by Jil Self
In May and June of 2026, we had the great opportunity to host the complete Song of the Vajra Dance course in Dargyäling, Cologne.
Carisa O’Kelly was our excellent dance teacher, willing to come from far away in order to show us both parts of the SOV dance in such a condensed time period.
We really enjoyed her being so precise, knowledgeable, flexible and humorous!
Looking around the Mandala we were amazed, what an international group was practicing together here: dancers from France, Yakutia, Ireland, Scotland, England, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Italy and Germany! It was a joyous gathering. We learned and danced a lot – and of course had so much fun along the way. Four dancers stayed in the Ling during the course, enhancing the feeling of being family together.
Thank you, Carisa! And thanks to everybody, who collaborated so well to make this an unforgettable experience in the heart of Cologne, close to the Rhine river.
Marie from France wrote a lovely comment that we include here to share some of that flavor:
– Vajra Dance in Dargyäling –
What I appreciated the most was the ability for members of this group to create a space for everyone to live in and enjoy freely:
Carisa’s profound efficiency, Gabriella’s deep essential understanding, Birgit’s joyful presence, John’s delicate directions, Jil’s humble yet powerful strength, Victoria’s luminous silence, Eleonora’s warm care, and everybody else’s adding fluidity and ease in the dance of making tea, coffee, cooking, mopping, vacuuming, stacking up empty bottles, emptying the trash, lighting the candle – and singing!:
Oh ! the clarity of our voices united in a display of each of our tones vibrating the same melody, sparkling with the magic of the same transmission.
Oh ! the physical presence of the master iridescent in our dimension through the transparency of our song!
Oh ! the German Nirmanakaya dimension!
