Our Story

Ecstatic Dance London: Our story

Ecstatic Dance London was first formed in 2009 as a Live Music Ecstatic Dance Collective ‘URUBU’ by founder Seth Newman. Global music phenomenon the Urubu Collective, took London by storm with their twice-monthly ecstatic dance events! Urubu collective delivers a captivating blend of exotic improvisational world grooves from ambient, meditative piano & vocal pieces through to high octane Afro-percussion. Expect Tribal wildness and beautiful songs, Gongs, sound healing and more. Urubu Live Music Ecstatic Dance events are still happening couple of times a year when the talented musicians come together for to offer wild drumming and dancing. Urubu Drum Mantra events are not to be missed and are truly unique!

Urubu has since developed into a holistic wellness event organiser based in London facilitating Workshops, Classes, Retreats, Campouts & Trainings for living a Healthy and Embodied Life! URUBU is a School of Transformational Arts!

Pioneering Conscious and Wellbeing Events since 2009 in London and UK!

• Ecstatic Dance London (DJ, Live Music & with Silent Disco Headphones)
• Body-mind Integration Practices
• Active Guided Meditations
• Creativity Coaching
• Cacao Ceremonies
• Gong Baths & Sound Journeys
• Drumming & Singing
• Aerial Relaxation Pods & Sunday Hammock Sessions
• Conscious Connections & EcoTantra
  and much much more!

Our mission is to offer a variety of transformational experiences designed for supporting you in your personal life journey, enhancing community wellness and togetherness. 

We bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, heart centred and humanistic approach into all our work. We create and facilitate all our workshops and continue to develop new practices which we are very excited to share!

About the founder – Seth Newman

Seth Newman: As the founder of the URUBU School of Transformational Arts, he integrates the roots of Humanistic therapies, Bioenergetics & Body Psychotherapy, Transpersonal Psychology and Tantra in creative and life-transforming workshops, retreats and trainings. As a coach, Seth is dedicated to helping people calm, empower and rejuvenate their busy minds and bodies to achieve the best versions of themselves. Seth brings a wealth of experience holding heart-centered spaces.

His in-depth studies, trainings, personal experiences of many therapeutic modalities such as Humanistic & Body Psychotherapy, the Human Potential Movement, 5 Rhythms, Active meditations and the teaching of the Indian Mystic Osho who he grew up with in India in the 1970s, infuse his approach to living a creative, holistic & embodied life and sharing his unique offerings with others. Seth has been facilitating regular workshops for many years.

As a musician, Seth is very passionate about rhythm & drumming, has an MA in Community Music from Goldsmith College, worked as a world music percussion teacher in East London schools for almost 20 years, created URUBU collective back in 2009 as a Live Music Ecstatic Dance experience with Afro-Brazilian drummers & musicians and started his journey as an avid DJ with a love for Afro-Beat, Cuban and Brazilian music and created an Ecstatic Dance scene in London and the UK. Seth has a life-long passion for 5 Rhythms and other movement and Ecstatic Dance practices.

About the events manager – Diana River

Diana River (Upite): Diana is a co-creator and co-facilitator of many Ecstatic Dance London wellbeing classes, workshops, retreats, festivals. She LOVES organising, weaving projects and ideas into reality.

Trained in classical music from a young age, and later in contemporary music, Diana carries a life-long passion for singing, improvising and re-imagining traditional Celtic and folk songs with her own melodic vision.  A singer at heart, she connects deeply with the melodies and harmonies of ancient Europe and beyond. Through her singing and cacao ceremonies, her intention is to guide you on a journey of reconnection and self-discovery, reuniting you with the source of who you are.

Diana makes delicious Raw Vegan Cacao drinks for ceremonies and events. Cacao is the ultimate heart opener, it will give you energy, revitalise your BodyMind inviting you to express, release & unleash your creativity! She uses ethically sourced, highest quality ingredients from Guatemala, directly from a reliable cacao bean farmer. Instagram: @diana.upite

Origins of Ecstatic Dance

The origins of Ecstatic Dance are actually quite interesting, and offer a historical perspective about dance as a therapeutic tool.

In her fascinating book “Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy” Barbara Ehrenreich says that the vast majority of tribal or “small scale” cultures shared a common thread: ecstatic or trance dance. They may have exorcised either demons or stress, but whatever it was they felt a whole lot better after dancing.

Or as spiritual philosopher Alan Watts once said: “Sometimes you have to lose your mind to come to your senses.”

In the 1960’s, the spiritual incubator Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California infused dance and movement into its daily routine, knowing that humans were far more than just thinking machines but active bodies and spirits.

Esalen drew seekers from around the world to its gorgeous Pacific Coast setting, including NYC dance instructor Gabrielle Roth. (Also Ida Rolf and Moshe Feldenkrais of Rolfing and The Feldenkrais Method fame.)

There to work with Esalen founder Fritz Perls and his gestalt therapy techniques, Roth eventually had an “aha moment.” One day she told her roommate Harriet Rosen “I want to mix therapy with dance. And I want call it The Five Rhythms.”. The practice of 5Rhythms consists of five movements: Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and Stillness.

Ecstatic dance is inspired by Sufi method known as Dervish Dancing, Sacred Dance by George Gurdjieff, Stop Dance and Natraj Dance (The King of Dance) by Shiva. 

“When movement becomes ecstatic, then this is dance. When the movement is so total there is no ego, then it is dance.”
— Rajneesh (Osho)

We came whirling out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust …
The stars made a circle, and in the middle, we dance. — Rumi

We watch a sunlight dust dance,
and we try to be that lively,
but nobody knows what music those particles hear.
Each of us has a secret companion musician to dance to.
Unique rhythmic play, a motion in the street we alone know and hear. — Rumi