I have set myself the task of at least having a decent thrash at China Gates by John Adams. Most of my repertoire to date is fairly obvious (Beethoven, Bach, Debussy etc). I am finding the rhythmic construction very difficult to maintain, I suspect because I am tense and unable simply to let it flow. Does anyone have any tips about how to approach this piece?
Thanks

That's a worthy goal.
A beautiful piece which does not sound real hard, but I'm sure it is really tricky with respect to rhythm, dynamics, and voicing.
Maybe the tension will subside when you get more under the piece's skin.