| JANUARY 14, 2021 download pdf Present: John, Helen (scribe), Phil (VfP), Martha (convener), Hayra/Ka Quorum is present.Opening Dance: La IllahaInterim committee: approved settlement of copyright claimAnnouncements: •Zamyat Kabira Kirby and Aslan Scott Settler recently passed on. The Ruhaniat website has memorial pages to both.Mt Vernon dance 2/7, Hayra and Nuria leadingTreasurer’s report: $3142 in the treasury, including one end-of-year donation to paypal.List-Serve Transition The transition to groups.io seems to have gone smoothly except for initial confusion about the “reply all” settings, which since have been adjusted to reflect our former practices on the dupnw list-serve (i.e. “reply” goes only to the sender, “reply all” is an option at the bottom of the message.)Fall Retreat Summary The summary was reviewed and will be shared with the leaders of the retreat. There were useful suggestions for future camps and many expressions of appreciation. Ka will contact one dancer who requested more Dance write-ups than are currently available.Zoom Winter Dances Dances are scheduled twice a month through March 10. Dates and leaders are posted on the seattledancesofuniversalpeace.org website. We will still need to have local hosts, as the leaders are guests from outside the Seattle Circle.Copyright Settlement After discussing options with a lawyer from Washington Lawyers for the Arts, we decided to settle a claim of copyright violation for $175.Global Peace Dance Thanks to the Corvallis group which hosted the event, and to Ka who co-led.Future Transition to In-Person Dances We briefly discussed some of the issues that will arise as the pandemic is gradually brought under control. A hybrid zoom-and-outside-dance might be a possibility for this summer.Next meeting: Thursday, 3/18, 7:00pm. (No February meeting.) Convener: John Scribe: Helen Interim Committee: Martha, John, PhilClosing Dance: May All Beings Have Happiness FEBRUARY ZOOM LINKS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | HOME MARCH 5, 2021 download pdfPresent: John (convenor), Brian, Martha, Ka (scribe), Phil (host and Voice for Peace), Helen [Quorum present]DANCE: The Healing Dance (Ka)Interim Committee report: no business since last meeting.Treasurer’s report (Murad and Martha) -$3142 total funds. -No imminent expenses. -Activity via Paypal, a single donation of $50Reconsideration of using Facebook (John) Because of the increased potential for Zoom bombing when promoting through FB, we still do not want to share our zoom links there. Links will continue to be sent out on listserv and posted on our website.Zoom “pinning” (John) At a recent Seattle Dance, one of our Dancers had mentioned not wanting to be “pinned”. Given the limitations of Zoom, there is no option for our tech people to adjust that for an individual. The Dancers themselves do have the option of not sharing their video, to prevent “pinning”. That information could be shared at Dances. Ka mentioned a nice writeup in this regard in an announcement from the Ruhaniat and will try to bring that to the next meeting for consideration to be entered in the chat.Consideration of sending a donation to Keystone Church (our long-time venue pre-COVID) (Brian) Declined at this point. Suggest reconsideration in April.Fall Retreat Leadership (Ka) The plan has been that our last year’s Leadership Team will be serving in person at Camp Burton. What will happen if it’s still not safe to gather in person this November?No decision made. Ka will contact our scheduled Leadership Team for their input. We will reconsider this issue during March and April.It was noted that the amount of tech labor for those few of us who covered it (Elizabeth, Helen, John, and Themis) was not comfortable. This would need to be considered if another Zoom retreat is to happen.Personal Check-insDANCE: Benediction (Murad)Future Agenda Items for April -Donation to Keystone church? -What would we want to do if it’s still not safe to gather in person for our Fall Retreat? -Avoiding “pinning”. (Ka may have some verbiage to offer)Next meeting Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7pm Convenor: Murad, Scribe: Helen, if able, Host: Murad APRIL 15, 7pm download pdfPresent: Phil (convener), Martha, Elizabeth (tech), Hayra, John, Jennifer (vfP), Helen (scribe), BrianDance: Bismillah RoundAnnouncements:Several folks or family members will be having surgery in the next few weeks.Treasurer’s Report: $3142 in treasury; no anticipated expenses in near future.FALL RETREAT: Location: Camp Burton is holding retreats, following state guidelines. Our camp is below 50% capacity in dance space. Prices holding steady. 6-foot spacing of beds in cabins would allow 6 dancers per cabin, and 2 dancers per room in retreat center. Staff would serve food. They plan to follow whatever guidelines are current in November.We discussed a number of possible factors that could influence our decision: possible state guidelines in November, current guidelines for choirs, open windows more difficult in cool weather, appeal of dancing 6 feet apart with masks, vaccination rate of attendees, impact of virus variants. We agreed that there are too many unknowns to make a firm decision this far ahead of time.Action: Martha will find out more about financial risks (i.e. minimum number and cancellation policies). We could consider polling prior attendees about how much interest they would have in an in-person versus a zoom retreat in the fall. We will return to the topic next month.Leaders: Matin and Munajat, who led last year’s zoom retreat, are interested in leading an in-person retreat, but not another zoom retreat. We discussed many possible ways forward. We can’t guarantee that we can hold our traditional retreat at Camp Burton, though that might end up being possible. We might be able to hold a hybrid event, where several local vaccinated leaders and musicians could gather together, and small groups of vaccinated dancers could meet, tied together over zoom.Action: Martha and Elizabeth will compose a poll of local leaders to see if any are willing to lead in person (if that is possible), but also willing to fall back to a zoom retreat if needed. We will invite Matin, Munajat and Sage to lead an in-person retreat in 2022.SPRING/SUMMER SEATTLE DANCES: ZOOM and OUTDOORMartha and Elizabeth have nearly filled a twice-monthly zoom schedule through July. We agree to holding an open mike on 5/5, which would include some dances, though this would leave only one Dances-only evening in May.We discussed holding possible outdoor dances as the weather warms. The planning group and dance leaders are considering an experimental outdoor dance, and if this proves successful, outdoor dances could be held monthly over the warm months.NEXT MEETINGFriday 5/28, 3 pm. Convener: Martha (206) 367-0389 / inoffice@dancesofuniversalpeace.org Scribe: Helen,Interim committee: Phil / 425-483-6500 / phil.notermann@gmail.com Martha / 206-367-0389 / inoffice@dancesofuniversalpeace.org Jennifer available for input if needed.Closing dance: Ruach ZOOM LINKS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | HOMEFri-May 28 @ 3pm download pdfOpening Dance: “Good Where We’ve Been”Present: Martha, John, Helen, Phil, Ka, Brian, Elizabeth Convener: Martha Voice for peace: John Scribe: Helen Quorum: yesAnnouncements • From Dance Leader’s Meeting: • Eliz and Hassan will reschedule summer trial dance. • Phil Murad and Zarifah will lead on 6/2. Interim Committee report: no activity Treasurer’s report $3142 in bank and cash, no impending expenses. We had 2 PayPal donations in Feb and May, total $75. Vashon Fall Retreat – Virtual or Live at Camp Burton? Camp Burton option We are on Camp Burton calendar November 5-7.Cancellation policy: if not COVID related, after Aug 7 we pay 50%, after Sept 7 we pay 100% of minimum. Minimum on our contract is 46 dancers/24 meals. State/federal rules would determine if COVID related fees are waived. We agree to decide before 8/7. The pandemic situation is changing rapidly. Martha, Elizabeth and Helen will design a survey to go out to usual registrants early in July. Vaccine status could be part of the survey. We could also at that time offer early registrations for the retreat center, holding the checks (as usual) to be returned if we decide to be virtual. If the situation is still very uncertain, we could approach Camp Burton about extending the cancellation deadline. Leaders Team (Program) Martha and Elizabeth sent out questionnaires to all regional leaders. Five plus Elizabeth responded. All are expert in zoom and willing to do either in-person or virtual events. Leaders from Portland, Seattle and Canada responded. We’re approaching it with Beginner’s Mind, so some out-of-the-box formats might be imagined. For example, we may be able to offer a virtual component or a combination of smaller in-person events shared virtually. Some additional equipment might need to be located. Summer Dances Leader’s team will try out a limited experimental outdoor dance shortly. If that proves successful, other in-person outdoor dances could be offered more widely this summer.For now we will keep two zoom dances a month. No more open mikes are scheduled at this time. Insurance coverage re Covid Has our insurance changed with Covid situation? Are we covered if someone gets ill while at camp? Likely our only liability is to not be negligent according to state guidelines. Brian will get information from Phil about our policy for possible further research. Next meeting: Date: June 25, 3pm Convener: Martha / inoffice@dancesofuniversalpeace.org / (206) 367-0389 Scribe: Helen Interim committee: John / jbirnel@comcast.net / (206) 782-6129 Martha / inoffice@dancesofuniversalpeace.org / (206) 367-0389Zoom Connection: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83569701210?pwd=MXl3RDhRUFhSeUxyREprMEdvRzVJUT09June 25, 2021@3pm download pdfPresent: Martha (convener), Helen (scribe), Brian, Elizabeth, Ka (Voice for Peace), Phil, John. Quorum is present.Opening Dance: Working Man’s ZikrAnnouncements: ·July 11 there will be an in-person outdoor dance at Meridian Park, info on the website. Perry Pike from North Carolina will be the guest leader.Interim Committee report: NoneTreasurer’s report: No change. We have $3142 in bank account and cashFall Regional RetreatA group of six regional leaders experienced in zoom are doing the planning; they are currently thinking seriously about a hybrid. Not all these leaders may be able to attend in person. An in-person retreat would be offered at Camp Burton, but two sessions could potentially also be offered on zoom. This will require borrowing or purchasing some equipment, redesigning the space to pick up wi-fi, and having two dedicated tech volunteers for each session.Tech: Elizabeth has had several offers of advice and equipment. Wi-fi would be available at the end of the room by the Memory Room/coffee bar, so a different configuration of the dance space would likely be needed.Minimum reservation and cancellation policy: Martha clarified Camp Burton policies with their staff. Our current contract with 46 minimum campers is based on renting the retreat center, 5 cabins, and two adjunct buildings. If we only rented 3 cabins and the retreat center, we could reduce the minimum to 32 people which would reduce our financial risk. If we had more than 32 people who wanted to come, cabin availability would not be guaranteed. If a group larger than ours needed Grisham Hall, we might be forced to use the space under the dining room.Finances: Our financial risk with the smaller minimum would be roughly $7600. If we cancel after Aug 7, we are liable for 50% of the minimum. After Sept 7 we are liable for the entire amount. Cancellation fees are waived if the cancellation is COVID related, based on CDC/WA State guidelines. A smaller retreat would likely not generate enough to pay leaders’ camp fees, work exchanges, and scholarships.Survey: Martha, Elizabeth and Helen presented a draft survey which the group reviewed and edited. It will go out approximately 7/1, to be returned by 7/15. It will be followed by a request for early registrations; pre-registration checks could be returned if necessary. The planning group will meet 7/31 with both survey and pre-registration information before making the final decision.PR: The flyer/website info will be very simple, without photos. Brian and Martha will put together the registration page, adding a request to share vaccination status . download registration formSummer Dances: An in-person dance is scheduled for July 11 at Meridian Park. Two zoom dances are scheduled for July 7 (Zaynab) and July 21 (Ka). Another in-person dance this summer as a special event is possible but not planned. Zoom dances in August are not yet arranged. Seattle Dance leaders meet 7/23; next zoom dance would be August 4. We’ll wait to see what momentum outdoor in-person dances have before exploring indoor in-person options.Liability Insurance Coverage: We will need to renew our policy if we hold Camp Burton. Last year there was no reduction in fee. We could reconsider renewing if we don’t go forward with an in-person retreat. Phil will contact Len Bordeaux about what other liability insurance products are available.Next meeting: July 31, 11:00am Location: zoom, tech host Phil/Helen Convener: John / (206) 782-6129 / jbirnel@comcast.net Scribe: Helen Interim committee: · Martha / (206) 367-0389 / inoffice@dancesofuniversalpeace.org · Ka / (206) 546-6092 / hayrafatah@gmail.com · John / (206) 782-6129 / jbirnel@comcast.netClosing dance: GopalaZOOM LINKS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | HOMEJULY, 31, 2021, @11am download pdfPresent: Helen (scribe), Phil (VFP), John (convener), Martha, Ka, Brian, Elizabeth by phone Quorum is present. Opening Dance: “Use Us for the Purpose That Thy Wisdom Chooseth“ Announcements: none Interim Committee Report: none Treasurer’s Report: No change. Some website expenses will come due soon. Roughly $3000 will remain in our treasury.Fall Retreat: We first reviewed what has happened since our last meeting:A survey was sent out, with 57 replies. 36 were “yes/probably”, 8 were “maybe”.Campers were invited to send in reservation checks, and 12 responded. We would need 24 campers minimum for food, 12 for retreat center.Martha has asked Camp Burton whether anyone else wants our weekend, and whether other fall groups have pulled out because of the delta variant, but has received no reply. With the rise of the variant, what is our ethical obligation for the safety of our campers? Our activities and our membership are both high-risk. We unanimously agreed that cancelling the in-person retreat is wisest at this time. If the pandemic situation improves and Camp Burton still has room, we could reconsider later this fall. Elizabeth will contact the other leaders about developing a virtual retreat instead. Brian and Martha will craft language for the website. Martha will send out an email notice and arrange to refund checks. We briefly discussed creative options like holding a non-residential small gathering in Seattle as one of the zoom rooms, or planning towards a spring in-person gathering. Future Seattle Dances The Dance Leader team proposes two dances per month going forward, either in-person or on zoom. We won’t be exploring in-person indoor dances until the pandemic has abated. Elizabeth and Hassan will organize an in-person dance at Meridian Park, probably the last weekend in August or early September. John volunteers to attempt to organize a zoom dance on August 11 or 18. (We may end up taking a vacation from zoom in August.) Dance leaders have volunteered to coordinate dances in September (Phil), October (Jennifer), and November (Hayra). If another in-person or retreat event is organized, only one zoom dance will be arranged that month. Stay tuned to the website and announcements on the email list. Next meeting: Thursday, Sept 2, 7:00 pm Convener: Ka / Scribe: Helen / Interim Committee: John, Ka, Phil Closing Dance: “Alleluia” AUGUST No MeetingZOOM LINKS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | HOMETHURS-SEPT 2, 7:00pm download pdfPresent: Martha (Convenor), John, Ka, Jennifer (VfP), Elizabeth, Helen (Scribe), Phil, BrianOpening Dance: “How long can I beg and bargain”Interim committee report: no activityAnnouncements: Friends of Janette and Mark gathering on Sunday at Maple Leaf Reservoir Park.Treasurer’s report: John made donation announcement at in-person dance, $25 was given in cash. $2937 in bank plus $25. Recently paid for website ($206). Liberty Mutual insurance will be due soon, usually $260. Zoom account has renewed, Eliz will be reimbursed.Camp BurtonWe confirm the decision to meet virtually. Leaders will meet soon. Currently Zahir and Zaynab in Portland, Hassan and Elizabeth in Seattle, Joanne Sales in Canada. How to make it different from last year? Could we have small groups as part of the retreat? Maybe a small gatheing in Seattle with live musicians for the leaders, as was done in Ithaca. Haven’t decided how many sessions or theme, etc. Zoom fatigue, maybe shorter sessions? Maybe more of a reunion with some dances than a serious retreat? Breakout rooms for conversation? Rooms for eating lunch together?When time slots are known, website can be updated and donation button highlighted.Seattle DancesRecent outdoor dance was well received. 16 people came. Everyone wore masks and kept distances. Voices blending, joyous experience, beautiful musicianship. Some people went to dinner afterwards.September in-person date is unclear because Hassan is out of town. Murad is organizing Sept zoom for 9/29.Jennifer will plan an October zoom; possibly there can be an outdoor dance in October.Hayra will plan one November zoom in addition to Camp Burton. Dance Leaders meet on 9/17, 7pm, open to input on agenda.Next meeting:Date: Thursday, 10/14 at 7pmConvenor: John,Scribe: HelenMartha will put out announcement with zoom inviteInterim Committee: Jennifer, Martha, JohnClosing Dance: “Take Me as I Am Zikr”ZOOM LINKS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | HOMEThurs-Oct 14, 7:00pm download pdfPresent: John (convener), Helen (scribe), Ka (VfP), Martha, Jennifer, Hassan, Phil, Brian, Elizabeth. (Quorum present)Opening Dance: May I be Filled with Loving KindnessAnnouncements:pop up dance Saturday 3pm at Meridian Park.Wed 10/20 is zoom dance with Jennifer, Wakil and Wendy.Treasurer: $2635, after insurance, zoom renewal and website fees.Winter Plans: In-person dances unlikely until March or April. In the meantime we have the zoom option. We agreed to try for 1-2 occasions per month, with at least one healing dance per quarter. “Pop-up” outdoor dances are possible if weather permits. Or we could consider setting up an indoor dance if covid numbers fall enough. After some discussion, we agreed that dates and times can be flexible. Picnic shelters or Meridian Park pavilion could be options this winter.November: Ka will organize for the month, with Camp Burton being one of the events.December: Phil is willing to do one Aramaic related zoom dance. Ka might be willing to do a second dance in December, possibly associated with Global Peace Dance.January: Martha is willing to seek leaders outside the region for 1-2 zoom sessions.February: Jennifer will organize for the month, leading at least once and seeking guest leaders for a second dance.March: Hassan and Eliz will be back in town, hoping to lead an outdoor dance.Ka and Phil are available if needed any month.Camp Burton: Initial announcement has gone out. More detailed announcements are being prepared. At least five additional guest leaders from WA will be included. There will be four sessions:Hassan will lead zikr on Saturday night.Zaynab and Elizabeth will lead the opening session, emphasis on reconnecting and reunion.Zahir will pole Saturday morning.Joanne will pole Sunday morning.Other leaders will be included as well.No breakout rooms will be done during the sessions, but conversation spaces will be open before and after each dance. The atmosphere will be informal. Zaynab will host a “Rumi Café” after dances on Saturday evening. Each pole can set a theme, so each session will have different flavor.The current announcement says people are encouraged to dance in small groups. Each dance leader will probably invite a small group with musicians for at least one session. Otherwise groupings won’t be formally organized but hopefully will emerge spontaneously.So far the initial announcement has gone only to the Seattle list-serve. Martha will send it to her list of previous attendees. A separate zoom link for the retreat will only go out a week before to same lists—ie our list, past registrant list and other leaders’ lists. A dial-in option will be included in zoom link, and possibly a password.Tech for this event? Elizabeth recommends setting up a waiting room as a deterrent to zoom bombers. They often leave if there’s a wait room and it prevents bombers from coming back in. It also lets leaders have clear practice time. But it needs constant monitoring by one of the tech people.We will need at least two tech people per session, in several teams. Helen, Ka, John, Phil, Elizabeth, and Jennifer are willing to be on a tech team. Eliz will ask the Portland group if they could provide tech for Zahir’s session. Helen and Ka will do tech for the 10/20 zoom dance as preparation.Recording the retreat would need everybody’s permission, which could be awkward, and storage is limited. Recording could be included in publicity so no one is surprised, or only one session could be recorded. The retreat leaders will discuss the option at their next meeting.Website question We decided to leave contact info for the groups.io list-serve on the website.Next meeting:11/22 @4pm on zoomKa will do tech.Helen will scribe.Phil will facilitate.Interim committee: John, Phil, KaClosing dance: Intoning “Abwoon” ZOOM LINKS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | HOME NOVEMBER 22,2021 @4pm download pdfPRESENT: Phil (chairing), Helen Voice for Peace, John (scribing), Brian, Ka, Martha, and Elizabeth.A quorum was present.We danced “Allah to the 4 Directions”ANNOUNCEMENTS:A Virtual Global Peace Dance is being planned for New Years Eve and New Year’s Day. Phil and Matin are also making plans sometime this winter, Date tba for a virtual Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic.TREASURER’S REPORT: Balance of $3379 includes monies already deposited plus cash such as $70 from in-person summer dances held, and net receipts of $299 from the Virtual Regional Retreat earlier this month.CAMP BURTON” REGIONAL RETREAT:All agreed a very successful virtual retreat. A little bit more laid back from last year, with no formal registration, and no special tech tricks such as spotlighting attempted. However, the dance leading was smooth. The leaders seemed to be very well-prepared and were experienced and embracing of zoom. Many positive comments were received. The dance sessions were set at a reasonable 1.5 hours each. Attendance in the evenings was about 50-60, with lower attendance in the 30’s in the mornings. Saturday morning dipped below that as the Jahmiat conflict came into play. The Sat afternoon workshops scheduled for 3 hours were surprisingly well attended with 30-40 people participating. We saved ourselves time and energy by not requiring registration. Did that actually reduce the number of dancers who attended and the number of dancers who donated? 14 people donated this time. 42 donated last year. 117 registered last year. The attendance last yr.: 86 Fri pm\45 Sat am\74 Sat pm\44 Sun am. Hard to tell. There were a few “pods” (groups of 2-4) joining in, which added to the richness of the weekend, especially when they were presenting, and we were able to experience the blended voices with the music.SOFT RETURN TO KEYSTONE?We brainstormed about when we might be ready to dip our toes into returning to an in-person inside dance presumably at Keystone, if they are yet open to it. Of course, there would need to be at least one dance leader ready to proceed. None at present apparently. We could open the windows for a good deal of ventilation, though the extra heating and/or bundling required might be problematical. Ka showed us a Resonance Mask available via mymusicfolder.com, and Elizabeth mentioned a similar singing mask available for much less ($12) via Etsy. There was thought that purchase of these items for dancers might be a worthwhile investment of the $500 windfall we will be receiving from Oneness within a month or so.JOINT MEETINGS WITH LEADER’S MEETING?We discussed combining the DUPP and Leader’s group. There are only 6 active members of the Dance Team, with 3 on sabbatical. It could save the majority of the Dance Team from having to attend both meetings. To discuss more, and experiment, DUPP will likely be invited to join with the Leader’s group for their next meeting 1/2/22. (Ka will ask the other 2 members of the Leader’s group if they are OK with meeting a little earlier in the evening.) That meeting will not be open to all DUP Dancers, whereas DUPP meetings have been open to any DUP dancer. To be resolved: the discrepancy re: all-inclusive or not, and whether a check-in tradition at the Dance Leader meetings would be retained. One option in terms of check-in would be have breakout rooms for check-in, with the members of each subgroup chosen either randomly or by the facilitator for the meeting. Have check-in only for leaders and long-time DUPP members, and start the public part of the meeting 15 minutes later? In case the DUPP joining the Leader group Jan. 2nd does not work out (4 or 5pm), our backup meeting for DUPP will be 1/17/22.NEXT:Martha to convene if we meet 1/17 vs. 1/2.Helen will scribe if we meet 1/17. John will be back-up scribe as needed. We may participate in the selection of scribe if we meet January 2nd.The Interim Committee will be Martha, Phil, and Helen.If we have received the $500 gift from Oneness by the time of our next meeting, we may discuss if any special consideration will be given as to how to spend that sum.CLOSING DANCE: “Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves” DECEMBERZoom Connection: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83569701210?pwd=MXl3RDhRUFhSeUxyREprMEdvRzVJUT09ZOOM LINKS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | HOME |