History of PTA Camps

The following article first appeared in the European Journal for the Dances of Universal Peace, November 2002. It is reproduced here by kind permission of the author, James Burgess, who was a member of the small core group which organised the Peace Through the Arts (PTA) camps.

Next year [2003] will be the first since 1990 that my calendar of events does not rotate about the fixed point of PTA. It has been the fundament of my life for 13 years and has the focus of everything in my work and personal life. The core group –Ayesha, Rasullah Amida and I – have lasted the distance without major mishap and quite easily reached the decision to retire together despite the continued success of the camp. A few weeks later, I’m reflecting on what it has meant for me.

I feel various things: gratitude, pride, relief, and anticipation... I always felt grateful to have been invited initially to join the core group; I suppose I felt it was more in recognition of my accountancy background than anything else. In that respect I’m happy to say that the books have always balanced and we have even afforded bursaries and subsidies to promote the outreach work, in Eastern bloc countries particularly. Some 200 invitations costing about £10000 and a further estimated £10000 in bursaries went towards airfares for the teachers who gave their time to visit poorer countries. Phenomenally, and unlike most organisations, we survived the recent halving of our revenues without financial collapse, with thanks to several kind and competent managers who were able to cut costs without unbearable consequences.

PTA began as an initiative to bring together the West and the East, following a visit to Moscow and Petersburg led by Saadi. The first camp was a melding together of several strands – there already existed an annual DUP camp that Amida had initiated 3 years earlier and there already existed a ‘Campscene’ that gave rise to Dance Camp Wales and Oak Dragon whose resources and expertise were essential in running a major event. Funds were provided – many thanks to the USA benefactors – to fly in a bunch of Russians, and several leading American teachers flew the other way to meet in a field near Swindon in Wiltshire. Since then so much water has flowed! So many repercussions keep on repercussing. There are other camps now, in several countries, which were born as a result of PTA, not to mention babies born of PTA relationships, including quite a number of international partnerships. Uncountable dance leaders have emerged and, thanks to the wonders of karma yoga, hundred upon hundred of us have felt the joyful privilege of service.

To offer my thanks to those I particularly remember is to risk forgetting so many others – however, I have never wanted to leave a thing unsaid simply to avoid the danger of offending, so here goes: Benita and Barry for being able to keep a tight gate always welcoming; Nick, Café Supremo – a man of true integrity and kindness; Christia and Keith, Mark and Jilly for the near-impossible task of inculcating profound values in the young ones; Sandra for bringing our awareness to Mother Earth; Bob for making it possible, whatever the weather, to camp in relative comfort and Wahhab, an unsung hero, ever supportive and grounded. So very many dance leaders have shared with us their love of God and their sparkling talent; in particular I mention a few that stood out for me: Wali Ali, Saadi, Nickomo, Matin and Philip. A few names need a mention of those who came and went, having served the vision significantly: Zamyat (now Kabira), Tasnim, Anahatta, Dwara, Irish Steve, Jim and Mani, Ashera, Vasudeva…and so on.

It is often said that PTA is a family – yet for me this doesn’t quite fit. For me it has been a school. I’ve learned a vast amount each and every year and developed skills and contacts to support my work. Although I expect to see many of you again, I’m sure it won’t be all and I’m OK with that; at some point along the way my capacity for sentiment and nostalgia has rubbed away – and perhaps for one on the Sufi path, that is the greatest treasure. I’m pleased to be moving on, simply because what was intended and attempted has been achieved and the time has come to support a new vision by getting out of the way.

In closing would it be all right if I offer a word of advice for the new organisers? Be bold and realize your dream! It is important to serve a higher vision. For us it was clear that Samuel Lewis’s peace initiative was totally in line with what we wanted individually and also what was in the mood of the moment for our country. We held hands and remembered SAM before and after every core group meeting for 13 years. Perhaps this is the vision that will sustain into the second generation of the camp, but perhaps now a new interpretation needs to be found. What we achieved before would not have been possible had we not served that higher purpose; indeed now that each of us has found a greater depth of meaning in another related but different area, we can no longer claim the place of holding the vision of “Peace Through The Arts”.