Gabrielle Roth
GABRIELLE ROTH (practice founder, 1941-2012)
Gabrielle Roth was an internationally renowned artist, philosopher, and healer who dedicated her life to the exploration of the creative spirit. She is best known as the founder of the 5Rhythms®, a movement meditation practice that has turned thousands of people across the globe on to the inner, healing rhythms of their dancing souls.
Often described as an “urban shaman,” Gabrielle bridged the gap between the ecstatic traditions of the past and the modern psyche. Her journey began in the 1960s at the Esalen Institute in California, where she rubbed shoulders with the pioneers of the Human Potential Movement (like Fritz Perls and Gregory Bateson). It was there, while teaching movement to diverse groups—from children to psychiatric patients—that she discovered a universal truth: when you put the psyche in motion, it heals itself.
Gabrielle believed that our bodies hold our life stories, including our trauma, joy, and suppressed emotions. Through her movement philosophy, she created a map to release these stories. The 5Rhythms—Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness—are not just dance steps, but a way of living. Gabrielle and her certified teachers worldwide have helped people of all ages discover the creative brilliance of their innate originality and the daring to express themselves.
“Energy moves in waves. Waves moves in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms. A human being is just that, energy, waves, patterns, rhythms. Nothing more. Nothing less. A dance.”
GABRIELLE ROTH
"Healing is a journey. It involves stepping out of our habitual roles, our conventional scripts, and improvising a dancing path. The dancing path leads us from the inertia or sleepwalking to the ecstasy of living the spirit of the moment."
GABRIELLE ROTH
“There is a dance only you can do, that exists only in you, here and now, always changing, always true. Are you willing to listen with fascination? If you are it will deliver you unto the self you have always dreamed you could be. This is a promise.”
GABRIELLE ROTH
“The fastest, cleanest, most joyful way to break out of your own box is by dancing. I’m not talking about doing the stand and sway. I’m talking about dancing so deep, so hard, so full of the beat, that you are nothing but the dance and the beat and the sweat and the heat. Surrendering to the movement practice teaches us to trust.”
GABRIELLE ROTH
“It doesn’t matter where we come from or how we grew up or whether we can or can’t dance. Movement is medicine, and whether we feel clumsy or graceful, it heals us. Real learning happens when we show up and move because the body can’t lie."
GABRIELLE ROTH
Gabrielle was not only a teacher but a visionary artist. She viewed life itself as a work of art.
Music: Together with her husband, Robert Ansell, she founded Raven Recording, producing over 20 albums of trance-dance music. Her work received critical acclaim, including Indie Awards for the albums Tongues (Best Ambient Album) and Luna (Best World Music Album).
Video: She produced three DVDs: The Wave, The Inner Wave, and The Power Wave.
Words: She is the author of three revolutionary books: Maps to Ecstasy, Sweat Your Prayers, and Connections.
Theater: She founded The Mirrors, a theater company that brought the raw, embodied truth of the 5Rhythms to the stage in New York City and beyond.
She has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, New Age Journal, Body Mind Spirit, Self, and many other national publications, leaving an indelible mark on the world of conscious movement.
Gabrielle passed away in 2012, but her fire continues to burn. Through the global community of 5Rhythms teachers, her vision continues to inspire people to shape their lives into art.
