Jun 7-13 San Luis, Costa Rica

Have you ever wanted to dance in the clouds?

What to Expect

Healing music and dance immersion: land-based music and dance, sacred ecology, and ecosystem restoration in a CLOUD forest

Dance with your feet on the Earth and your hands in the soil

June 7-13 in san luis, costa rica

$1,800 Shared Accommodations | $2,100 Private Room

Register Here

Dance, sing and play in rhythm, in collaboration with beautiful land and a group of open-hearted people. All movement experiences are accompanied by live music & voice.

❋ Afro-Brazilian, Samba & Creative Dance Classes

Connect and cultivate the rhythms that exist within all of us. We will gather in our group on a daily basis to learn and play in community, to feel the pure joy that springs from deepening your connection with music. Our goal is that you leave Costa Rica with the inspiration and tools to contribute to your musical practice and to radiate that energy when you go back to your homes. .

❋ Brazilian Percussion & Song Classes

❋ Reconnecting with Land

This immersion takes place on a 40-acre forest with a river running through it. This previous farm land is being healed and restored with intention and ceremony. Be part of the process of repairing this ecosystem, with artistry.

❋ A Nourishing Experience

Three farm-to-table meals are provided each day, with local ingredients prepared by an on-site chef.

why we created this experience

We are dancers, vocalists and musicians with over 80 years collective experience studying and teaching Brazilian music and dance forms. These forms are rooted in Afro-Indigenous wisdom - rhythms and dances that call us home and teach us how to embody the natural elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These art forms connect us to one another, bring us joy, and teach us how to connect our feet to the Earth.

After years of study, instruction and performance on stages and studios, we are taking this work outside, to dance with the land, sing with the river, make music with the wind, and play songs around the campfire.

THIS IS NOT A RETREAT.

We are not running away from our lives. This is a return - a chance to immerse yourself in the rich biodiversity of a tropical cloud forest while connecting with the music and dance that exists inside you.

ALL DANCE & MUSIC LEVELS WELCOME

This daily flow is subject to change - we are moving with the Earth, so scheduled activities and timing may change.

Daily flow

We have created a thoughtful itinerary that includes healing movement, artistic instruction, three farm-to-table meals, land engagement and sacred rest each day.

Morning Yoga

7:30-8:30am

Breakfast

8:30-9:30am

Outdoor Dance Experience

10:00-11:00am

Lunch

12:00pm

Afternoon Siesta

1:00-2:00pm

Dance Class

2:00 - 3:30pm

Brazilian Percussion Class

4:00-5:30pm

Dinner

6:00pm

Songs Around the Campfire

8:00pm

ACCOMMODATIONS

Participants will be guests at the beautiful Rancho De Lelo, a short walk away from our ceremonial and class space known as “Aurora.” Once you arrive to the immersion site, you will not need to drive or ride in a vehicle for the entire week.

Travel Information

Register

DANCE classes

Daily dance classes with Lorin Hansen, founder of Samba Fogo and Return Dance Project. Dance classes will be rooted in the Samba and Afro-Brazilian dance lineage, a lineage that leads us back to the land and teaches us how to embody the Earth’s natural elements. Each day we will have one samba class in a stunning studio, and one land-based creative movement practice out on the land. Feeling our awe and our grief, we will dance with our bare feet on the Earth, create dances in the river, feel our bodies as part of the forest, and move with the wind. All dance activities will be accompanied by live music, with musicians Chiny Naranjo, Mason Aeschbacher, and Francisco Marques accompanying our dance journey with various instruments and vocal techniques.

No previous dance experience is necessary - all dance ability levels are welcome and encourage to explore, discover, and feel. What takes place is a moving of emotion and energy, through the body, in community. This is dance geared toward healing and rooted into the land.

BRAZILIAN music classes

Brazilian percussion, song, and music classes will be held each day, with instructor Francisco Marques. Learn to play various Brazilian percussion instruments like Pandeiro, Agogo, Tamborim, and Surdo, and learn some simple call-and-response songs. Classes will be lighthearted, joyful, community-based and designed to include everyone.

Francisco “Fran” is known for his lighthearted ability to teach musical skills to beginners and intermediate players alike. Everyone, regardless of previous percussion or musical experience, should plan to pick up a new instrument and learn new musical skills during this immersion!

MEALS

Three farm-to-table meals will be provided each day, prepared on site by a local chef. Meals will be made with your dietary needs in mind.

ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION & SACRED ECOLOGY

Aurora sits on former grazing & farm land. This formerly degraded land is now a biodiverse jungle-forest full of life, due to the intentional work of landowner, restoration ecologist Karen Gordon. Karen refers to herself as a “Sacred Ecologist,” as she finds soul, purpose and spirit in connecting with the land under her feet. Together, we will help Karen in her quest to restore this landscape, sequester carbon, and bolster biodiversity, we will use dance movements, song, live music and ecosystem restoration techniques to create habitat for a wide array of birds, insects and animals. We will help Karen sing this land back to life, using our voices, our instruments, and our dancing bodies.

MEET THE FACILITATORS