Musings + Art + Happenings from our Tribal Individuals
The 5Rhythms practice | A lens for life
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REVEAL by David Juriansz, Australia (Album now available at Raven Recording)
My childhood was filled with dreams of writing and performing my own songs.
I remember as a small child making up ditties and recording them onto an old cassette recorder. My mum used to laugh and say ‘That boy loves the sound of his own voice’.
In my adult years, I wished it could be that easy, Mum! To love your own voice…
As a songwriter, the search to find my own voice was a roller coaster ride. The gap between my musical longing and the harshness of the music industry led to years of self-doubt, compare-despair, rejection, some success and a lot of failures. I never found my place in the music store (before it went online). At the end of the day, if it doesn’t pay the rent, it’s hard to keep on going.
In that London-Boheme sea of yearning artists, I met Kev (AKA Terrafunka). One of the most astoundingly talented musicians I have ever known. I felt so lucky to work with him and we forged a unique musical connection. We performed, toured, shared a studio, wrote and learned from each other. He produced my first 2 albums. I couldn’t have done that without him. It was a significant musical relationship.
When I left London 15 years ago that musical relationship ended. Simultaneously my music career came to a grinding halt. It was easy to justify giving up – after all, “ I’m a father now”. Get a haircut and get a real job yeah? No. My soul still said no!
After some years drifting, dancing one step at a time and wondering ‘what next? ...READ MORE
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VIDEO
IMMERSION submitted by Sadaf (Cici) Lotfalian, Washington, D.C. USA
Beloved 5Rhythms, I wanted to share this story with you. There is a wonderful human in my life named Daniel. He and I have been in the process of acknowledging and encouraging each other’s journeys and self-expression. He has introduced me to the world of yoga and I in return introduced him to the world of 5Rhythms. In September, we made a commitment that I would attend 2 yoga classes and he would attend a 5Rhythms class. Then we would debrief to each other. After his first 5Rhythms class, he encouraged a fellow artist friend to attend too. She did. And then they created this short film together. In other words, “THANK YOU” <3
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PHOTO EXHIBITION
5Rhythms Teacher Jan Redsted and Photographer Nels Lemminger, who is a regular 5Rhythms dancer, were invited to a photo session on a summer’s day in Vejle Denmark. Almost 800 photos were taken. Jan originally wanted to use these for marketing purposes, but after the session it was decided to choose 60 of the photos to create an exhibition. The exhibition you see in the photos was shown in Jan and Annette’s house in Denmark. SEE MORE
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VIDEO
Sole to Soul was Gabrielle Roth's last 5Rhythms Reach Out theater piece (NYC, Spring 2012). An exquisite exploration of ritual & movement -- turning suffering into art, art into awareness and awareness into dynamic raw theater.
Gabrielle and Canadian artist Peter Mandl collaborated on this piece of wearable art to represent the project & fundraise for the 5RRO as Gabrielle intended.
Nilaya Sabnis was one of the contributors and performers on Sole to Soul and worked on the design team to get this wearable art out there. She danced here in the rain in Australia, an ongoing contribution and offering to the continuing movement that is Sole to Soul.
Now available for sale at Raven Recording, with a portion of proceeds donated to 5Rhythms Reach Out
#SoletoSoul
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VIDEO
DANCE YOUR ABILITY by Shauna Devlin, Canada
Every Tuesday morning, I dance with a group of people who do not attend public 5Rhythms classes. It is a group made up of uniquely abled folks: people who are hearing impaired, people who face major physical challenges, some who are wheelchair bound and some who have Down’s Syndrome or other cognitive impairments. Over the years I have seen so much growth, so much flowering, and the essence of each person has become more and more visible to me. Now there is less hiding and so much more shining!
Cathy is a sweet 60-year-old woman with a child-like innocence. When I first started to dance with her, she was shy. She would often sit down during class, keep her jacket on, and keep herself just outside of the circle, never taking a turn to enter. It took about a year for her to feel comfortable enough to begin to move with the group. One day we were diving into Staccato, with a fairly strong rap song on deck, and I looked over at Cathy and there she was in all of her power and strength, embodied. I said, “Cathy! That, that right there, I want more of that! ‘Don’t mess with me!’” and she said back, right from her center, “Don’t mess with me!!” Now she is the first to greet me and dances for the entire class, fully participating.
Dancing the 5Rhythms allowed Cathy the opportunity to tap into her inner power and strength; she found the courage to try it on and play with it. To me, this is the whole point of dancing together: to feel and play with all the parts of ourselves, especially the parts that we are scared of, that are awkward or hurt. The parts that we have been told are not ours to have – or even the parts...READ MORE
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DANCING THE QUESTIONS by Jeannie Dougherty, United States
Why do I dance? 6 years ago, I learned conscious or embodied dance after I had trained in ballet and modern dance. When I moved to a new community where I didn’t really know anyone, attending coed barefoot dance classes seemed like a fun idea. There was a community in place to meet new and fun characters that could keep me laughing.
While practicing two separate dance arts, Biodanza and 5Rhythms, I started to wake-up in my body. I could feel rhythm everywhere!
Biodanza, in my opinion, is a methodology of slowing down, connecting with others, and then transcending into the divine. I see 5Rhythms as a way of connecting to your body and the elements of nature in a wave- like fashion, in order to transcend into the cosmos. They are both amazing and transformative practices and I have made life-long friends in both communities.
But my relationship with dance goes much deeper than that. What a lot of people don’t know about me is that I have buried both of my parents because of Alzheimer’s. Not long after I had moved, I learned that my mother had been given this fatal diagnosis. As I saw my mother’s disease begin to take her away from me, I knew I needed to be supported. I also understood, from seeing my father diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and not knowing what this disease could do, that I had to prepare myself and grieve. I went to my remaining family but they were either in denial or were helpless. I went to my friends and co-workers and received the same treatment. I thought perhaps if I could pray more, meditate more, and listen more to spiritual masters, like Priests, Buddhist Monks, Gurus, Rabbis, and Imams, there would be comfort. All I was told was that this suffering had to happen. I could accept that – but what else was there?
I started with a simple question when I danced. When words fail, people fail, and plans fail, the result was life was very, very hard- what’s left?...READ MORE
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LIMITED EDITION A new wave of 5Rhythms harem-style pants are here! Handmade by Glorka Brand in New York City, we've designed these 5 new prints to move your home rhythm (or inspire you to call in the rhythm you struggle with most) on the dance floor and into the streets.
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Community is the next Buddha
- Thich Nhat Hahn
The 5Rhythms community is a 21st century collective unbound by history, culture, race, religion, gender or politics. We are bound by the beat, following our feet on a dancing path to freedom. We are beat-driven, service-oriented, heart-based individuals who come together to embrace our tribal longings.
The measure of a community is its respect for the wisdom of its elders, the innocence of its children, the passion of its artists, and the hope of its healers.
We are committed to inspiring and serving these roots and wings of community.
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is co-curated by
Morgan Nichols and Morgan Rae
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