a series of one-day workshops in Quw'utsun

 with Joanne Winstanley ~ Wednesday March 24 to Tuesday March 30, 2027 in Sacramento. 

Registration is open ~ details here.

an advanced-level 5Rhythms® workshop with Joanne Winstanley ~ Monday September 28 to Saturday October 3, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.

Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Avenue, Toronto, ON

To register, please contact Layah Jane.

with Lucia Horan ~ September 11 to 13, 2026 in Victoria, BC

“When we experience moments of ecstasy, we taste what life is meant to be.” Gabrielle Roth

Maps hold all the information that is required to lead us to where we want to go. What is your destination?

In times of turmoil and change, somatic meditation can assist you in navigating your way out of resistance and into ecstasy. Through Gabrielle Roth’s 5Rhythms movement practice and Mindfulness meditation, one may build a skill set that supports balance, ease and joy. If you have been looking to increase appreciation, gratitude and happiness, then now is a perfect time to celebrate being alive.

This workshop is designed for all who want to join in expanding the possibility of entering altered states in a natural way.

"I want to take you to a place of pure magic... It's the place athletes call the "zone", Buddhists call "satori" and ravers call "trance." I call it the Silver Desert. It's a place of pure light that holds the dark within it. It's a place of pure rhythm.” Gabrielle Roth

DATES and TIMES (3 full days): Friday September 11, noon to 6pm | Saturday September 12,11am to 6pm | Sunday September 13, noon to 5pm

LOCATION: Polish White Eagle Hall, 90 Dock Street (in James Bay), Victoria BC

COST: CDN $400 before August 1| $455 after

5 scholarship places (2 full and 3 partial scholarships) are available to BIPOC and those in need. To enquire, please contact the organizer.

To Register: purchase your ticket online, or contact Joanne to arrange payment.

Refunds: cancellations before August 1 receive a full refund less a $50 admin fee; cancellations before September 1 receive a full refund less a $100 admin fee; cancellations from September 1 to 9 will receive a 50% refund.

Lucia Horan was born and raised in the Esalen community, and has been leading seminars since 1998. Lucia received life-long direct training with Gabrielle Roth in the 5Rhythms® method. She is formally empowered to lead Buddhist Mindfulness and Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness, and she brings a lifetime of experience with these practices as a way to move through the fabric of life’s experiences.

a movement, ritual and photography workshop on the art of being seen

with Cathy Key and Joanne Winstanley
July 18–19, 2026 5575 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2G1

Living Portraits is a two-day pilot workshop exploring the art of being witnessed through movement, ritual theatre and portrait photography.

Together, we will explore the masks, defenses, longings and aliveness that appear when we allow ourselves to be truly seen. What do we reveal? What do we protect? What becomes possible when we meet ourselves and one another with presence, curiosity and compassion?

We will be working with talented portrait photographer and dancer Leanne Gummersbach, who will work with us inside the workshop container. As we deepen our capacity to move and be seen, there will be an opportunity to be witnessed through the lens. After the workshop, you will receive a photograph from your experience.

This is an intimate pilot offering co-created by 5Rhythms® teacher Joanne Winstanley and artist Cathy Key, whose ongoing body of work, Portrait as Ritual, explores portraiture as a doorway into relationship, presence and transformation.

This pilot is for people who are curious about movement, creativity, visibility and the deeper experience of being seen. No experience is needed. Come as you are.

As this is a first offering, we are inviting participation on a sliding scale of $125–$250, with a suggested contribution of $195.

Please contact Joanne (joanne@danceherenow.ca) to register, or purchase your ticket online.

"I know that if a wave of energy is allowed to complete itself, it yields a whole new wave, and in fact that is all I really know." ~ Gabrielle Roth

The 5Rhythms® is a simple, powerful movement practice which guides us to re-connect with our innate body-knowledge, wellness, and wisdom. Each individual rhythm – Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness – holds many teachings, and when we dance all 5Rhythms in sequence, or in a cycle, we call that a 'Wave.' Many natural cycles, when left to their own unfolding, will naturally follow a wave-like pattern: the rhythm of an individual day, the way that stress and/or excitement wants to move through our body, the phases of a creative project or a human life. In this work, the Wave is a central metaphor, a pathway, and a map we can follow and practice and explore.

This workshop is both an introduction and a deep dive into Gabrielle Roth’s healing movement work – the 5Rhythms. We will gather and share a whole a weekend to expand and immerse into the physicality of our movement practice. We will move together through our own terrain, individual and collective, each of us in our own way and with respect for our body’s own pacing. We will explore the qualities, embodiment, and gifts of each rhythm as it carries us through a Wave.

DATES: April 17 to 19, 2026

TIMES: Friday 7-9:30pm | Saturday 11am-6pm | Sunday 11:30am-5pm

• Standard Rate ~ US$275 before March 31 | $315 after 
• Supported Rate (students/ fixed income/underemployed) ~ US$225 before March 31 | $255 after
• Pay-It-Forward Rate (to help support subsidized places for those who need them) ~ US$345

LOCATION: Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW

TO REGISTER: tickets are available on Eventbrite, or contact Kellie5Rhythms@gmail.com

PREREQUISITES: a minimum of 15 hours of Waves (5Rhythms classes) is recommended.

Joanne teaches 5Rhythms with a deep respect for the transformational nature of this practice, for the insight that these maps can bring to our daily lives, and for the unique discovery process of each participant. Her teaching is rooted in a lifelong engagement with her own study and personal work. Since 2001, she has held a steady space for the growth and evolution of a robust dance community in Victoria BC, has supported students and colleagues developing their own teaching path, and has shared her love of this practice with communities, across Canada and overseas.  www.danceherenow.ca  

January 9 to 11, 2026 in Victoria, BC

a New Year's 5Rhythms workshop with Joanne Winstanley

art process guided by Cathy Key

We will cast our lines of vision into the coming year. We will turn our inner eye towards the landscape of the heart. Moving with what’s present, through the mystery, wisdom, and discipline of our movement practice, we will cultivate space for whatever may be ready to untangle to move, in its own time, towards a resolution. Together we’ll affirm our resolve to show up with all of our senses, again and again, as the person our life is asking us to be.

We invite you to join us for this weekend of visioning, movement, kind witnessing, and creative imagination ~ stepping into the new year with clarity, curiosity, and a listening heart.

DATES: January 9 to 11, 2026 in Victoria, BC

TIMES: Friday 6:30 to 9:30pm | Saturday 11am to 6:30pm | Sunday 11am to 5pm

LOCATION: Polish White Eagle Hall, 90 Dock Street (at Niagara), Victoria BC

TUITION: 

• before December 21 ~ $285 ($310 contributes to a reduced-rate spot*)
• after December 21 ~ $315 ($345  contributes to a reduced-rate spot*)

*All scholarship donations are applied toward another dancer's reduced-rate spot. If you are called to participate and these prices are a barrier for you, please email joanne@danceherenow.ca for a possible partial scholarship or work trade.

TO REGISTER: Purchase your ticket online or send an e-transfer to joanne@danceherenow.ca.

For any other arrangements or enquiries, please be in touch.

As well, please ensure we have your best email address so you receive information related to the workshop.

COMMUNITY CARE: Any dancers experiencing cold/flu symptoms are expected to stay home to care for themselves and for the rest of the group. We will ask all participants to complete a rapid test prior to attending.

ACCESSIBILITY: the hall has one flight of stairs (or email in advance if you need to access a lift), and one gender-neutral washroom.

REFUNDS and CANCELLATIONS: a full refund, less $100, will be issued for cancellations before January 2, 2026.  

(Cancellations due to illness or for a known exposure to Covid will receive a refund less a $100 admin fee. Any other cancellations/refunds will be considered on a case by case basis.)

Joanne teaches 5Rhythms with a deep respect for the transformational nature of this practice, for the insight that these maps can bring to our daily lives, and for the unique discovery process of each participant. Her teaching is rooted in a lifelong engagement with her own study and personal work. Since 2001, she has held a steady space for the growth and evolution of a robust dance community in Victoria BC, has supported students and colleagues developing their own teaching path, and has shared her love of this practice with communities, across Canada and overseas.

about Joanne: www.danceherenow.ca

about Cathy: cathykey.com

PREREQUISITES: a minimum of 15 hours of Waves (5Rhythms classes) is recommended.

For students who are tracking their hours toward the 5Rhythms teacher training, this workshop counts as 1 day of Waves and 1.5 days of Heartbeat.

In the Heartbeat™ map, each of the 5Rhythms becomes a gateway to the essential emotions: Flowing / Fear, Staccato / Anger, Chaos / Sadness, Lyrical / Joy, and Stillness / Compassion.

On Sunday November 2, 2025, Joanne will lead two events in Montreal: Amy Dhindsa's Sunday morning 5Rhythms class and, on Sunday evening, a movement and writing workshop with a dear colleague and friend.

Class Description: 

In this potent time – known by names such as All Souls Day, Samhain, and the Day of the Dead – we’ll engage our 5Rhythms® practice to create our own movement ritual in honour of our lineages, our ancestors, our allies, our beloved dead, and our webs of support. Giving thanks for the gift of our lives, we will honour those who have brought us to life, and who have made our living possible.

You are invited to bring an object or a photo to place on a collective altar, to represent any of these aspects you might like to include in your practice, or dedicate your dance to.

To register for Sunday morning (10:30 to 12:30, in Studio A): contact Amy or buy your tickets here.

Location: Circuit Est, 1881 St Andre St, Montreal

To register for Sunday evening (6:30 to 9:30pm, in Studio C): please save the date and time for now ~ details for the evening event are coming soon. If you'd like to receive a notification when registration opens, please email Joanne (at) danceherenow (dot) ca to request this.

Hailing from Victoria, British Columbia, Joanne is accredited in the Waves, Heartbeat, and Mirrors maps (each ‘map’ being an interrelated level of the 5Rhythms movement practice and cosmology).  This is an excellent opportunity for Montreal dancers to taste Joanne’s profound and gentle medicine in advance of her Mirrors 2026 workshop in Toronto (September 28 to October 03, 2026) and her 2027 weekend workshop in Montreal (October 29 to 31, 2027). We warmly invite you to join us.

an advanced-level 5Rhythms® workshop with Joanne Winstanley ~ August 25 to 31, 2025 on Salt Spring Island, BC 

** This retreat is fully booked. Contact me if you'd like to join the waitlist.**

"What the ego wants is tiny compared to what the soul wants, and there comes a point when we recognize this, and we surrender to soul." – Marion Woodman

Mirrors is an initiation into the world beyond self-importance -- into the art of seeing. To enter the world of Mirrors is to take off our blinders and begin to see through the delusions and difficulties that trap us in unhappiness and destructiveness. We start to step back and get some insight into the predictable patterns that sabotage the grace and dignity of our truest and most soulful self. 

In the 5Rhythm® practice, we are constantly moving into the most spontaneous, energetic, expansive qualities of our being. In the Mirrors level of the practice, we are given the tools to identify the relentless loop of our own favorite head-trips and the inevitable situations they create. We tear off masks, sheds skins, reinventing ourselves effortlessly, learning to witness our own drama, its roots and rituals. We enter the crowd of characters that dominate our stage whether servant or star, doormat or dreamer, realist or rebel, mystic or manipulator—all divas, and begin to watch them sabotage our funky, fiery, free-spirit. Sometimes we have to stop the world and wonder: which part of me is using my hands, my feet, my eyes, my ears, and most importantly my mouth today?

We all know what it feels like to get stuck, to lose our groove, to get trapped in our heads and cut off from our hearts Seeking the answer within awakens the witness and learning to witness our own melodrama is our saving grace.

This one-day workshop is an inquiry into the 5Rhythms as a practice.

Friday August 22 (open evening) and Saturday August 23, 2025 in Victoria, BC, with Jeffrey Boynton (USA)

The surest way to understand the 5Rhythms' powerful potential is to move our bodies with intention, however we are able, through Wave after Wave after Wave. Our dance becomes practice – and we become​ more proficient​, as practitioners – as we show up, over time, in almost any inner state and external circumstance, dancing with others and alone; with little energy or range and with a lot; with different life moments, questions, and emotions; for seconds, minutes, hours, or for days.

In this practice, the specific nature of each Rhythm invites us to know ourselves in distinct ways and capacities, and to deepen into this way of knowing, of being in contact, over time. We practice shifting from Rhythm to Rhythm and Wave to Wave, cultivating our ability to live fluidly, and to respond to change. We practice giving ourselves permission to be every part of who we are, while noticing and being with what is – however it happens to be.

Through practice, and by sincerely giving our time and attention, we follow the road to building innate skill and developing the sense of embodied safety that personal experience and proficiency can bring. Then, we can effortlessly improvise within our own earned understanding of what is possible. With practice, we can relate with more ground and more presence to what is moving, to what is needed, and to who and what is alive around and between us. As we touch this place of knowing, nurturing, and unleashing our full selves, we encourage others in our world to do the same.

Hours: Friday August 22nd 6:30 to 9:00

Saturday August 23rd 11:00 to 5:00

Location: Church of Truth, 111 Superior Street (James Bay), Victoria BC

Friday + Saturday (when you sign up together for both) -- $155 Regular/ $185 Supporter/ $145 Supported

Friday only -- $40 Regular/ $50 Supporter/ $35 Supported (capped at 35 participants) ~ 13 places remaining

Saturday only -- $125 Regular/ $145 Supporter / $115 Supported (capped at 25 participants) ~ 5 places remaining

If you are called to attend, and the price a barrier for you, please be in touch. A limited number of reduced-cost spaces is available.

To register: purchase your ticket online, or email Joanne (at danceherenow dot ca) to enquire about availability, or to make other arrangements for payment.

** Participants will be provided access to several of Jeffrey's waves for home practice via Mixcloud to support their personal practice and inquiry before and integration after the workshop. **

About Jeffrey:

Birthed to the wilderness and completely at home being lost, Jeffrey is rooted in a history of modern dance, dance theater and contact improvisation and discovered the practice of 5Rhythms® during a chaotic transition to New York City in 2001. He was certified as a 5Rhythms teacher in 2014 and is a member of the 5Rhythms Teachers Association (5RTA). He holds a generous grounded space of gentle masculine presence for each of us to find our feet on the path of alignment between what we think, what we feel, and what we do. He knows this awareness grows from seeds planted in our embodied journey and takes shape when we give ourselves full loving attention to the Truth of how energy moves in our body, moment by moment. The gift of this awareness is increased personal and communal resilience, a vital resource in this age of Chaos. Each room he is fortunate enough to guide is offered respect, kindness, and a commitment to what is happening now.

Refunds, cancellations, and collective care: if you are unwell with a communicable illness, please do not attend. A full refund minus a $30 admin fee will be issued for cancellations due to illness. Any other cancellations before August 15th will receive a 50% refund. As space is limited in this workshop, any cancellations after August 15th will receive a 50% refund only if another participant takes your place.

All prices in Canadian dollars.

May 16 to 18, 2025

YOU • ME • US 
5Rhythms Movement Workshop

with Bettina Rothe, Joanne Winstanley, Anne Marie Hogya, Chantell Foss, and Shauna Devlin

This is a unique opportunity to encounter 5 different expressions of this cathartic and healing movement practice. Coming from decades of dancing together and tending dance communities side by side, these friends and colleagues will weave a weekend of movement informed by their long love and learning of 5Rhythms. They intend to offer you a communal container of strength, variety, and openness.

DATES:
​May 16-18th, 2025

TIMES:
• Friday 6:00-9:00pm
• Saturday 11:30-8:00
*Catered Dinner
• Sunday 10:00-4:00pm

LOCATION:
Beaver Point Hall, Salt Spring Island BC Canada
About 25 minutes from Ganges and 15 from Fulford Harbour

COST:
TIER 1 (low income) $365 (15 places)
TIER 2 $375 (10 places)
FULL PRICE $395

Click here or contact Shauna to register.