Movement Classes:
I teach two conscious movement modalities: Open Floor (every Friday morning) and 5Rhythms (the first Saturday of each month). I trained as a 5Rhythms teacher in 2008 with the founder, Gabrielle Roth, and have taught regularly since. In 2012, I co-founded Open Floor and served on the core faculty until 2024.
I am a member of the International Conscious Movement Teachers Association (ICMTA), an international professional network of qualified teachers from different schools who offer dance and movement practice as a path to wholeness.
I uphold the ethical framework for good practice as a conscious movement teacher, available here.
Open Floor
What is an Open Floor class?
It’s dancing, and it’s a way of practising embodiment—learning to listen to ourselves through movement. Open Floor is a movement meditation: we bring our attention back to the body, again and again.
In each class we explore ways of moving. It can feel intimate and personal, or wild and expansive. Every class has its own flavour, and your experience may change from week to week. We practise flexibility of the whole self—emotionally and soulfully as well as physically.
Open Floor offers core movement resources such as grounding, centring and releasing, supporting us to feel more at home in our own skin and more present for whatever arises. An embodied life invites fluidity and choice—meeting both the subtle, luminous moments and the heavier ones when we feel like we’re dragging our feet.
Friday Morning Open Floor in Forest Row
Newcomers and experienced dancers are welcome at any time. It’s a vibrant, friendly group—please join us if it calls you.
When: Fridays, 9.30–11 am. Arrive from 9.15 am to warm up. Doors remain open until 9.40am.
Venue: Peter Griffiths Hall, Lewes Rd, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5ES (map)
Peter Griffiths Hall is behind Freshfield Village Hall, on the “Island” between Tesco’s garage and Lloyds Chemist, in the centre of Forest Row. Parking is available in the surrounding area.
Cost: £15 on the door - (cash or contactless). No pre-booking necessary.
It can help to...
Wear comfortable clothes to move in (layers work well)
Dance barefoot or in soft soled indoor shoes
Bring water to drink
Any questions, comments or responses please do contact me.
5Rhythms
5Rhythms is a simple, powerful movement practice—a dynamic form of movement meditation. The rhythms are Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness. They are danced in sequence in what is called The Wave.
Gabrielle Roth developed 5Rhythms after many years of working with people through dance and movement. She observed that most of us feel more comfortable in one or two rhythms—and that learning to move through all five can shift patterns in our dancing, with echoes in how we live.
5Rhythms is an open, improvisational form rather than a choreographed dance. Within the structure of each rhythm, we explore the fluidity of Flowing, the focus of Staccato, the release of Chaos, the lightness of Lyrical, and the emptiness of Stillness.
“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
Saturday Night Sweat - 5Rhythms in Forest Row
Saturday Night Sweat is a guided 5Rhythms Wave, beginners and experienced movers welcome alike. Come and spread your wings in the spacious, beautiful gym at Michael Hall School—great floor, great acoustics, and plenty of room to dance. Parking is plentiful.
When: 1st Saturday of every month, 7.30–9.30 pm
Arrive from 7.15 pm to warm up. Doors remain open until 7.45 pm.
Venue: The Gym, Michael Hall Steiner School, Priory Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5JA
Cost:
Concession: £15.87 (£14 + £1.87 fee)
Standard Reduced: £19.12 (£17 + £2.12 fee)
Standard: £22.38 (£20 + £2.38 fee)
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/saturday-night-sweat/tickets
It can help to:
Wear comfortable clothes to move in (layers work well)
Dance barefoot or in soft-soled indoor shoes
Bring water
Wheelchair accessible.
Any questions, please contact me or email the organiser Beam
Supervision for Open Floor Teachers
I offer online supervision for Open Floor teachers, providing dedicated time and space to reflect on your teaching and to explore the questions and challenges that arise in practice. Sessions offer a supportive, structured environment to develop your work and strengthen your confidence as an Open Floor teacher, including:
Dynamics that arise with your dancers
How you teach and embody the Open Floor curriculum
Your personal journey as a teacher—leadership, visibility, and vulnerability
Building and sustaining your practice
Why work with me (Sarah Davies)?
I hold a Diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapy and am currently completing my MA in Gestalt Psychotherapy and working toward full UKCP accreditation at the Gestalt Centre, London.
I served on the Open Floor Teacher Training Faculty (2021–2024), with experience as a mentor and supervisor.
I am a founding member of Open Floor and was an active working member for 12 years, with up-to-date knowledge of OFI and the curriculum.
I have taught conscious dance (5Rhythms and Open Floor) since 2008. I have co-taught for many years, and understand the practical realities of starting a class, growing it, and sustaining a thriving community.
I continue to receive regular supervision myself and value its impact on clarity, confidence, and resilience in the work.
Format and fee: Online, 60 minutes — £70
Gestalt Psychotherapy
I am a registered UKCP trainee psychotherapist, currently completing an MA in Gestalt Psychotherapy and working toward full UKCP accreditation at the Gestalt Centre, London (academic award: London Metropolitan University). The training includes work with individuals and groups. Having worked for two years in a hospice setting I now see clients through the Therapy Scheme at the Gestalt Centre.
My approach is grounded in the belief that, with support, increased awareness can lead to meaningful change.
Gestalt psychotherapy is an integrative, practical approach that supports people to notice their present-moment experience—thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and behaviour—and to explore patterns in how they relate to others. This growing awareness can open new perspectives and support change.
Training
2021–2022: Diploma in Professional Development
2022–2023: Postgraduate Certificate in Gestalt Therapy
2023–2024: Postgraduate Diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapy
Embodiment Coaching
This may be for you if you would like to:
Feel more comfortable in your body
Build confidence
Develop tools to reduce stress
Feel more familiar with, and able to work with, your emotions
Sessions combine talking, guided enquiry, and movement—sometimes seated, sometimes moving in the space. I primarily use the Open Floor framework. Unlike group classes, these 1:1 sessions are tailored to you, shaped by your focus and what you want to explore.
I offer both in-person and online sessions. In-person sessions take place in Forest Row, East Sussex.
Embodiment is the practice of noticing sensations and tracking the shifting inner landscape. As we develop this capacity, we can feel more connected to ourselves, strengthen self-trust, and relate to others with greater clarity.
Our bodies are closely connected to thoughts and feelings, yet many of us disconnect from bodily experience—especially when we are trying to fit in, stay safe, or manage intensity. Sometimes we feel numb or unsure what we feel. In this work, we give dedicated attention to restoring and deepening your connection with your body.
Many of us long for presence: a sense of alignment, when body, heart and mind are more in sync. Turning toward physical experience can unlock emotion and insight, supporting creativity, playfulness, and a more grounded sense of choice.
Open Floor includes ten core movement resources that I may draw on to support you: Activate & Settle, Centre, Dissolve, Expand & Contract, Ground, Pause, Release, Spatial Awareness, Towards & Away, and Vector.