The performance includes sacred and poetic music and song featuring an ensemble of vocalists, and musicians on tambur (lute), ney (reed flute), kanun (zither) and percussion. The program begins with selections of traditional music of Turkey, followed by the Mevlevi Semâ ceremony, a meditation in motion during which the highly skilled dervishes in traditional white garb seek to achieve a state of trance. Twirling 20 to 30 times per minute with the right palm turned toward the sky and the left turned to earth, the dervishes must train for years before they are permitted to participate in the centuries-old ritual. The musical accompaniment ranges from somber to rhapsodic. To learn more about the Semâ ritual, please visit: Sema ceremony.

The Whirling Dervishes first presented their spinning spectacle to North American audiences in 1978. They have since returned for six North American tours, were featured in the 1992 film Baraka, and released several recordings of their ceremonial music. The mystical folklore surrounding the dervishes has been repeatedly used in children’s stories and contemporary books, and their ritual dance has come to symbolize the values of love and service shared by Sufis around the world. They last appeared in Toronto in October 2000 at Massey Hall. Rumi is one of the most widely read poets in the world and has had a major impact on American popular culture. His poetry can be found in bookstores across Canada and the United States, and has been featured in various artistic genres such as composer Philip Glass’s multi-media work "Monsters of Grace," on a CD with readings by spiritual guru Deepak Chopra and pop singer Madonna, and in Hayden Reiss’s PBS documentary, "Rumi: Poet of the Heart." For more information, please visit: http://www.mekder.org