April 23 – 26, 2026 Register Now
Join us for Awakening Heart, a Dances of Universal Peace Weekend at The Farm Community in Summertown, Tennessee.
- A Weekend of Dance, Music, and Celebration!
- Guided Nature Walks
- Farm Community Tour
- See the Weekend Schedule – Register NOW!
- About Accommodations
- About Food
- Airport Pickup and Car Rental
- Share our printable flier
The intention of this Dance weekend is to open the circle to our broader community of Dance Leaders and simultaneously lower the cost so that our camp is affordable and easy for everyone to participate.
Thursday 5 pm to Sunday Noon
$150 per person
$15 per Campsite: per night – Bathrooms and hot showers available
$25 Dorm rooms: per bed, per night
B&B accommodations available. Let us know if you need any assistance.
See the Weekend Schedule Register NOW!
Meet our Primary Dance Leaders
NurAna Wilansky: NurAna has been a certified Dances leader since 1992. Together with her husband, Hakam Liechty’s musical accompaniment, she leads in her local (central Illinois) and other Midwest circles. She loves delving into the teachings and light of all the spiritual paths, and has particular focus in Judaism and Sufism. She mentors new dance leaders and serves as a Board member of DUP International.
Your host for this event, Douglas Stevenson: Douglas has been singing and playing music since junior high. He has been a member of The Farm Community for over 50 years, leading Kirtan and then Dances there for the last 10 years. He is a Board member of DUP International.
Amira Jones: leads Dances of Universal Peace monthly in the Atlanta area and is currently mentoring for Leaders-in-training there. She also helps with Dance leader training in Mexico for Latinos and Latinas wanting to bring Dances to their local communities. She has been on the Sufi path for many years.
Additional Leaders: After the opening evening, we will welcome guest Leaders to join us for morning and evening sessions.
Dance Leaders in Training: will have the opportunity to lead and receive feedback on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
For those of you new to Dances of Universal Peace
The Dances of Universal Peace (DUP) are a spiritual practice employing evocotive movements and singing sacred phrases and poetry from the world’s spiritual traditions.
The steps are simple and easy to learn, with everyone in a circle, sometimes moving in one direction or the other, at other times with a partner, all while chanting and singing together.
As we dance and sing in unison, the vibrations from our voices and musical instruments become as one. There is an uplifting energy present that connects our hearts and the essence within us.
It is a very powerful spiritual experience and an incredible way to create a heart connection and build a sense of community.
Tentative Schedule
Thursday Evening
- Welcoming Circle
- Dinner – Registration
- Dances of Awakening Heart
Friday
- Morning Woods Walk
- Breakfast
- Farm Community & Green Home Tour
- Dances of Community
- Lunch
Friday Afternoon and Evening
- Dances of the Spirit
- Guided Nature Walk
- Supper
- Dances of the Soul
- Late-night singing and campfire
Saturday
- Morning Woods Walk
- Breakfast
- Farm Community & Green Home Tour
- Dances of Community
- Lunch
Saturday Afternoon
- Dances of Spirit
- Guided Nature Walk
- Supper
- Dances of the Soul
- Late-night singing and campfire
Sunday
- Breakfast
- Group Meditation
- Kirtan
- Closing Dance
- Closing Circle
Please let us know how to help you get the most from your experience.
Dance space for approximately 40 people.
Meet Your Host, Douglas Stevenson: Activist, artist, author, and musician, and a member of The Farm Community since 1973.
I have been a musician pretty much all my life. By far the most fulfilling music I have ever played comes from leading group singing, chanting and dancing. It empowers each person to find their voice and link our spirits in a shared vibration. The group singing and chanting moves to a new level with the added movements known as the Dances of Universal Peace. The synchronicity of movement creates unity and builds community, and fills the space in our hearts with joy and love, so needed in today’s world.
I believe you will find The Farm to be a unique place in the world. I look forward to dancing with you on liberated land, and sharing with you the vibrational space created by our life in community.
I hope to see you in May!
Douglas
Learn more about my life, my books, and hear examples of my music, by visiting http://douglasstevenson.com/music/
More about The Farm
The Farm was founded as a spiritual community in 1971 on the principles of nonviolence and respect for the earth. This gathering brings together two important spiritual movements born from the Renaissance in San Francisco and the energy emanating 50 years ago from the Summer of Love.
Adult Registration Friday – Sunday $150 – Click here to pay by check
Let us know if you need any financial assistance.
Young Adult (35 and Under) Discount $100
Child Registration 15 and under $25
Accommodations (See options below: camping, dorms, private room, or cabin)
The Farm Community has many different options for accommodations, from camping to dorm rooms, shared quarters, tiny houses and cabins, and private rooms. Many homes that do not ordinarily take on overnight visitors have offered to rent bedrooms to dancers attending our weekend. There are hotels and BnB’s from 5 to 15 miles away in the area.
Contact me directly for assistance and recommendations in finding the space that is right for your needs. douglas@villagemedia.com
If you are in need of financial assistance and finding accommodations at no cost would be a big help to you, I have a few spaces available that my friends have graciously offered to donate.
We have a cabin with two bedrooms with queen beds, a loft with two more queen beds, plus a futon in the living room, all for $80 a night. If you are coming with a group or willing to share space with others, this could be a good option.
Dorm Registration 2-3 nights, $25 a night, 14 beds total
The dorms have hot showers and bathrooms, and are directly across the street from The Community Center where we will dance and have all meals.
Camping $15 a night, two night minimum – Select the number of nights
We have level campsites in the woods behind the Community Center and car camping in the surrounding meadow. Access to showers and bathrooms included. (Back to top)
Transportation
Airport Shuttle
The Farm Community is 70 miles from the Nashville BNA airport, which is about a 1 ½ hour drive, longer during rush hours. To avoid traffic, we will have airport shuttles scheduled to run on Thursday and Friday, at 2 PM and 6 PM. Note: Our opening circle starts at 4 PM on Friday, so we hope you can find a flight that gets you to Nashville by Friday morning. Our shuttle drivers are serving as volunteers, but we are asking for $25 a person to help cover the cost of gas. We do not schedule returns to the airport at this time because often people attending the weekend can provide rides back to Nashville.
Additional Transportation
The Farm Community is spread out across several square miles. Many of our accommodations are 2-3 miles from the Community Center where meals are served and Dances take place. We will provide a morning and evening shuttle as needed to get people up and down The Farm.
Often people find renting a car from the airport to be a good option, giving them the freedom to come and go on their own schedule, such as taking an afternoon break or sleeping in and arriving after meals. It can also make your airport run easier, perhaps even helping others. Think about whether this would be a good option for you. (Back to top)
About Food
Our menu is based on main meal staples, supplemented by food donations. For example…
Breakfasts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will consist of homemade granola, alternative milks, yoghurt, plus breads, bagels, and spreadables. I will be making my signature blackberry and blueberry cobblers. Lunches will be soups and sandwiches or a side.
We’ll have salads for both lunch and dinner.
Dinner/Supper: Thursday TBA, Friday Lasagna (gluten-free option), Saturday: Enchiladas
Lunch on Sunday will consist of any food leftover from the weekend and we make plans to depart.
To keep our costs down, we are asking everyone to pitch in on meal prep and cleanup, sort of family style. Compostable paper plates and bowls help speed the cleanup, so everyone is ready to dance after dinner. (Back to top)
Support the work of DUPNA!
Click here to make a donation.
To mail a check, or for more information, contact:
Douglas Stevenson
111 Huckleberry Road
Summertown, TN 38483
Douglas@villagemedia.com
Douglas.villagemedia@gmail.com
931-964-2590
More about Dances of Universal Peace
The Dances of Universal Peace are derived from a lineage of Sufi Masters, teachers of the mystical form of Islam.
Hazarat Inayat Kahn brought Sufi philosophy and teachings to America in 1910, expanding the philosophy into a new form, Universal Sufism which recognized the essential oneness of all humanity. “The Sufi,” said Inayat Khan, “sees the truth in every religion.”
Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings on sound and vibrations presented his vision of the harmony which encompasses every aspect of our lives.
“What makes us feel drawn to music is that our whole being is music; our mind and our body, the nature in which we live, the nature that has made us, all that is beneath and around us, it is all music. We are close to all this music, and live and move and have our being in music…The mystery of sound is mysticism; the harmony of life is religion. The knowledge of vibrations is metaphysics, the analysis of atoms is science, and their harmonious grouping is art. The rhythm of form is poetry, and the rhythm of sound is music. This shows that music is the art of arts and the science of all sciences; and it contains the fountain of all knowledge within itself. Music should be healing; music should uplift the soul; music should inspire.”
In 1919, Samuel Lewis, an American born to Jewish parents, became part of a Sufi community in California and a student of Hazrat Inayat Khan.
A year later, he also became the student of a Zen Buddhism, and eventually was recognized as both a Sufi Murshid and ordained as a Zen master.
Over the ensuing decades, Lewis traveled around the world, seeking to encounter other mystics and spiritual teachers.
While in the hospital recovering from a heart attack in 1967, Lewis stated that he heard the voice of God say, “I make you spiritual leader of the hippies.”
From this came his inspiration to create the Dances of Universal Peace, which encompass all of the spiritual traditions, Lewis encountered during his travels.DUP Founder, Samuel L. Lewis “Sufi Sam”
San Francisco September 1969
Called “Sufi Sam,” by his students and followers, Lewis traveled throughout California teaching his music and dances to young people open to the spiritual experiences they provided.
Murshid Sam established Sufi Ruhaniat International to carry forward his music and the Sufi lineage, shortly before his passing in 1971.
“Words are not peace. Thoughts are not peace. Plans are not peace. Programs are not peace. Peace is fundamental to all faiths. Peace is fullness, all inclusive…and must be experienced.”
Dance circles now take place in all parts of the world.
Visit the web site to learn more.
https://www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org/