Gabrielle Roth
Encyclopedia
Gabrielle Roth is a musician, author, music director, dancer, philosopher and recording artist in the world music
and trance dance
genres, with a special interest in shamanism
. Known as the "urban shaman", she is music director of the theatre company The Mirrors and has been a member of the Actor's Studio. She is the founder of the recording label Raven Recordings. She has been a faculty member of both Kripalu and the Esalen Institute
and offers classes at the Omega Institute, often joined by her son, Jonathan Horan. Her international institute, The Moving Center. oversees the teaching of her work through schools in New York
and California
and has certified over 300 teachers worldwide. She is currently teaching experimental theater in New York
based on The Roth 5Rhythms
and training others to use shamanic methods within artistic, education, and healing contexts.
and Joseph Chaikin
, at The Culture Project (New York City), One Arm Red (Brooklyn) and the Hip Pocket Theater (Ft Worth, Texas).
, Elle
, Mademoiselle
, Bazaar
, Donna Karan
's Woman to Woman, Utne Reader
, New Age Journal
, Body Mind Spirit, Shape Magazine
, Fitness and many other national publications.
) and Roth's husband and producer Robert Ansell. Over the years, other contributors and collaborators have included composer/guitarist Lenny Kaye
(of the Patti Smith
Band); Allison Cornell on strings (of Joe Jackson
and Pat Benatar
); Jai Uttal
(Indian fusion musician); space music composer Raphael; Boris Grebenshikov; and percussionists Gordy Ryan, Arthur Hull
, Steven Scales (Talking Heads
), and Cyro Baptista
(of Paul Simon
and Laurie Anderson
and of the band Beat the Donkey).
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
and trance dance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
genres, with a special interest in shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
. Known as the "urban shaman", she is music director of the theatre company The Mirrors and has been a member of the Actor's Studio. She is the founder of the recording label Raven Recordings. She has been a faculty member of both Kripalu and the Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute is a residential community and retreat in Big Sur, California, which focuses upon humanistic alternative education. Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activites such as meditation, massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, and spirituality...
and offers classes at the Omega Institute, often joined by her son, Jonathan Horan. Her international institute, The Moving Center. oversees the teaching of her work through schools in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and has certified over 300 teachers worldwide. She is currently teaching experimental theater in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
based on The Roth 5Rhythms
5Rhythms
5Rhythms is a movement meditation practice devised by Gabrielle Roth in the 1960s. It draws from many indigenous and world traditions using tenets of shamanistic, ecstatic, mystical and eastern philosophy...
and training others to use shamanic methods within artistic, education, and healing contexts.
Directing
Roth has directed Off-Off Broadway for the One Act Theater Co. and has been a member of the PDU of the Actor’s Studio. She most recently directed productions of Savage Love, by Sam ShepardSam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
and Joseph Chaikin
Joseph Chaikin
Joseph Chaikin was an American theatre director, playwright, and pedagogue.-Early years:The youngest of five children, Chaikin was born to a poor Jewish family living in the Borough Park residential area of Brooklyn. At the age of six, he was struck with rheumatic fever, and he continued to...
, at The Culture Project (New York City), One Arm Red (Brooklyn) and the Hip Pocket Theater (Ft Worth, Texas).
Writings
Roth is the author of three books: Maps to Ecstasy: Teachings of an Urban Shaman, Sweat Your Prayers, and Connections: The 5 Threads of Intuitive Wisdom, and her work has been featured in SelfSelf (magazine)
Self magazine is an American magazine for women that specializes in health, fitness, nutrition, beauty and happiness. Published by Condé Nast Publications 12 times a year, it has a circulation of 1,486,992 and a total audience of 5,541,000 readers, according to its corporate media kit. The...
, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
, Bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
, Donna Karan
Donna Karan
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.-Early life:...
's Woman to Woman, Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
, New Age Journal
New Age Journal
New Age Journal, or New Age: The Journal for Holistic Living was an American periodical prominent in the late 20th century, and defining itself as covering topics related to the period's "New Age"; it has been succeeded, in turn, by Body & Soul, and under new ownership by Body + Soul.It was founded...
, Body Mind Spirit, Shape Magazine
Shape Magazine
Shape Magazine is a monthly English language fitness magazine started by Weider Publications in 1981, founded by Christine MacIntyre and became the #1 women's fitness magazine...
, Fitness and many other national publications.
Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors
Roth performs and records as Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors, and has produced over 15 albums and appeared on various compilations. Longtime Mirrors regulars include drummers Sanga of the Valley (a student of master Nigerian drummer Babatunde OlatunjiBabatunde Olatunji
Babatunde Olatunji was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist and recording artist.- Biography :Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, a small town near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nigeria. A member of the Yoruba people, Olatunji was introduced to traditional African music at...
) and Roth's husband and producer Robert Ansell. Over the years, other contributors and collaborators have included composer/guitarist Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...
(of the Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
Band); Allison Cornell on strings (of Joe Jackson
Joe Jackson (musician)
Joe Jackson is an English musician and singer-songwriter now living in Berlin, whose five Grammy Award nominations span from 1979 to 2001...
and Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
); Jai Uttal
Jai Uttal
Jai Uttal is an American musician and singer-songwriter born in New York City. Often performing with his "Pagan Love Orchestra," Jai's music is influenced by his R&B roots of the 1960s and '70s and by traditional Indian music, which he first became familiar with at age 19.When he was 19, Jai moved...
(Indian fusion musician); space music composer Raphael; Boris Grebenshikov; and percussionists Gordy Ryan, Arthur Hull
Arthur Hull
Arthur Hull is an internationally renowned percussionist. He is seen by many as the person who conceived and developed the idea of the facilitated community drum circle. He now travels the world training drum circle facilitators.- 'Playshops' :...
, Steven Scales (Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
), and Cyro Baptista
Cyro Baptista
Cyro Baptista is a Brazilian musician, teacher, and recording artist specializing in percussion in the genres of jazz and world music....
(of Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
and Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
and of the band Beat the Donkey).
The Moving Center School
Roth founded The Moving Center School in 1987 in Mill Valley, California. It now has a branch in New York. The Mill Valley school was co-founded by Kathy Altman, Lori Saltzmann and Andrea Juhan.Articles
- Body Mind Spirit, March-April, 1998.
- Women's Sports and Fitness, January-February, 1999.
Artists profiles and biographies
- Omega Institute Faculty Profile
- Sounds True Author Profile
- Biography in Musicians' Guide by Gerald E. Brennan
- Biography by Carol Wright, Allmusic
- Imuzic Artist Profile
Reviews
- New York Times Review of "Dances of Ecstasy" Video
- New York Times Review of "Secret Egypt" Video
- Hot Indie News Review of CD "Still Chillin'"
Interviews
Raven Recordings
- Jhoom
- Still Chillin
- Bardo (with Boris Grebenshikov)
- Tribe
- Refuge (with Boris Grebenshikov)
- Zone Unknown
- Stillpoint
- Tongues
- Luna
- Trance
- Waves
- Ritual
- Bones
- Initiation
- Totem
- The Raven Classics - 4 CD Boxed Set
- Endless Wave
- Endless Wave 2
- Music for Slow Flow Yoga
- Music for Slow Flow Yoga 2
Other producers
- Path: An Ambient Collection (1995) Windham Hill RecordsWindham Hill RecordsWindham Hill Records is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment specializing in Acoustic, New Age and Folk music. Originally founded in 1976 as an Independent record label by guitarist and carpenter William Ackerman and his then-wife Anne Robinson, Windham Hill was a successful and well-respected...
- Conversations With God: A Windham Hill Collection (1997) Windham Hill RecordsWindham Hill RecordsWindham Hill Records is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment specializing in Acoustic, New Age and Folk music. Originally founded in 1976 as an Independent record label by guitarist and carpenter William Ackerman and his then-wife Anne Robinson, Windham Hill was a successful and well-respected...
Video
- Secret Egypt (1995) Mystic Fire Video (Directed by Sheldon Rochlin)
- The Spiritual Path to Success (1997) Quest special on PBS (now part of the Quest Life Trilogy, only available as part of the Quest Wisdom Collection).
- Sukhavati: A Mythic Journey (1997 [music]) [DVD Released 2005] for Joseph Campbell FoundationJoseph Campbell FoundationThe Joseph Campbell Foundation is a US not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserve, protect and perpetuate the work of influential American mythologist Joseph Campbell...
and PBS (Produced, Directed, and Edited by Maxine Harris and Sheldon Rochlin). - The Wave (2001) Sounds TrueSounds TrueSounds True is a multimedia publishing company based near Boulder, Colorado. It was created in 1985 by Tami Simon. The company has published approximately 1,000 titles, including spoken-word audio recordings, books, music, filmed events, multimedia packages and online educational programs from...
VHS (DVD Released 2004) - The Power Wave (2001) Sounds True VHS (DVD Released 2005)
- The Inner Wave (2001) Sounds True VHS (DVD Released 2005)
- Ecstatic Dance Trilogy (2004) Sounds True
- Dances of Ecstasy (2003) [featuring: Michelle Mahrer, Nicole Ma and Gabrielle Roth] BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
/ Opus Arte - Open Floor: Dance, Therapy & Transformation (2002) Raven Recording
External links
- http://www.gabrielleroth.com
- http://www.shop5rhythms.com
- http://www.ambientvisions.com/gabrielle.htm
- "Mine is a dancing path" an interview with ascent magazine.