Women’s Ritual Dances
with Laura Shannon
Traditional Women’s Circle Dances from Greece, the Balkans and Armenia
with live music from Kostantis Kourmadias
27th – 28th February 2027
Women of rural Eastern Europe have preserved their ritual circle dances into the present day, continuing a living lineage of authentic priestess traditions. The roots of these dances go back thousands of years to indigenous Old Europe, embodying a pre-patriarchal worldview of reverence for Mother Earth and the Goddess. The dances strengthen community, heal trauma, and celebrate life, within a culture of peace.
As we dance, by bringing our awareness to the symbols encoded within the steps and patterns, we can decipher the hidden wisdom of the grandmothers and receive the gifts they offer to women today.
Laura Shannon has been researching and teaching traditional women’s circle dances for 40 years and is known as one of the ‘grandmothers’ of the worldwide Sacred/Circle Dance movement. Laura holds degrees in Intercultural Studies, Dance Movement Therapy, and Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred, and is currently writing her PhD dissertation on the roots of circle dance in Neolithic Old Europe.
Laura has taught in the Findhorn Sacred Dance Department since 1998; founded the German-based non-profit Athena Institute for Women’s Dance and Culture (Athena Verein für Frauentanz und Kultur e.V.).; and succeeded Carol P. Christ as Director of the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual and the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. In 2018, Laura was named an honorary lifetime member of the Sacred Dance Guild in recognition of her ‘significant and lasting contribution to dance as a sacred art’.
Laura has published many articles and book chapters on women’s ritual dances, has produced or recorded numerous CDs of traditional dance music, and contributes a regular blog to feminismandreligion.com. She divides her time between Greece and the UK, and brings her inspiring seminars, concerts, and lectures all over the world.
‘The many grandmothers who have been my teachers kindly gave me some precious threads to the past. My passion is to put these threads in the hands of women today and help transmit the knowledge we need to spin this wisdom forward to a sustainable future.’
Hymns to Mother Earth
An evening concert with Kostantis Kourmadias, Laura Shannon and special Guest Heloise Pilkington
Friday 26th February 2027
Glastonbury Goddess Hall
Click here to book your ticket!
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When
10am – 5pm Saturday and Sunday with one hour for a shared pot-luck lunch.
Where
The Goddess Hall, 29 Benedict Street, Glastonbury BA6 9NB.
What to bring
Bring lunch to share, wear clothes that allow for comfortable movement. You may like to wear a long skirt, if you have one.
Course fee payments
Full Fee for the weekend is £120 per person.
£60 non-refundable deposit secures your place and the balance of £60 is due on or before 28th March 2026.
To ensure your place on the course the non-refundable deposit must be paid at the time of completing the registration form.
Please make payments to: Glastonbury Goddess Temple.
You can find the fee payment page here.
How to register
You can register for the course here.