First dance of the year this Sunday!

[Rachel Kurtz]

Happy New Year!

I hope you are entering 2026 with some valuable wisdom and nourishment from what was, for many of us, a challenging year. Personally, with my PhD complete, I have a sense of stepping more intensely into the unknown than ever before, but with so many changes in the wider world I think I'm not alone in feeling this. 

When the way ahead is unknowable, the 5Rhythms can prepare us to deal with a variety of terrains and notice the patterns that can help us navigate. Just as in the material world we might look downhill for water, energetically, we can recognise, anticipate and work with each of the rhythms. Repetition and conscious practice then, support us to lean into this embodied wisdom in the moments when we most need to stay in choice rather than habit. For example, the map of the emotions and the shadow help us see when we are in fear or lethargy and use the positives of flowing to awaken our senses and get grounded.

This Sunday's class

This Sunday I will be leading a basic 5Rhythms wave, dropping in a little about the shadow of each rhythm. It will be just a taste - teaching the shadow in depth requires much more time than a single evening class - but it may help you recognise when your shadow is trying to run the show and support you with physical strategies for shifting your energy. 

I developed my own way of working with the 5Rhythms shadow map with my 2024 ongoing group - Connection - and am hoping to run a weekend workshop on this later this year. If you're interested in that weekend, Sunday's class will give you a flavour of what to expect. Details are the same as usual (see below).

Dancing in Cumbria

I may be covering for Liz Collier in Mungrisedale in Cumbria on Friday 16 January (tbc) and in February I am teaching a Friday evening followed by a Saturday whole day with live music on 20th & 21st in Threlkeld. It is possible to sleep in the hall after dancing for a very reasonable price, making this a great way to satisfy your dancing and wilderness needs in a single trip, but the classes often fill up with locals, so don't delay booking. The Cumbria live band is evolving and increasingly includes musicians local to the area who are also regular dancers, many of them multi-instrumentalists and all highly accomplished. You can find more details about these and other Cumbria classes via the link below.

Intentions from the Solstice session

Those of you who took part in the ritual setting intentions for the coming year should be burning your final piece of paper today. This will leave you with one intention to focus on for 2026. You might want to put this in a prominent place so you see it every day, or spend some time working with it creatively - journaling, dreaming, collaging. Follow your intuition and I'm sure you'll find something juicy.

Echoes and Visions

See the link below for details about my upcoming course themed around creativity. I will be emailing separately with new info. about this soon, as I am working on an affordable way to open it up to dancers who are unable to attend all the sessions without losing the solidity of the group.

Wishing you the very best for 2026 and looking forward to dancing with you again in the coming weeks and months!

Rachel

x

Sunday at Summerhill

18:00 – class intro
20:00 – finish

Summerhill Bowling Club, Winchester Terrace, NE4 6EH
£15 - £5 sliding scale
Feel free to arrive from 17:45 so we can start promptly
Ticket link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1979451707342?aff=oddtdtcreator

Cumbria Wavedance events:

https://www.cumbriawave.dance/dates

Echoes and Visions:

https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=a9746940de426294

[Rachel Kurtz]

Hello again!

Quick heads up that there's loads of space left for tonight's class - I guess we're all feeling a bit partied out. This means plenty of room to dance big if you do have energy (and no pressure if you don't!). 

I will be front-loading the teaching by briefly introducing the shadow map early. After that, teaching will be light-touch with an emphasis on noticing and following what is moving in you.

Please arrive promptly and avoid chatting in the space after 18:05.

Thanks, love, and see you later,

Rachel