Following several months of planning across three continents in Spring of 2005 Ana van Figuiredo from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Shirin, from New Delhi, India met for the first time in the Southern United States where they worked together for over three weeks. The multi-dimensional processes at work among the artists during these three weeks indeed embodied the mission statement of the Pilgrimage Project.
Ana is a dancer, choreographer and a Jungian whose work towards women’s self empowerment through myth, image and movement emerged following her work with Paolo Friere. Shirin is an actress and a director who does educational theater for social, economic and environmental justice and peace. She is trained in the fields of both proscenium and street theater and combines the two in her performances. She is also a journalist and writes for alternative media on justice related issues. She founded an educational theater group in Washington DC in 2002, based on her lifelong association with Nishant Natya Manch, a theater group based out of Delhi, India, that has done educational theater for almost four decades.

During their time in the US Ana and Shirin performed at universities in Florida as well as in Atlanta, Athens and Valdosta Georgia. While in Atlanta they also did pro-bono work with not-for profit organizations in Atlanta.

In October of 2005 Kate Bemis, Administrative Director of the Pilgrimage Project, joined Ana van Figuriedo, Shirin, and Linda Bennett Elder in San Francisco, as did Esha Bandyopadhaya (classical Indian vocalist from Kolkata) and Jan Schert (dancer and stage director who works with teens and is committed to interfaith work).

Our intensive retreat functioned not only as a planning period , but also as a exciting occasion for integrating into the alliance two additional personalities, again, from very different cultures. We met with the director of the Sophia-Center, at Holy Names University in Oakland California. We also met with directors and staff members at The United Religions Initiative as a part of our brainstorming and planning. We have a scheduled venue at the Sophia Center the weekend of November 16-17 2006 and will be securing other venues for the period from Nov.1, 2006 through the end of November.

Victoria Rue a playwright, stage director, liturgist, professor of Religious Studies and Women’s Studies is a founding member of both the group “Critical Mass,” the newly formed "Theatre of Spirit", and our Artists’ Alliance.

Members of the Artists’ Alliance are dedicated to promoting an increasing awareness of and sensitivity to our diversities and commonalities through performance and shared experience in the arts.

Please contact Dr. Linda Bennett Elder at the following email address for more information and to schedule events: benetlin@aol.com

©2002-2006 Pilgrimage Project.
The Pilgrimage Project is a cooperation circle of the United Religions Initiative.