Dubai, 2012: Thanks to 5Rhythms certified instructors, London based Alex Nikoforev and Istanbul based Alexa Schmid, and organised by Sameness Project Founder Lina Nahhas, we were able to celebrate the Zero Point right here in Dubai. Letting go of the old and bringing in the new. The temporary suspension at Zero Point is one that goes beyond words because it is through zero point that we can finally let go of things of the past year and dance into the new.

The Flyer of ZeroPoint workshop

The Flyer of ZeroPoint workshop

This dance practice is by far one of the greatest therapeutical discoveries for me in 2012. Mixed in with serious stints of spontaneous writing and artwork, 2012 for me helped rediscover the creatively repressed artist-dancer-actor-musician-singer creative that I once was (decades ago). An explosion of the creative senses.  You see, I had only allowed myself to creatively express myself ONLY through the art of writing for the last few decades. In the process, I had cheated myself and cheated the world somehow. Now there is no turning back into the stoic woman that I had become, you know, the one with the stiff upper lip imitating the arthritic stiffness, hiding behind glasses, drab clothes and behind the laptop. Afraid. Fearful. Shy.

One of the instructors of Zero Point, Alexa Schmid, in her element. Photograph Courtesy Udit Anurag Filiz

One of the instructors of Zero Point, Alexa Schmid, in her element. Photograph Courtesy Filiz Utku

Transforming/creative embodiment of emotions ranging from anger, sadness, grief, fear  – no longer do we have to push them away. No longer do we have to vent them in unsafe manners. With 5Rhythms, we have vaious arts/drama tools to help us move forward, letting go of ‘stuckness’ energies that have so long strangled us and stopped us from moving forward (or in this case, dance lyrical, with grace and strength).

“May I have the courage to be committed to my dreams and my vision, and those of others too. And to cheer them on.

May I have the courage to notice good things and be appreciative of the small things they do.

May I have the courage to be grateful.” – Gabrielle Roth, 5Rhythms Founder (R.I.P)

Alex, one of the instructors of Zero Point, demonstrates the freedom of the dance practice. Photos courtesy: Irina Krivoshekova

Alex, one of the instructors of Zero Point, demonstrates the freedom of the dance practice. Photos courtesy: Irina Krivoshekova

 

The Waves is the first step into the practice of the 5Rhythms, reviews of which we have done in the past (read the Adam Barley facilitated workshop). The review of the Heartbeat Level by 5Rhythms certified instructor Silvija Tomcik done in July 2012 couldn’t be recorded because we were (and are!) still integrating the whole heartbeat experience. In 2013, we plan to make our way to the UK and Koeln, Germany to continue the dance practice of creative expression.

Here are some of the experiences from the workshop participants. Some are first timers, others have done workshops in the past, but needless to say, they  have found the right words to share the experience with us.

 

Mohammed Satchid is the Madman behind the blog Rantings of a madman. 

“The 5 Rhythms Zero point work shop, the latest of the many that I have come across but was not fortunate enough to go through the whole experience (perhaps it was not meant to be), but only for a couple of hours on the first day made me realize that instead of chasing the ghost of perfection, I have to immerse myself into the reality of balance. There is no perfection in nature but it always maintains balance.

Satchid says: The accompanying picture was something i had drawn more than year back but seems appropriate to visualize the thought in this write up - hence I post it again.

Satchid says: The accompanying picture was something i had drawn more than year back but seems appropriate to visualize the thought in this write up – hence I post it again.

 

“Somewhere between light and dark, rights and wrongs, between the waves of the 5 Rhythms (Flowing, Staccato, Chaos &Lyrical), between our intentions and our action, between our biases, between everything we hold on to and let go, between all polarities… lies the Zero point. The place of stillness. The place where all the magic happens and ends. That is the place I have been seeking all my life because that is where beauty lies as well. The place where peace and love reigns forever. The place of clarity from which all action well up and where all actions lead back to.

I know that I will never arrive at this place until the day that I die, but I am truly blessed to have this practice accompany me until then, yanking me back to peace.”

—

Vanessa Arnold, from Juicy Monkeys Photography

“I attended 5Rhythms at a time that felt ungenerous and very limited in space, money, kindness; attending was a defiant act of self-generosity. 5Rhythms offered me a way to celebrate having a body, a chance to use my physicality as a vehicle for deep self-expression. I found generosity in the dance, and deep truth. I marvelled at my lack of self-consciousness and caught myself asking, “But what self is there to be conscious of?” I witnessed how freely and honestly we danced, how we let ourselves go, how there were no masks. Beautiful: I laughed, I cried, I breathed, I moved. The totality of human experience encapsulated and shared.”
—

Kostas Panourgias, a first timer to the practice

“I’ve still got the rhythms in me. I seem to be moving to any piece of music I hear!”
Thank you Kostas for listening to my 2012 life paradigm shift as showcased in the artwork made.  Your unbiased listening made me feel at home to share and let go for the 2012 baggage.
—

Kamyar Houbakht

Read the excerpt of the beautiful poem that was the aftermath of the drawing shown below. Thank you Kamyar for sharing your 2013 with me at the worshop itself. I came away dancing to your vision!

Dancing an Invitation

walking in the depths of shadow
embracing dark with the light
gold energy of integration
a luminous diamond at the heart

awakening the lineage of knowers
remembering through each cell
earth will show us the pathways
when hearing the voice you can tell…

Image by Kamyar Houbakht created during a 5 Rhythms Dance workshop in Dubai on the last week of 2012.

Image by Kamyar Houbakht created during a 5 Rhythms Dance workshop in Dubai on the last week of 2012.

Read the rest of the Dance of Unity Poem © Kamyar Houbakht at his blog Dancing Life’s Invitation.

 

 —

Alia El Kurdi, the Tango Butterfly as I love to call her.

“Zero point to me translates into embarking from where I am to where I want to go, just like the A & B on the GPS.
“When I walked into the workshop, I had mixed feelings about where I am, in between the old and the new year. Clearly the judge in me was very active, asking questions like: Have I done enough? What lessons have I learned? What will I do next?
“As soon as my feet hit the dance floor, I fell into a state of gratitude; putting all my focus on my body, allowing it to move in a fluid way, synchronized with my breath, allowing my being to just be, and move into the waves of rthymn, when I was reflecting on last year achivements, wins and lessons. The second day of the workshop I found my heart opening up to creating and designing my new year, ready to embrace all what it may bring.”
—
Inspired by the eloquent words of the above participants, I feel the need to share the artwork I created the next day with my non- dominant hand. It’s been a while since I’ve drawn beautiful art therapeutic work, so I suppose something really changed at the workshop. Masks fall. My sacred space expands. My openness to embracing new friendships, my refreshed soul. And New beginnings.
Artwork No. 3 - This one is a huge piece of work still in process. © Jan D'Sa 2013

Artwork No. 3 – This one is a huge piece of work still in process. © Jan D’Sa 2013

 

I tend to draw in 'triads', but this is a 'duet' - Art Aftermath of the 5Rhythms

I tend to draw in ‘triads’, but this is a ‘duet’ – Art Aftermath of the 5Rhythms

And here questions of type such if honestly strike me not much as I wrote everything higher. It is visible you simply you don’t want to read all this. As my parrot does.