JOIN US FOR OUR UPCOMING
DAY RETREAT!
UNTAMED FEMININE:
A Day of Fire & Wind + Unapologetic Warrior Spirit
DANCING SPIRITS DAY RETREAT
is an immersive women-centered offering devoted to wellness, connection, and ritual.
Step into a full-day immersive experience where movement, spirit, and sacred practice converge. This day-long retreat invites you to embody the fierce, protective, and fiery energies of the Untamed Feminine through dance, ritual, and deep restoration.
Rooted in the rich folkloric traditions of Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil, this gathering centers the warrior spirit Oya, Ezili Dantò, and Oya Yansa! Whew! THE FIRE! We are calling forth empowerment, courage, resilience, and unapologetic self-expression.
Participants will engage in three folkloric dance workshops led by celebrated and revered instructors/practitioners, each offering a unique experience into ancestral movement traditions. Through grounded footwork, storytelling, and embodied rhythm, you will explore the distinct yet interconnected energies that shape the dances of these cultures. More than "steps across the floor" you'll leave with a deeper appreciation for dance as sacred ritual, and a renewed sense of self.
is an immersive women-centered offering devoted to wellness, connection, and ritual.
Step into a full-day immersive experience where movement, spirit, and sacred practice converge. This day-long retreat invites you to embody the fierce, protective, and fiery energies of the Untamed Feminine through dance, ritual, and deep restoration.
Rooted in the rich folkloric traditions of Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil, this gathering centers the warrior spirit Oya, Ezili Dantò, and Oya Yansa! Whew! THE FIRE! We are calling forth empowerment, courage, resilience, and unapologetic self-expression.
Participants will engage in three folkloric dance workshops led by celebrated and revered instructors/practitioners, each offering a unique experience into ancestral movement traditions. Through grounded footwork, storytelling, and embodied rhythm, you will explore the distinct yet interconnected energies that shape the dances of these cultures. More than "steps across the floor" you'll leave with a deeper appreciation for dance as sacred ritual, and a renewed sense of self.
Bethanie Hines Photography
Beyond movement, the day retreat offers opportunities for deep spiritual connection and renewal:
Spiritual Bath Making Workshop
Guided by an initiated priestess in Haitian Vodou, this hands-on experience introduces participants to the art of spiritual bathing. Learn how to work with herbs, intention, and ritual to cleanse, protect, and restore your energy. Each participant will create their own spiritual bath blend to take home, infused with purpose and prayer.
Sound Bath Activation
Be held in a meditative soundscape designed to soothe the nervous system and integrate the day’s work. Through breath work, ritual, vibration and frequency, this session invites energetic alignment, and gentle release.
Spiritual Bath Making Workshop
Guided by an initiated priestess in Haitian Vodou, this hands-on experience introduces participants to the art of spiritual bathing. Learn how to work with herbs, intention, and ritual to cleanse, protect, and restore your energy. Each participant will create their own spiritual bath blend to take home, infused with purpose and prayer.
Sound Bath Activation
Be held in a meditative soundscape designed to soothe the nervous system and integrate the day’s work. Through breath work, ritual, vibration and frequency, this session invites energetic alignment, and gentle release.
DANCING SPIRITS RETREAT OFFERINGS
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AFRO CUBAN DANCE WORKSHOP
"Get Ready...Stay Ready...
Transformation is Coming: Embracing Change"
From Yoruba Land to Cuba, Brazil, and the United States, Oya, the Mother of Nine, is revered as the powerful Orisha of winds, storms, and transformation, and the guardian of the gateway between life and death. Her spirit represents courage, movement, and the power to clear the path for new beginnings.
In this Afro-Cuban dance workshop at the Dancing Spirits Retreat, we will explore movements inspired by Oya’s swirling winds and warrior energy, rooted in the traditions of the African diaspora. Together we will explore how to embrace feelings of fear and anxiety, and how to gather strength and courage from within and beyond when change is upon us—learning to see transformation as a powerful blessing.
Through rhythm, breath, and embodied movement, we will honor Oya’s vibrant spirit while creating a supportive and uplifting space for dancers to move freely, release what no longer serves them, and awaken their inner power. Whether you are new to Afro-Cuban dance or experienced in the form, come ready to move, connect, and step into the energy of transformation with community and joy.
In this Afro-Cuban dance workshop at the Dancing Spirits Retreat, we will explore movements inspired by Oya’s swirling winds and warrior energy, rooted in the traditions of the African diaspora. Together we will explore how to embrace feelings of fear and anxiety, and how to gather strength and courage from within and beyond when change is upon us—learning to see transformation as a powerful blessing.
Through rhythm, breath, and embodied movement, we will honor Oya’s vibrant spirit while creating a supportive and uplifting space for dancers to move freely, release what no longer serves them, and awaken their inner power. Whether you are new to Afro-Cuban dance or experienced in the form, come ready to move, connect, and step into the energy of transformation with community and joy.
Nurture Your Mind, Body, and Spirit at Dancing Spirits Retreat with a Sound Bath Centering
RELEASE, MOVEMENT & TRANSFORMATION
"Oya's Storm: A Transformative Sound
Bath Activation"
Step into the winds of transformation with this Oya-inspired sound bath experience 🌪️
This is not your typical lay-and-relax session - this is a journey of release, movement, and renewal. Guided by breath and layered sounds, we’ll move through an energetic arc that mirrors the storm: activating, clearing, and making space for change & transformation.
Together, we’ll gently shed what no longer serves us, reconnect with our inner truth, and anchor into the version of ourselves ready to emerge on the other side.
We’ll close with a simple fire ritual, offering our releases and intentions to be transformed.
Come exactly as you are. Leave lighter, clearer, and ready for transformation.
This is not your typical lay-and-relax session - this is a journey of release, movement, and renewal. Guided by breath and layered sounds, we’ll move through an energetic arc that mirrors the storm: activating, clearing, and making space for change & transformation.
Together, we’ll gently shed what no longer serves us, reconnect with our inner truth, and anchor into the version of ourselves ready to emerge on the other side.
We’ll close with a simple fire ritual, offering our releases and intentions to be transformed.
Come exactly as you are. Leave lighter, clearer, and ready for transformation.
This is an opportunity to enhance your overall well being through the experience
of a unique and transformative healing modality.
Learn how to craft your personal sacred space in this interactive spiritual bath workshop
Create a sacred self-care ritual that you can
incorporate into your daily life
SPIRITUAL BATH CREATIONS
"Goodness in a Bowl"
What self-care rituals/practices have you incorporated into your lifestyle to remain spiritually clean?
This workshop is an invitation to create a sacred space for self-care and spiritual renewal through the art of crafting personalized spiritual baths. Spiritual baths are herbal treatments that aid in self-care rituals and practices. This Dancing Spirits session begins with a collective opportunity to set intentions, seek blessings, an abundance of love, peace, healing and good fortune.
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You will:
Explore the healing properties of various
herbs, flowers, and minerals.
Craft your own unique spiritual bath, personalized with essential oils, flowers, and other sacred elements.
Immerse yourself in a guided meditation to activate the healing and transformative energy of your bath creation.
HAITIAN FOLKLORIC DANCE WORKSHOP
"Mother of the Red Flame:
A Danced Ceremony of Fire & Protection"
"Where in your life are you being called to protect
yourself more fiercely?"
Join us as we honor Manman Ezili Dantò, our mother, protector spirit, fierce defender of women and children, who loves with unwavering force. In this session, you will be introduced to Dantò's rhythm Petwo, a fiery pulsating beat that will no doubt get you moving. Through guided instruction, you will learn foundational movement to activate your internal fire.
Together, we will explore Embodied Movement Techniques that reflects Dantò's energy.
This includes: grounded footwork that builds strength,
Gestures of the arms and hands that express protection,
and the foundation of it all...BREATH!
You are welcome to honor your anger as sacred and necessary.
To stand firmly in your power.
Come ready to sweat, to feel, and to move with purpose and intention.
Together, we will explore Embodied Movement Techniques that reflects Dantò's energy.
This includes: grounded footwork that builds strength,
Gestures of the arms and hands that express protection,
and the foundation of it all...BREATH!
You are welcome to honor your anger as sacred and necessary.
To stand firmly in your power.
Come ready to sweat, to feel, and to move with purpose and intention.
Honoring the fire that protects
what is sacred!
Danto Altar at RASANBLE! Haitian Arts & Culture Festival (2019)
Rara Tou Limen performs Set Kouto in honor of Ezili Dantò
EZILI DANTÒ IN MOTION...
AFRO-BRAZILIAN DANCE WORKSHOP
This Oya Yansa workshop will focus on the rhythms of ijex, and the traditional movements in addition to Afoxé, the secular version of Brazilian Orisha music and dance. Participants will learn the movement of Oya Yansa, that represents her winds in the storm that she conjures to clear what needs to be cleansed in the environment. You will also learn the movements that represent the winds, and storms which represent her power.
Yansa is the only female orisha that goes into battle with Shango as she fights side by side with him. This aspect of Yansa will also be presented. It will be a dance workshop that presents an often unrepresented aspect of this powerful goddess of the winds, storms, and transformation, who also guards the gates of the cemetery to ensure safe passage of spirits.
Yansa is the only female orisha that goes into battle with Shango as she fights side by side with him. This aspect of Yansa will also be presented. It will be a dance workshop that presents an often unrepresented aspect of this powerful goddess of the winds, storms, and transformation, who also guards the gates of the cemetery to ensure safe passage of spirits.
Meet Your Dancing Spirits Team
Our team is committed to fostering a sense of community and empowering individuals to connect with their essence and express themselves through movement and mindfulness.
Founder, Haitian Dance + Bath Creations
Portsha Terae Jefferson has a 25 year history of performance, choreography, research & travel passionately rooted in African/Caribbean dance, drumming and spiritual traditions. Hailing from a blazed Dance trek, her Dancestory is truly emblazoned by that of Ancestral commission. She began her formal training at the age of six at the Marsha Woody Dance Academy. From Beaumont, Texas to the Bay Area, Ms. Jefferson also revered as, "Zetwal Ashade Bon Manbo" has cultivated a trajectory of Dance excellence, dynamic performance and a cultural legacy of training, education and cultural exchange.
Often nurtured by Bay Area Dance luminaries Lynn Coles and Blanche Brown to name a few, to Haitian Dance Masters such as Pioneer Vivianne Gauthier with consistent training at Ecole Nationale de Artes [ENARTS], transcended through the establishment of Rara Tou Limen Haitian Performing Company in 2004.
As a cultural practitioner and visionary, Ms. Jefferson's dedication and exploration of Haitian culture have brought her to Haiti, where she has traveled throughout the country to research regional dance, rhythms and musical traditions since 2003. Specific interest and concentration of study took place in Gonaives at Lakou Badjo, where Nago (Yoruba) traditions are preserved, and at Tanp Souvenance Mistik, a Vodou community that celebrates its Rada (kingdom of Dahomey) heritage. Ms. Jefferson's visionary Artistic leadership and RTL Company's unforgettable presentations, classes, workshops, festivals, cultural exchange trips, and retreats, have garnered her the attention as respected colleague and established cultural gatekeeper, forging new trailways through ancient traditions -- staying true to the sojourn carving pathways for many to flourish crossing boundaries and dimensions in the Dance.
She has presented at the Black Sacred Arts Conference at Yale University, KOSANBA Conference in Miami, and the Rex Nettleford Conference in Kingston, Jamaica. Her teaching spans internationally, including the University of Panama, while her embodied practice has led her to Cuba, and Jamaica, where she has shared Haitian dance within community and cultural spaces. Her work is further enriched by ongoing cultural exchange and research in Haiti, Cuba, and most recently, Benin and Togo.
Ms. Jefferson has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley and with the Conservatory for Contemporary Dance Arts, and as an artist-in-residence across Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, and San Francisco Unified School Districts. A passionate advocate for education and youth development, she has contributed to numerous arts education initiatives and has shared her work at colleges, universities, and studios including Stanford, Miami Dade College - Kendall, UC Santa Cruz, Sacramento State, Dance Mission Theater and the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. She also serves as a Cultural Arts Specialist with Oakland Parks and Recreation
Often nurtured by Bay Area Dance luminaries Lynn Coles and Blanche Brown to name a few, to Haitian Dance Masters such as Pioneer Vivianne Gauthier with consistent training at Ecole Nationale de Artes [ENARTS], transcended through the establishment of Rara Tou Limen Haitian Performing Company in 2004.
As a cultural practitioner and visionary, Ms. Jefferson's dedication and exploration of Haitian culture have brought her to Haiti, where she has traveled throughout the country to research regional dance, rhythms and musical traditions since 2003. Specific interest and concentration of study took place in Gonaives at Lakou Badjo, where Nago (Yoruba) traditions are preserved, and at Tanp Souvenance Mistik, a Vodou community that celebrates its Rada (kingdom of Dahomey) heritage. Ms. Jefferson's visionary Artistic leadership and RTL Company's unforgettable presentations, classes, workshops, festivals, cultural exchange trips, and retreats, have garnered her the attention as respected colleague and established cultural gatekeeper, forging new trailways through ancient traditions -- staying true to the sojourn carving pathways for many to flourish crossing boundaries and dimensions in the Dance.
She has presented at the Black Sacred Arts Conference at Yale University, KOSANBA Conference in Miami, and the Rex Nettleford Conference in Kingston, Jamaica. Her teaching spans internationally, including the University of Panama, while her embodied practice has led her to Cuba, and Jamaica, where she has shared Haitian dance within community and cultural spaces. Her work is further enriched by ongoing cultural exchange and research in Haiti, Cuba, and most recently, Benin and Togo.
Ms. Jefferson has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley and with the Conservatory for Contemporary Dance Arts, and as an artist-in-residence across Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, and San Francisco Unified School Districts. A passionate advocate for education and youth development, she has contributed to numerous arts education initiatives and has shared her work at colleges, universities, and studios including Stanford, Miami Dade College - Kendall, UC Santa Cruz, Sacramento State, Dance Mission Theater and the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. She also serves as a Cultural Arts Specialist with Oakland Parks and Recreation
Afro-Cuban Dance
Asatu Hall is a co-founder of Luna Nueva Wellness Collective with 20 years of experience working in the Oakland community as a midwife and health educator. She desires to reintroduce Black and Brown women to holistic, safe, and empowering care provided by trained midwives. Asatu leads a full life being a home school mother, mentoring young women, and working in public and community health as an educator and provider.
Asatu has an M.S in Holistic Health Education from JFK University and Masters in Public Health. She is a 3rd generation traditional midwife with roots in Liberia, West Africa, and the United States. She is a graduate of Maternidad La Luz Midwifery School. She is the founder and director of YEWAS Rites of Passage Program for Girls of African Descent. Asatu also founded The Sacred Grove Traditions an Oakland-based, international women-led organization for young girls and women. Asatu is a certified Basu of Smai Tawi Yoga, a practice from ancient Kemet. She is a dancer, seasoned performer, choreographer and founding member of Emesè: Messengers of the African Diaspora, a collective of artists founded in 1998 to promote the African Diaspora of dance, drumming, and music.
Her background in dance incorporates over 25 years of various genres including Ballet, West African, Haitian, Congolese, Brazilian, and Cuban. She has had the honor of studying and performing with a number of master artists in the Bay Area. Her mentors include Mestre Carlos Aceituno and Mestra Regina Califa, Jorge Alabe, Blanche Brown, Titos Sompa, Malonga Casquelourd, Jose Francisco Barroso, Juan De Dios Ramos, Zak, and Naomi Diouf, Linda Faye Johnson, Isaura Oliveira, Dandha da Hora, Rosangela Silvestre, and others.
She currently dances with Rara Tou Limen Haitian Dance Company, under the direction of Portsha T. Jefferson.
Asatu has an M.S in Holistic Health Education from JFK University and Masters in Public Health. She is a 3rd generation traditional midwife with roots in Liberia, West Africa, and the United States. She is a graduate of Maternidad La Luz Midwifery School. She is the founder and director of YEWAS Rites of Passage Program for Girls of African Descent. Asatu also founded The Sacred Grove Traditions an Oakland-based, international women-led organization for young girls and women. Asatu is a certified Basu of Smai Tawi Yoga, a practice from ancient Kemet. She is a dancer, seasoned performer, choreographer and founding member of Emesè: Messengers of the African Diaspora, a collective of artists founded in 1998 to promote the African Diaspora of dance, drumming, and music.
Her background in dance incorporates over 25 years of various genres including Ballet, West African, Haitian, Congolese, Brazilian, and Cuban. She has had the honor of studying and performing with a number of master artists in the Bay Area. Her mentors include Mestre Carlos Aceituno and Mestra Regina Califa, Jorge Alabe, Blanche Brown, Titos Sompa, Malonga Casquelourd, Jose Francisco Barroso, Juan De Dios Ramos, Zak, and Naomi Diouf, Linda Faye Johnson, Isaura Oliveira, Dandha da Hora, Rosangela Silvestre, and others.
She currently dances with Rara Tou Limen Haitian Dance Company, under the direction of Portsha T. Jefferson.
Afro-Brazilian Dance
Karma Smart’s passion for dance began in 1996, particularly, dances of the African Diaspora. Soon after beginning the study of West African dance in Hawai’i she began to perform at public events. While living in Hawai’i she studied and performed West African, Afro-Brazilian, Congolese, jazz, Haitian and hip-hop dance styles. In Hawai’I she helped form the dance company of Sankofa based on the Big Island with whom she performed at schools, museums, and events on Maui, Oahu and the Big Island while completing a degree in Cultural Anthropology in 2000.
In 2002, in order to expand her learning opportunities as a dancer and to attend graduate school, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. A few months after arriving she was invited to join the long standing Congolese dance company, Fua Dia Congo of which she was a member for three years. After graduating from the California Institute of Integral Studies she was presented with the opportunity to teach West African and Congolese dance while in an internship in Brazil in 2004. Soon after she continued to develop her teaching skills over the following twenty years where she has consistently focused on teaching and studying Afro-Brazilian dance. In addition, in April of 2013 she was asked to collaborate in forming a new Congolese dance company by the young visionary choreographer, Vivien Bassoumina.
It is Karma’s life passion to share her experience of personal healing and liberation through music and dance. Karma currently teaches adults, teens and children of all ages dance at various community organizations, dance studios, wellness centers, fitness centers and schools. She has performed as a company member with Omi Tutu Dance Collective, Damasceno Dance Collective/ BrasArte for the 15th Anniversary, Yemanja Festival. Lavagem/Brazilian Day and more. As well as has performed as a guest artist with Maracatu Pacifico for the annual Cuba Caribe Festival in March of 2017 and for multiple years for Carnaval and Dia de los Muertos. Karma also enjoys performing in the SF Carnaval Parade and other local celebrations annually. In Dec of 2019 she acted, danced and choreographed for Kola: An Afro-Diasporic Remix of the Nutcracker, a production of The People’s Conservatory. Most recently, she performed in the Yemanja Festival with the Damasceno Dance Collective at BrasArte in February 2022, as well as Lavagem in 2023. And in 2024 she performed for at the Black Joy Celebration & Parade with Estrelas do Samba and collaborated on a dance video and Afro Latin Dance performance with a local musical artist.
Currently, Karma teaches Afro Dance classes for adults at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, The Dance Floor, the YWCA and outdoor classes at Cedar Rose Park in Berkeley. In addition to those classes she has taught Gentle African Caribbean dance for Healthy Black Families and the City of Berkeley. With all of that, for the last twelve years she has taught as a guest dance teacher at St. Mary’s College High School. And during that time, she taught a variety of movement arts from gymnastics, circus arts, yoga and kung fu and more for Fitness In Transit, at various schools and camps. Lastly, she is now training to be a comprehensive Pilates teacher. Her passion to help people stay healthy through movement is what inspires her daily.
In 2002, in order to expand her learning opportunities as a dancer and to attend graduate school, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. A few months after arriving she was invited to join the long standing Congolese dance company, Fua Dia Congo of which she was a member for three years. After graduating from the California Institute of Integral Studies she was presented with the opportunity to teach West African and Congolese dance while in an internship in Brazil in 2004. Soon after she continued to develop her teaching skills over the following twenty years where she has consistently focused on teaching and studying Afro-Brazilian dance. In addition, in April of 2013 she was asked to collaborate in forming a new Congolese dance company by the young visionary choreographer, Vivien Bassoumina.
It is Karma’s life passion to share her experience of personal healing and liberation through music and dance. Karma currently teaches adults, teens and children of all ages dance at various community organizations, dance studios, wellness centers, fitness centers and schools. She has performed as a company member with Omi Tutu Dance Collective, Damasceno Dance Collective/ BrasArte for the 15th Anniversary, Yemanja Festival. Lavagem/Brazilian Day and more. As well as has performed as a guest artist with Maracatu Pacifico for the annual Cuba Caribe Festival in March of 2017 and for multiple years for Carnaval and Dia de los Muertos. Karma also enjoys performing in the SF Carnaval Parade and other local celebrations annually. In Dec of 2019 she acted, danced and choreographed for Kola: An Afro-Diasporic Remix of the Nutcracker, a production of The People’s Conservatory. Most recently, she performed in the Yemanja Festival with the Damasceno Dance Collective at BrasArte in February 2022, as well as Lavagem in 2023. And in 2024 she performed for at the Black Joy Celebration & Parade with Estrelas do Samba and collaborated on a dance video and Afro Latin Dance performance with a local musical artist.
Currently, Karma teaches Afro Dance classes for adults at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, The Dance Floor, the YWCA and outdoor classes at Cedar Rose Park in Berkeley. In addition to those classes she has taught Gentle African Caribbean dance for Healthy Black Families and the City of Berkeley. With all of that, for the last twelve years she has taught as a guest dance teacher at St. Mary’s College High School. And during that time, she taught a variety of movement arts from gymnastics, circus arts, yoga and kung fu and more for Fitness In Transit, at various schools and camps. Lastly, she is now training to be a comprehensive Pilates teacher. Her passion to help people stay healthy through movement is what inspires her daily.
Sound Bath Activation
Shantice [Sh-anne-teece] is a Usui Reiki Master, healing sound artist, full-spectrum doula, and aborisha (Orisha devotee) whose work blends energy healing, intuitive guidance, and vibrational sound to support nervous system regulation, stress relief, and spiritual reconnection.
Trained in crystal bowls and tuning forks by Otomi Therapy in Tokyo, her practice is rooted in Indigenous reclamation and ancestral reverence. She is devoted to guiding Black folx toward rest, remembrance, and liberation through intentional spaces that invite deep restoration, reflection, embodiment, and connection to Self.
Website: www.reikibyshan.com
Instagram: @shan.tizzle
Trained in crystal bowls and tuning forks by Otomi Therapy in Tokyo, her practice is rooted in Indigenous reclamation and ancestral reverence. She is devoted to guiding Black folx toward rest, remembrance, and liberation through intentional spaces that invite deep restoration, reflection, embodiment, and connection to Self.
Website: www.reikibyshan.com
Instagram: @shan.tizzle
Provide FULL Name, Email + Write "Dancing Spirits Retreat" in Memo
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Provide FULL Name, Email + Write "Dancing Spirits Retreat" in Memo
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Provide FULL Name, Email + Write "Dancing Spirits Retreat" in Memo
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PAST RETREAT HIGHLIGHTS
DANCING SPIRITS:
DANBALA + AYIDA WEDO + OXUMARE
Serpentine Flow: Ritual Movement for Transformation in the Year of the Snake
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DANCING SPIRITS:
EZILI FREDA DAHOMEY + OSHUN
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SACRED MOVEMENT. SPIRITUALITY. RITUAL.
WELLNESS. MEDITATION.
CEREMONY.
CULTURE.
DANCING SPIRITS Facilitators: Shirley, Portsha & Asatu
DANCING SPIRITS
IN THE REDWOODS
Divine Feminine:
Freda + Oxum + Yemaya
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We are excited to welcome you to Dancing Spirits Day Retreat
and are looking forward to hosting a transformative experience!
