5Rhythms®
ecstatic dance with
Peter Brown
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| About Peter Brown | ||
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| What is 5 Rhythms? | ||
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5 Rhythms & Mental Health |
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What is '5 Rhythms'? Where did the practice originate?
The 5 Rhythms are essentially a creative movement practice. There are many different forms of creative movement, but '5 Rhythms' and 'The Wave' refer to the work of Gabrielle Roth, who has devised and developed the practice since the 1960s.
This is my understanding of how the practice emerged, but the most comprehensive overview can be found on Gabrielle's website. Gabrielle worked teaching movement to groups of elders, children, people in mental and other institutions, and then later to groups of people seeking alternatives to mainstream therapy and spirituality at the experimental Esalen Institute in Caliafornia.. She began by simply finding ways to get people to move, despite their reluctance or self-consciousness about doing so. As she went on, she began to notice patterns in the movements she witnessed, patterns which seemed to emerge from very different groups of people, in particular ways. Over many years, these patterns crystallised - for Gabrielle - into five distinct patterns, which she eventually called the 5 Rhythms - flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, stillness. Together they are known as the 'Wave'.
The 5 Rhythms are essentially a set of maps of how energy moves, principally through the physical body. Like any map, they are not the territory, and others have described the same territory in their own ways at different times, and in different cultures. Some maps divide the whole into seven parts, or ten or twelve. Gabrielle's maps speak to our Western culture and times, they speak to a society which has collectively got lost in the head, lost touch with the body, and with the power of movement.
There is no particular kind of music that is used in 5 Rhythms classes. The Rhythms can be found in many different genres. Gabrielle began teaching using rock music, but today you would be as likely to hear dance music, rock, pop, classical, new age, percussion, 'world music' - there are no real limits here. Music can be recorded or live.
What happens at a typical 'Waves' class?
Usually the class will begin with a warm-up. This is time where music is playing, but the teacher is not directing the movement in any way. It is time to arrive a little more in your own body, to find a way into movement.
The warm-up is usually followed by an introduction from the teacher, and then 'Body Parts'. This is the start of the practice proper, and involves focussing the attention on different parts of the body in turn, consciously breathing, and allowing that body part to lead the whole into movement. Each body part is added until the whole body is included in more conscious movement and breathing.
From here, the teacher may use creative movement exercises and practices to take the group through each of the 5 Rhythms in turn, working sometimes alone, sometimes with a partner, and sometimes with an awareness of the whole. Alternatively, and more usually, there will be a specific focus for the class on one aspect of the practice - eg breath, the feet, a rhythm etc. There are infinite possibilities for exploring the 5 Rhythms - each one is an infinite world in itself. The only limits are the creativity of the teacher and the willingness of the participants to explore. After the Wave, the teacher will usually bring the group together in some way to end the class.
What is it like?
As to what it's like, it's impossible to say! Each occasion is usually very different from the last. Everything depends on what the individual participant brings to the class themselves, in terms of their physical, emotional and mental state on any occasion. The Wave is about bringing all these aspects of each individual into motion, and then allowing those individuals to meet each other... The practice is very catalytic - whatever is 'moving' for you in your life generally, will usually move a little deeper or a little faster as a result of dancing the 5 Rhythms. It's not a therapy as such, but it can have therapeutic effects. It's not just a disco or a rave, but it can be a lot of fun!
People come to 5 Rhythms classes for very different reasons. Some come simply because they love dancing, some to meet others, some because it helps them works through issues in their lives and relationships, others because it's their practice. 5 Rhythms can be taken as spiritual practice, much as meditation or yoga. Each has their own benefits regardless, and each can be pursued in a disciplined way, as a path to the mystery. I would say 5 Rhythms has more in common with yoga or meditation, or t'ai chi than it has with salsa or contemporary dance or ballet.
Do I need to be a dancer to do the 5 Rhythms?
To do the 5 Rhythms, you do not need to be a 'dancer.' It's all about movement, and any-body can do the 5 Rhythms. It's all about how your body moves, how your body finds its way through the Wave. Each rhythm is simply a pattern of movement, and your body will move within that pattern in its own unique way. It doesn't matter what shape or size that body is, how old or young, what kinds of movements it's capable of. As long as it can breathe, as long as the heart is still beating, it can do the 5 Rhythms.
The only question is, are you willing to get out of the way long enough to allow your body to show you?
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