The Mystery Of Darkness

'What will I find on the other side of all that I know?' ~ Gabrielle Roth

The Mystery of Darkness | A 5Rhythms Workshop led by Nikki Ashley

In the weeks leading to the Winter Solstice — the turning point in the closing year — we offer this workshop as an enquiry through 5Rhythms dance, ritual, and writing, to prepare us for darker times. This is an opportunity to explore an embodied, sensory experience where movement, sound, and the unseen guide reflection and awareness.

~What am I holding onto that no longer serves?

~What is ready to be released to the dark?

~What do I wish to bring light and life to through the deep winter?

In a safe and supportive space, we will explore the qualities of darkness — its mystery, emptiness, and depth — listening for deeper insights beyond the ego. From this place, there is an invitation to dance blindfolded, allowing the body to move freely through the dark, guided by rhythm, intuition, and the pulse of the unseen.

Who's it for

Anyone who has danced the 5Rhythms - beginners need a min of 10 hours of 5R’s or a similar practice.

When

Saturday 6 December 2025, 10.30-5.30pm

Where

Theatre, Chestnut Grove Academy, Balham, SW12

Cost

£75 Abundance Supporter/ £65 Regular/ £55 Concession IN ADVANCE

or £80/£70/60 ON THE DAY (if not sold out)

If you are able, please pay the regular or abundance level, leaving the concession tickets for those who need them

Please get in touch if the lowest level of contribution is out of reach for you                                                                                             

A percentage of profits will be donated to children in Gaza via War child 

Full Info & booking here

Live Rhythms - Creativity Connection Community

An afternoon/evening workshop of creativity, connection, and community.

5Rhythms dance accompanied by live improvised music, circle singing, and sound healing will be our modalities in this workshop, encouraging free expression through movement and sound and a return to the source of wellbeing.

A 5Rhythms wave channelled by four musicians is a very different experience to a wave that uses recorded music: the sounds of kora, cello, clarinet, flute, voice and plenty of percussion will both lead and respond to your dance, co-creating the alchemic wonder that is movement medicine. 

Incorporated into the workshop will be the opportunity for vocal sounding through Circle Singing - an ancient and contemporary approach to singing with others. When we sing together without a song or a composer, these roles become shared in the moment with spontaneously created music and emergent shared leadership, involving deep listening to self and others and the space in between. No experience necessary. Led by musician Patrick Carpenter. 

Into the workshop, we will also incorporate a sound bath journey led by musician Storme Watson.