Fire 2026 winter retreat With Sue Rickards, Hilary Kneale, Rachel Smith, Becca Parkinson, Killian Strong.
A winter ceremony over 4 residential days at the very special Earth Spirit Centre in Somerset. Come congregate and dance in the dark depths of winter and feed your imagination around the hearth. This is a call to the untamed in us which can’t be satisfied by the artificial light of devices or tv.This is a call to that in us which wants the heat of real fire, real company and real aliveness. We gather outside by a blazing FIRE as it speaks to us and we listen deeply to our own nature. We remember our natural kinship and make friends. We dance and become enchanted by stories. However each moment takes us, we dance, invoking mystery to choreograph our time together. We pray for ourselves, for others and for all of life as we are held by the power of fire within the Sweat Lodge Ceremony.
Date: Wednesday 12th February 2026 (5pm before dinner and evening dance) - Sunday 16th February 2026 (after lunchtime)
Venue: Earth Spirit Centre, Lockyers Farm, Peak Ln, Compton Dundon, Somerton TA11 6PE, United Kingdom
About us:
Sue: I’ve been offering dance, movement and holding groups for 35 years - half my life. I’m entranced and fascinated by us all when we come together and dance. By now it’s almost familiar and yet endlessly surprising. FIRE is always a unique happening and once again I’m looking forward to it very much and very glad to be working with this particular creative and skilled team again. www.acalltodance.com
Hilary Kneale: I am happy to be joining the team for FIRE once more. Over the years I have loved diving into each unique firey journey. I am inspired by the transformational power that arises as a circle of people come together with a strong intention and all of their heart to enter ceremony. I will be guiding the Sweat Lodge Ceremony. www.hilarykneale.com www.hollowbone.co.uk www.northerndrum.com
Rachel Smith: Fire goes with stories, and for the sixth time we will be creating the story circle, and seeing what wants to be told. Creating a place to rest, dream, write and doodle. I am a poet and storyteller, shaped by my training with Helen Poynor and Open Floor. https://open.substack.com/pub/theriverpath
Becca Parkinson: I’ll be offering a movement journey out on the land, moving with the language of the wild. Indoors, I’ll be weaving soundscapes to support dance journeys and unfolding improvisations. I’m drawn to movement as a way of listening and journeying — with land, with body, with each other, with spirit; rewilding us, returning us to our awake, playful, relational, feeling, prayerful, intuitive selves. www.movinglandscapes.org
Killian Strong: I’m an Eco-Psychotherapist and Open Floor teacher with a life-long passion for music, movement and the natural world - and a deep interest in earth-based spirituality. I’ve been working with individuals and groups for over 20 years, in a vocation spanning social and palliative care, and community mental health. It’s a joy to be re-joining this FIRE team. https://www.mixcloud.com/killian-strong/