Newcastle Dance Collective

Hello dancers!

There's still space to book for the Echoes and Visions day of creativity on Saturday 5th September.

I want to reassure you about the word 'creativity' and clarify that I use it VERY loosely! The focus of Echoes and Visions is entirely on process, not product and what counts as 'creative' is absolutely personal.

There is no pressure to do, make or produce anything - creativity can't be forced! It emerges - or not - when the demands of life subside and we can finally relax and switch off. So the REAL focus of the day is to carve out time to let mind and body wander, wonder, and rest. This puts us in an an open and receptive state that is a gift in itself, so whether or not the muse visits doesn't really matter.

We will begin and end by dancing a 5Rhythms® wave and there will be about 3 hours in the middle to spend as you choose.
If you don't have a creative practice or project you might simply explore how it feels to settle into the empty space and be open to what you find. You might leaf through some of the inspiring books I'll be bringing, lie on the grass looking for animal shapes in the clouds, or just revel in the sensory experience of the outdoor environment. It really is about permission to get it right for you so you feel safe enough to hang out in the liminal home of the muses.

Last time, half the group disappeared off on their own for most of the afternoon, a few people read or slept for a bit, nobody shared what they had been playing with in the group and nobody asked to see or hear about anyone else's experiments.

If on the other hand you DO suddenly feel inspired and want to play with making something, I will be bringing materials and will be around to support with ideas if you feel stuck.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Love,

Rachel
x

Bookings:
https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=8fffc2a0f49bbaa6

I have decided to cancel Awakening the Sleeping Self due to low numbers, BUT weirdly, this might just make it more accessible!

A few of us will still be going to the island to dance and hang out. I will be starting each day with a wave of recorded music outdoors and am extending an invitation to join me on a session-by-session, pay as you feel basis. The daytimes will be free-flowing, with an invitation to eat together in the evenings.

You can find out more about the astrology that has influenced this decision in the video.

If you're called to join this experimental adventure, let me know and I can send you all the info you need to work out affordability and logistics. As a guide, it could cost you as little as £250 for everything except flights.

12 - 15 September, Samothraki, Greece.

Will you be there??!

Love,

Rachel

Pluto and the Awakening resurrection:

Pluto and the Awakening resurrection. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Join us on our annual dancing celebration of the Autumn in the beautiful community of Burnlaw, Northumberland.

Reserve your place now!

FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER (beginning at 6.30pm) TO SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER(departing at 3pm).

Workshops include 5Rhythms, Movement Medicine, Dance of Life, and Barefoot Boogie. There are also opportunities to walk and be in the beautiful surroundings of the Whitfield valley, and a fire circle.

The cost includes all workshop sessions and delicious vegan meals, but not accommodation.

There is a £30 discount if paid in full before the Earlybird deadline of 5th October

Full Price £245, Early Bird £215

If you feel unable to afford these prices, please get in touch, as some bursary support is available.

A non-returnable deposit of £50 secures your place.
This can be paid via the Eventbrite link below, or bank transfer or cash if you prefer. No cheques please.

Full payment (including accommodation) must be made prior to attending. This can be paid via bank transfer, Square card payment, or in cash (no cheques, please).

This year there are 2 options for staying at Burnlaw:
Bunkhouse accommodation is £26/night (£52 for two nights)
Camping or Caravanning is £14.50/night (£29 for two nights)

Unfortunately the Farmhouse rooms are not available this year.
(Other accommodation is available locally)
Prices are per person, not per tent, van or room.

For more information, please contact [email protected]

Booking and Payments:

Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/autumn-wild-dance-2026-booking-deposit-registration-1990955499494?sg=8e84752e1a34228f1b49e19f77bf8c93dd422f70087203acf0f13ed4bc02471ccd425d9cd52cd8c572f3bde4f82366d725cb3b0730ade09165228b7af70df15cd344b89fdd8976071c5cba7035&aff=ebdsshios

Bank Transfer
5 Rythms NE, Sort Code 30-90-50 a/c no 01530431

Square
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML9E0JFW18405/checkout/B7HVPCWUVOBVG67YCORDG24R

"through a creative practice we find ways to express our true selves."
Michael Meade

Hello dancers!

The forecast for Sunday looks perfect for a day outdoors dancing and immersing yourself in a creative process. Still spaces! Come and play!

Rachel
x

Book here:
https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=adf92035630b778b

Dear Dancer,

Isn’t this summer flying by?! Before it slips away, why not come to the Echoes and Visions day of creativity a week on Sunday (2nd August)? This is a chance to dance and play that you can shape to suit yourself.

It can be hard to carve out time for creative projects and often they end up being ‘kicked into the long grass’. Luckily, the long grass of Abundant Earth is exactly where we will be, so why not pick up your journal, some paints, or a camera and let yourself play?

No creative project? No problem! There are no expectations or judgements. The invitation is to get it right for you. You could use the time to work on that pile of mending you’ve been ignoring, browse through some magazines and reimagine your living room, or catch something of your summer in writing before it’s gone.

I will be bringing some basic art materials, pens, paper and poetry books and I can be on hand with ideas to get you started if needed. This might be drawing or writing exercises or embodied explorations and meditations for inviting inspiration. If you know what you want to do you can just get on with your own thing. Let me know if you need any special materials - with a day’s notice, can supplement this with things like coloured yarns, a sewing machine, a Dremmel drill. It’s been super sunny so there will be plenty of electricity if your project requires it.

The day will be book-ended by dancing and a circle with no pressure to show and tell, so if you choose to lie around all day reading poetry, that’s just perfect!

There will be another similar day in September - Booking details below.

I will leave you with a Mary Oliver poem...

Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean —
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down —
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver

Summer love,
Rachel

Echoes and Visions booking link:Sunday 2nd August - https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=adf92035630b778bSaturday

5th September - https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=8fffc2a0f49bbaa6

Echoes and Visions Day Dedicated time set aside for dance and creative practice.

We are pleased to announce our annual celebration of Autumn! Booking is now open! Reserve your place now!

A dancing Celebration of the Autumn in the beautiful community of Burnlaw, Northumberland.

FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER (beginning at 6.30pm) TO SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER (departing at 3pm).

Workshops include 5Rhythms, Movement Medicine, Dance of Life, and Barefoot Boogie. There are also opportunities to walk and be in the beautiful surroundings of the Whitfield valley, and a fire circle.

The cost includes all workshop sessions and delicious vegan meals, but not accommodation.

There is a £30 discount if paid in full before the Earlybird deadline of 5th October

Full Price £245, Early Bird £215

If you feel unable to afford these prices, please get in touch, as some bursary support is available.

A non-returnable deposit of £50 secures your place.
This can be paid via the Eventbrite link below, or bank transfer or cash if you prefer. No cheques please.

Full payment (including accommodation) must be made prior to attending. This can be paid via bank transfer, Square card payment, or in cash (no cheques, please).

This year there are 3 options for staying at Burnlaw:
(Please note that these prices may increase slightly. We are awaiting confirmation from the Burnlaw Centre)
Bunkhouse accommodation is £50 for two nights
Camping or Caravanning is £28 for two nights
Farmhouse £64 for two nights (limited numbers)
(Other accommodation is available locally)
Prices are per person, not per tent, van or room.

For more information, please contact [email protected]

Booking and Payments:

Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/autumn-wild-dance-2026-booking-deposit-registration-1990955499494?sg=88b1287293a318bbc76976f5201d7b2a4aa3ea1bb1518a99356f590f3073fcc118bc83acce321f93f4558b54fb94ce6ab26cf1d9a16701a85940ca60017079920702f1d6a7e5a4fe99536a1106&aff=ebdsshios

Bank Transfer
5 Rythms NE, Sort Code 30-90-50 a/c no 01530431

Square
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML9E0JFW18405/checkout/B7HVPCWUVOBVG67YCORDG24R

It’s 5Rhythms this Sunday and we have the lovely Liz Collier visiting from Yorkshire. Here are some welcoming words from her:

Come settle into the physical, articulate the invisible.

Practical. Ecstatic. The magic of movement.

See you soon Summerhill.

Liz

Booking link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1986987099904?aff=oddtdtcreator

I (Rachel) will be teaching in Castle Douglas on Saturday 4th July, Manchester on Sunday 5th, and Liverpool on Monday 6th, so if you know anyone who might like a dance in those places, do spread the word.

I will miss our marvellous Summerhill tribe but I will be back in the autumn. There will be opportunities to dance with me before then though.

Echoes and Visions - days for creativity
On Sunday 2nd August and Saturday 5th September, I will be running two open days of Echoes and Visions at Abundant Earth. These days carve out a spacious present moment to draw on the echoes of experience to vision new creations in a tangible way. They are for anyone who finds their creativity tends to get postponed and pushed out by more ‘important’ things.

At the beautiful outdoor venue of Abundant Earth, we will start the day dancing together to recorded music as a shortcut to creative flow. The main part of the day will be open and flexible for you to work on a creative project of your choice. This might be writing poetry, painting, crafting something with your hands, moving with the landscape or just connecting with nature ready for the muse to find you. There is no pressure to ‘produce’ just encouragement to relax into your natural creativity. Some tools and materials can be provided on request (e.g. paints, drill, sewing machine).

Awakening the Sleeping Self - September retreat in Greece
And if you fancy something more exotic, there’s still space on Awakening the Sleeping Self in Samothraki with me 12 - 15 September.

This is going to be something really special! Four days dedicated to supporting your unfolding process. Samothraki is a deeply spiritual island, second only to Athens in ancient times. When we're not dancing we will be eating local food, meandering on short walks to hot springs and the beach, and swimming in pools fed by waterfalls.

Our team will be Julian Godfrey on practical support, Swiss dancer Coraline Renaud on installations, arts and aestheics, and Jo Templey on wellbeing. I will be holding space for 5Rhythms dance, exercises and reflections to help you shed the old and birth whatever new part of yourself is ready to emerge.
Do check it out if it calls to you!

Diary dates
Looking ahead, I will also be offering a couple of collaborative workshops. On Saturday 7th November I will join Sitna Quiroz on a day of Systemic Constellations and 5Rhythms and in a mid-week residential retreat at the Tree in Yorkshire on 6th - 8th April 2027, there will be a weaving together of 5Rhythms, Non-violent Communication and Somatic Experiencing with Myself, Beth Silverbirch, and Jo Bolton. More info on these soon.

There will, of course, also be our annual Newcastle Dance Collective weekend in Burnlaw 23 - 25 October (contact [email protected]), and Nikki is organising for Andrew Holmes 20 -22 November ([email protected]), so the dancing opportunities are many and varied.

I hope to dance with you somewhere soon!!

Much love,
Rachel

Links:
Echoes and VisionsSunday 2nd August
https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=adf92035630b778b
Saturday 5th August
https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=8fffc2a0f49bbaa6
Awakening the Sleeping Self
https://app.workshop-angel.com/form.php?h=1&t=0&e=c8c5efac51a4b91d

Barefoot Boogie on Sunday 28 June

I’ll be offering a relaxed session with some chilled and lively tunes to all you lovely dancers. Dance inside or dance on the lawn . . . the choice is yours 💃🕺🏼😎

There’ll be a brief introduction followed by a 90 minute DJ set in which you can follow your own dancing path.

Doors open 6pm, warmup at 6.15, close at 8pm.
Summerhill Clubhouse as usual, NE4 6EH

Please book via Eventbrite if possible, using the link below.

It’ll be fun!

See you there 🕺🏼 💃

Bob

Barefoot Boogie - Ecstatic Dance A fun DJ set in which you can follow your own dancing path in a safe space with no judgement.

Still some places left!

On Sunday 21 June there will be midsummer solstice dancing at Summerhill with TWO opportunities to dance.

You are welcome to join us, no matter whether you are new to conscious movement or you’ve been a 1000 times.

The sessions will be 5 - 7pm and 7.30 - 9.30pm

The first dance 5 - 7pm - an opening ritual/warm up with Lynn Campbell, then a session with the Live Rhythms Band

Snacks will be available outside 7 - 7.30

The last dance 7.30 - 9.30pm - a DJ set with Bob followed by a closing ritual with Thomas.

The number of spaces are limited so please book early!

Please book via the Eventbrite links below.

If you want to come to both sessions, please book for each one separately, using the discount code BOTH for each one, to receive a 25% discount on the cost of each.

Each session costs £21 to £7.50 - prices are on a sliding scale so there’s an opportunity to pay more if you can and less if you need, with an eye on how your fee contributes to dancers who can’t afford to pay more/hiring of the space/all the session facilitators and live band members.

Thank you and looking forward to celebrating the Summer Solstice with you!

Bob
pp Newcastle Dance Collective

Early Session
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/solstice-dancing-early-session-tickets-1990954266807?sg=99d7a1a1a4738d8429418178dfa5fc83e8d72b87e8f698395a2e03c40c0cd99b8d9f8e96f75f49efa3349f71595f46a0628facc4624d8000ec5125bd8152a9600fb18ffdfc4e42d33eade49cf0&aff=ebdsshios

Late Session
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/solstice-dancing-late-session-tickets-1990952896709?sg=99d7a1a1a4738d8429418178dfa5fc83e8d72b87e8f698395a2e03c40c0cd99b8d9f8e96f75f49efa3349f71595f46a0628facc4624d8000ec5125bd8152a9600fb18ffdfc4e42d33eade49cf0&aff=ebdsshios

Solstice Dancing - Late Session Midsummer Dancing at Summerhill with Bob and Thomas