It can be argued that Mira Hunter has been whirling for most of her life. A visual artist and second-generation sufi mevlevi whirling dervish, she began her traditional training at the age of 16 with her father Raqib Burke and Sheikh Jelaladdin Loras. As a visual artist, she studied at NSCAD and Yale, graduating with a BFA in Interdisciplinary. For the past 10 years she has collaborated with Turkish born, Canadian producer/musician/DJ Mercan Dede, performing at such acclaimed international events as the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Vancouver Folk Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Paleo Festival. She has toured all over the world, from New York, to London, to Japan. She was recently featured in David Michalek’s Slow Danceproject that was exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2008. Mira continues to challenge the fundamental forms of whirling by incorporating innovative movements and concepts, coaxing the 13th century practice into a contemporary context. She is preparing for an upcoming tour in Switzerland with the avant-garde performance group Stimmhorn. She currently studies Sufism under Sherif Baba Catalkaya and lives and works in Istanbul and Vancouver, BC.