SANCTUARY: WINTER SOLSTICE CLASS
5Rhythms Dance at the Gorge Pavilion
One night only: honouring the longest night and the turning of the light.
Once a month we gather in a treetop pavilion that bridges history, water, and wild presence. But on Winter Solstice, we step into something deeper ~ a collective pause, a breath, a doorway.
Sanctuary: Winter Solstice is a special 5Rhythms class to honour the darkest night of the year and the quiet turning toward the light.
We’ll come together in the Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion—a stunning, light-filled, Japanese-inspired sanctuary perched on the Gorge Waterway, with floor-to-ceiling windows, cedar beams, and sweeping winter views of water and gardens.
As night settles early around us, this room becomes its own lantern: a warm, glowing container suspended between past and future, shadow and illumination.
The Solstice invites reflection, release, and renewal.
The dance gives us a way to move with all of it.
5Rhythms is a movement meditation, a full-body awakening, and a wild, grounding journey, all at once. There are no steps to follow, nothing to perfect, only the open space to move in your own way, at your own pace, in your own truth.
On this night, we’ll travel through the five rhythms ~ Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, Stillness ~ each one a different landscape of the Solstice: the deep dark of Flowing, the spark of Staccato, the release in Chaos, the lift of Lyrical, the quiet radiance of Stillness.
The music will be wide-ranging and soul-stirring, carrying us along the arc from darkness toward the first hint of returning light.
This is a space for reflection, for release, for renewal. A space to honour what this year has been, and to make room ~ through movement ~ for what is coming.
No experience needed. Just your curiosity, your breath, your willingness to step into the dark and dance your way back toward the light.
WHEN:
SPECIAL SANCTUARY - WINTER SOLSTICE EDITION CLASS
Sunday: December 21, 2025 | 7pm-8:30pm
Book ahead to hold your spot. You can cancel through Esquimalt Recreation up to three days before the class.
WHERE:
Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion is located at 1070 Tillicum Road in Esquimalt Gorge Park. Nestled beside the Gorge Waterway and the Japanese Garden, the Pavilion offers a beautiful and serene setting. The venue is fully accessible, with elevator access, plenty of free on-site parking, and designated accessible parking stalls. Please join us in the Upper Level Pavilion Hall.
PRICE + HOW TO REGISTER:
These sessions $25 per class and are offered in partnership with the Esquimalt Recreation Centre. Registration is required and quick:
Click here: Register Here
Sign in with your Esquimalt Rec account, or create one in just a few steps.
Find Sanctuary 5Rhythms® Dance at the Gorge Pavilion, select your date(s), and reserve your spot.
Good to know:
The classes sold out with a wait list, so booking in advance is recommended.
You can cancel up to three days before class through the Rec Centre system.
If you’d like to pay in person with cash, or if you have any questions, call the Esquimalt Recreation Centre at 250-412-8500. They’re open daily from 5:30am to 10:30pm.
Spots are limited, so booking in advance ensures your place in the circle.
For those with limited income: Esquimalt Recreation offers an Access Pass (formerly the LIFE Program) for low-income community members. You are welcome to apply. If you hold an Access Pass, you are warmly invited to use it for this class, and your participation is fully honoured.
POINTS OF PRACTICE:
This class is held within a shared container of agreements. [Read the Points of Practice → HERE]
Land acknowledgement.
We dance on the traditional, unceded territories of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. With gratitude, we honour the people, the land, and the waters that hold us.