Wim de Weij lives in the Netherlands and dances regularly with Jeaneth de Witte’s dance group in Enschede 1. What was your first encounter with Sacred Dance? I first came into contact with Sacred Dance in 1991. That was with Ankh Brandt in Breda. It was a large group, and to my great relief, my clumsiness wasn’t immediately noticed. Ankh always said: There are no mistakes, only variations… A nice thought, but I couldn’t just brush it off. And yet, during what was a hectic time for me, the music accompanying the movement suddenly bypassed my mind and immediately touched my heart. A deep sense of emotion washed over me, and I could do nothing but stand still. I was very happy and grateful that this happened to me. That actually became the beginning. 2. What does Sacred Dance mean to you? Sacred Dance has helped me a lot to get in touch with my feelings and my inner self. The dance is always a kind of drop that softens my being and enriches me. The contact with other dancers also contributes to this. 3. Has Sacred Dance changed anything in your life? That’s hard to say. When I look back on my life, Sacred Dance has influenced me time and again. I also had phases where I found it too soft and feminine for me as a man. Apparently, my inner self wanted other things to occupy itself with at the time. But the interesting thing is that, over time, I began to miss the dance and wanted to reconnect with a group. 4. Do you have a poem, a quote, or an image that particularly speaks to you and that you’d like to share? Yes, a quote from Sri Aurobindo: “I become what I see within myself. Whatever thought suggests to me, I can do; whatever thought reveals within me, I can become. This should be man’s unshakable faith in himself, for God dwells within him.” This quote has resonated within me like a mantra for more than 50 years. 5. Is there anything else you’d like to share with people who aren’t familiar with this form of dance? If you feel within yourself that it has an effect on you, that you find it beautiful or moving, or that the symbolism speaks to you, then see if you’d like to give that to yourself. Often, all sorts of “Yes, but…” thoughts come up. If it touches you deeply, then take the step, even if only for a little while. Wim