When Forte, an interdisciplinary studies in social science and community relations senior, was younger, she practiced various types of dance, including ballet, Irish and modern.

Once she started college and joined East Lansing Ecstatic Pump House Dance, she took interest in a new type of dance — 5Rhythms.

East Lansing Ecstatic Pump House Dance comprises several dancers who practice 5Rhythms, which was created by dancer Gabrielle Roth and exemplifies the five rhythms she believes exist everywhere in the universe — flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical and stillness.

“For me, (practicing 5Rhythms is) a way to process and come back to myself,” Forte said.
5Rhythms consists of dancing in a wave.

Dancers move continuously through the five stages, beginning with flowing; then staccato; chaos, which is the peak of the wave and often the most expressive stage; lyrical, which is the falling period; and stillness, which typically is demonstrated by some form of meditation.

During the wave, participants are not allowed to talk, but they can communicate via touching, making sounds and body percussions.

“It’s very much a personal space if you want it to be,” Forte said, “You can also interact with people.”

East Lansing Ecstatic Pump House Dance was formed by alumna Sarah Brown and two friends, who after learning the practice of 5Rhythms on a study abroad trip in Scotland, decided to bring the practice back home with them.

“We fell in love with (5Rhythms) and wanted to continue dancing,” Brown said.

After the group’s founders graduated, Forte, who was not ready to quit dancing, took charge of the group.

“It wasn’t really a question of whether or not to continue it.” she said. “Once you start dancing, it’s a need. You want to keep dancing because you need it, and you just hope that other people want to share that experience with you.”

The group, which is open for anyone to join, now meets at 8 p.m. Thursdays at the Orchard Street Pump House, 368 Orchard St.

After the dancing — which typically lasts between one and two hours — group members come together and discuss it.

Forte typically chooses new music to create a different wave for every practice, and after a few weeks, when other group members have become familiar with the technique, she encourages them to create their own wave.

“It’s really fun to let other people put themselves into a wave and use music they like,” she said.

Forte said the wave a person creates typically is reflective of their mood and personality.

“I think people kind of (put their feelings into their wave) unconsciously, but that’s the art and beauty of the wave,” she said. “You can tweak it to how you’re feeling.”

Philosophy senior Brady Burns joined the group about a year ago and has grown to love it.

Burns now regularly attends practice and treats each one as a time to meditate.

“It’s great to be able to experiment with dancing and how you relate to other people,” he said.

When Forte practices 5Rhythms, she said it opens up her mind to new ideas. Through dancing, she is able to work through issues she could not deal with otherwise.

“You’re a little bit more free to have these creative thoughts and experiment with things that are out of the normal realm of your thinking,” she said.

Listen to a 5Rhythms playlist used by the group.