in dance and choreography and taught Persian dance. Her spiritual search took her to the Sufi tradition, the Gurdjieff Work and the Divine Feminine, while study of Chinese medicine, Tai Chi and Qigong gave her an understanding of the meridians and chakras that informs her movement work. She performs with her company, NAMAH, and with Andrew Harvey she made In the Fire of Grace, a dance film following Rumi's journey of the soul.

Dance of Oneness combines Sufi whirling, Persian dance, flamenco and contemporary movement with breath, meditation and wisdom teachings such as Rumi's poetry. She teaches both in person and online, giving workshops at centres including Esalen, Kripalu and Omega, and offers a library of video courses and a certification programme for future teachers. Her book Dance of Oneness: Embody Love and Luminosity to Transform Your Life, which has forewords by Anne Baring and Andrew Harvey, presents the method as a practical guide.