Travel to the Jungle of Uvita, Costa Rica, home of the world famous Envision Festival, to dance, connect & dive deep into a transformative process with the Dance the Medicine Team as we present our first IN PERSON offering since May 2019!

We gather February 13th to 16th at the stunning AWAKE Retreat Centre, host of Uvita’s popular Ecstatic Dance Church, to embark on a somatic journey. Over the course of 4 days and 3 nights we will travel together through 5 Ecstatic Dances, each building on a central theme designed to help you tap into your subconscious/unconscious self using dance as medicine.

We will weave Art & Ritual between each dance taking you first ― Inward, to discover what lives inside you and yet has not been expressed, with an opportunity to release what you discover in a gentle and contained way. From this new perspective we move ― Outward, into a celebration of who we are now. We will celebrate, feast and of course, dance together in preparation to move ― Onward as we emerge at retreats end dancing together one last time in a way which will help you to decide "What Next?"

You will be facilitated using the foundations of Relational Somatic Therapy, Movement Based Expressive Art Therapy and Conscious Dance while harnessing the power of the group field. You only need to bring your dance clothes and an offering to the group (more on this once you have signed up). We will take care of the rest. 

This retreat will be capped at 40 participants to keep it well contained and intimate. You will bask in the glorious Costa Rican jungle, swim in sacred waters, dance under the stars (and inside too), eat delicious & healthy locally prepared foods, all while being with other dancers! 

✤ 5 Ecstatic Dances  ✤  4 Days  ✤  3 Wholesome Meals/Day  ✤  2 Choices  ✤  1 Somatic Journey  ✤

Our hope is that you leave the retreat changed, ready to take action and with purposeful direction to move forward in your life... or better yet, to dance forward!

✤ BERNICE RAABIS - Facilitator and DJ (Dance the Medicine) ✤ 

While now an experienced international teacher of Conscious Dance Leaders, Bernice began humbly in a small dance studio nestled in the Kootenay Mountains of Western Canada. Here she ran bi-weekly events for over 9 years; Dance Church, a multi-generational Sunday morning dance event, and Dance The Medicine, a weekly conscious dance class based on the principles of Soul Motion, Movement-based Expressive Arts and Somatic Therapy. By 2016 Bernice was working beyond her local community, she co-founded Ecstatic Dance International, began hosting successful trainings and events in Amsterdam, Guatemala and Portugal and eventually founded Dance the Medicine Team with the mission of infecting the world with dance in hopes that everyone, everywhere, would one day have a place to dance in community. While Bernice loves to DJ and plan transformative events, facilitating profound processes is the true work of her heart; using dance, art and ritual to connect and liberate dancers is most definitely her happy place!
 

✤ ALEX SEVILLA - DJ and Host (Ecstatic Dance Madrid) ✤ 

After more than two decades behind the decks, Alex stumbled upon conscious dance 5 years ago, and went on to change his entire professional life as an engineer and entrepreneur to share his passion for dance and music. His career began as a resident DJ at Templo del Baile, a monthly conscious club in his hometown Madrid, with over 200 dancers. After 2 years, he was invited to play for Ecstatic Dance Madrid, where he was able to take his sets to the next level. During the pandemic, his mission was to help the Ecstatic Dance community worldwide by helping organisers to move to the challenging world of live-streaming. Once the lockdowns were over, he set out to make people dance in person again by offering donation-based sessions in the streets of Spain, a monthly event now known as La Plaga del Baile (The Plague of Dance). Dance The Medicine recruited him as a teacher and tech support during their first Ecstatic DJ Conference in May 2020, where he has been working ever since, sharing all his know-how and passion.

✤ CRISTINA CIOBANU - Unicorn (Dance the Medicine) ✤ 

Romanian by birth, world-traveller by choice and French-Canadian by adoption, Cristina is a passion-led event organiser and dancer by default. She’s been an art and circus teacher, a fire dance performer, a restaurant-bar and hostels manager and a very dedicated Earth and Human activist. In 2016, after encountering the spiritual community on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, she decided to serve the world as an event producer assistant and on-site manager in retreat centres that focus on well-being and movement therapies. This is how she got to meet Bernice from Dance the Medicine, and immediately after, she knew that her mission was to contribute to DTM’s vision. Cristina continues her training in conscious movement practices through alternative healing therapies such as Thai-yoga massage, complementary medicine and self-sustainable gardening.

Awake Uvita
Relate. Realize. Release.

Awake is a retreat space and community center for personal growth, expansion and liberation. Founded at the end of 2019, Awake is a community and transformation center in the town of Uvita, in front of the famous “Whale Tail” portal. Awake was designed to offer a beautiful environment conducive to introspection and inspiration.

Part of our process will be to create a tight container. This means that for these 4 days we will spend our time dedicated to the process and present with one another. We will leave our phones in our rooms and stay on-site for the duration of this immersive experience. 

· Tenting w/Communal Bathrooms

· Shared w/Communal Bathrooms

· Shared w/Shared Bathroom

· Private w/ Shared Bathroom

· Private Room w/Private Bathroom

All accommodation is basic but charming.

Food will be fresh, healthy and robust, to feed our dancing bodies. 

"We serve plant-based, gluten-free, organic, homemade delicious food. We buy most of it from local farmers and prepare it with devotion and love! Our meals include a mix of fresh raw salad greens, raw vegetables, herbs and raw dressings and a raw coconut based sauce as well as a flavourful cooked section. We typically avoid grains for starches and prefer to serve starchy vegetables recipes based on sweet potatoes, yucca, potatoes or squash. We also occasionally serve quinoa, buckwheat or rice. Typical protein dishes served involve lentils, beans, chickpeas, nuts or mushrooms. We soak lentils, beans and nuts to make them more easily digestible or we ferment the beans and make soy-free tempeh or chickpea based soy-free tofu. We love to steam vegetables to preserve more of their vitamins and we use coconut oil to fry."

ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE

We ask you to arrive between 14:00-16:00 on Monday 13th of February to allow time to check-in, explore the grounds and settle in before we start. The retreat will begin at 17:00 with a short introduction exercise and then Dance 01 will begin! The retreat will end after lunch at 13:00 on Thursday, 16th of February.

WHAT TO BRING

- Headlamp (also known as head torches, these are really useful to walk around at night)

- Clothing suitable for dancing (every day we will dance)

- Clothing suitable for bring outside (search "What to wear in Costa Rica in February"

- Swim suit

- Comfortable outdoor shoes (lots of nature to explore) 

- Ear plugs (if sharing accommodation) 

- Toiletries (natural & biodegradable products please)

PAYMENT

A non-refundable deposit is required to book and secure your place. Balance due 15 days before retreat starts. Please carefully read our Retreat Terms & Conditions as by booking on our retreat, you become legally bound by these terms.

FAQ

→ I'm coming from abroad. Do we need a visa to enter Costa Rica? No! But to be sure check with your own government and Here on the official Visit Costa Rica Website. 

→ Can I come on my own? Absolutely! More than half of our participants actually come on their own, and many do not know anyone else who is coming. This retreat is inclusive and we strive to create a culture of belonging. The program is designed to facilitate connections between one another with ice-breakers, group exercises and a daily sharing circle in small groups.

→ Is this a festival? No. Festivals are generally larger events with several programs/workshops to choose from and participants can arrive/leave as they wish, also meals are not usually communal. Our retreat is a closed container: we start and finish together. We are limiting the number of participants in order to create a more intimate gathering. There is just one program and all the activities, including meals, are communal. We encourage you to attend all sessions and participate in all activities as this will give you the fullest experience. We will also ask you to use your phone in designated areas only. This retreat is an invitation to dive deeper into your practice and let go of the outside world.

→ What is your cancellation policy? In the unlikely case that we have to cancel the retreat, a full refund will be offered. In case of cancellation from your side, no refunds or transfers will be offered, no matter the reason.

→ If I can no longer make it, can I transfer my booking to someone?

If you find someone to take your booking, there will be a €50 admin charge to transfer your booking to another person. If the retreat is fully booked and you want us to sell your booking on your behalf, we will retain your deposit and refund you the balance only if we find a replacement who has paid in full. Please note we will only accept booking transfers and allow posts on our Facebook event/page if the retreat is fully booked.

ADDRESS

C. Garcias, Provincia de Puntarenas, Uvita, 60504, Costa Rica

GETTING THERE

Awake is located along the Uvita river in Uvita, a short drive or 15 min walk from Uvita center and bus station. Many restaurants are accessible by foot

· Awake is about 3.5 hours from San Jose and 50 min from Quepos local airport.

· The second biggest city of Costa-Rica, San Isidro is about 1h15 drive.

· The highest peak of Costa-Rica, the Chirripo, is 1h45 away.

· Dominical beach is 20 min away and many other beaches are conveniently and quickly accessible thanks to the main road.

TRACOPA BUS: 

The bus from San José takes around 4-5 hours. You can find timetables at https://www.tracopacr.com 

The bus costs approx. $14 one way.

*The taxi drive from the airport to San José cost approx. $8.

PRIVATE SHUTTLE: 

Private or shared shuttles available daily during high season $65 (shared) from SJO to Uvita. We recommend you utilize the services of Monkey Ride CR out of Dominical

https://www.monkeyridecr.com/