Whirling

Whirling is a contemporary genre of dance with parallels to Sufi whirling, but one that differs in significant respects from original Sufi spinning traditions. The main distinguishing feature of contemporary whirling from Sufi whirling is that traditional Sufi whirling is practiced within a religious rite, the sema. Furthermore, only men can perform the ritual. Whirling, by contrast, is a crossover genre and set of elements, performed by male and female dancers. It uses the original Sufi spinning technique but sets it in an - often complexly choreographed - dance setting, making it a stage variation directed to an audience, whereas Sufi spinning focuses more on an meditational aspect. The Whirling genre captures a diverse range of dance and trance styles, including whirling dervishes, fusion performers, and contemporary interpretations of whirling. Often a wide variety of different props are used: veils, wings, ribbons, fire. The defining feature of whirling as a dance form is continuous rotation (clockwise or counterclockwise) around a central radial axis, while resisting vertigo.
History
Whirling originates from a set of movement practices throughout Anatolia, in what is now present-day Turkey. In contrast to Sufi whirling which is typically performed by male mystics, contemporary fusion whirling may be performed by female and male dancers and is intended as a stage dance, rather than as a meditation practice.. Furthermore, mixed-gender whirling dance troupes have emerged in Europe and North America.
Description/Techniques
Divorced from all religious overtones, whirling has been successfully adapted for the stage, including long-duration solo performances. Whirling stage adaptations are being popularized by both female and male performers. The longest continuous whirling performance has been recorded at more than four hours. The Guinness World Record in most continuous revolutions in one hour is 3,497, achieved by Nicole McLaren in Zurich on 7 March 2015.
There are two generally acknowledged contemporary stage styles: whirling - its typical traits are an often more fusion-based, very modern approach regarding movement, music, choreography and props - and so-called Egyptian whirling, also known as tanoura dance. The latter is often classified as "folkloric dance". It is marked by the addition of a very heavy, large flowing skirted costume, the tanoura, which adds a 360-degree force-amplifying skirt. This style of dance is often performed by male dancers wearing the tanoura. Although it is mainly used for visual effects, the dancers also augment their balance with the tanoura, through a dynamic centrifugal effect.
Physiology
Because of the high g and centrifugal forces created by spinning around a central axis, continuous whirling creates disorienting effects in humans. In untrained dancers, this manifests as dizziness or motion-induced vertigo. Training for whirling targets the inner ear which is responsible for balance functions in humans. To counteract the natural induction of vertigo, whirling dance performers practice various balancing and psychological techniques, achieving core strength, radial balance and radial symmetry.

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