Workshops: Dance, Flow/Fire, Arts, Poi, Somatic Play, Embodied West African
About this Event
Movement is MEDICINE. Creative Soul Sanctuary welcomes movement artist, teacher, cultural facilitator and fire performer Marita Kennedy-Castro of Embody the Rhythm for a weeklong artist residency and series of intimate workshops in the garden.
Join us for movement, dance, flow arts, fire, art and community surrounded by a growing private 1.5-acre botanical garden with panoramic mountain and sunset views.
Throughout the week, Marita will offer Sunset Poi + Flow Arts, embodied movement, mask-making, West African Dance of Guinea, fire dance and private sessions. The residency culminates under the Full Moon on September 26 with the Creative Soul Sanctuary Housewarming + Sanctuary Preview.
Come for one experience or join us throughout the week. All bodies and experience levels are welcome.
ABOUT MARITA
Marita Kennedy-Castro is a movement artist, teacher, cultural facilitator and fire performer whose work explores movement as medicine and rhythm as connection.
Marita draws from a lifetime of dance exploration and training, a background in Reiki and Healing through Empowerment, and more than 20 years studying traditional dances of West Africa. Through Embody the Rhythm, she shares embodied movement, somatic play, West African dance, poi and fire performance. Her work honors the teachers and traditions from which these forms originate while welcoming movers of all backgrounds and experience levels. Marita is an adjunct professor of dance at Bates College and co-founded New Moon Ensemble West African Dance & Drum.
THE RESIDENCY SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 | 6 PM
SUNSET POI + FLOW ARTS + FIRE DANCE
Explore rhythm, coordination and creative movement through an introductory poi and flow arts experience. Learn foundational movements using practice poi before experiencing a fire dance offering as evening settles over the garden. Beginners welcome.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 | 1 PM
MASK-MAKING + PAINTING
Spend an afternoon in the garden creating a wearable work of art. Explore plaster mask-making, painting and imaginative self-expression while creating something playful, theatrical, ceremonial or entirely your own.
No art experience necessary. Materials available while supplies last.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 | 7 PM
SUNSET POI FLOW
A second opportunity to explore poi, movement and flow arts with Marita in an intimate outdoor setting.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 | 6 PM
🍂 FALL EQUINOX + LIBRA SEASON: FREE YOUR MOVEMENT
Welcome the changing season through embodied movement.
Free Your Movement combines guided embodied awareness, somatic play, improvisation and creative expression to explore greater fluidity, range of motion, release and renewed movement possibilities. Move as the sun sets behind the mountains and we welcome the Fall Equinox and Libra season together. No dance experience required. Come as you are.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 | 6 PM
🌕 HARVEST FULL MOON EVE: SUNSET POI + FIRE + FLOW
Gather beneath the nearly full moon for an evening where movement, rhythm, flow arts and flame meet the garden.
Marita will guide a sunset poi and flow experience followed by a fire dance offering as the Sanctuary transitions from daylight into night.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 | 6 PM
🌕 FULL MOON HOUSEWARMING + SANCTUARY PREVIEW
The residency culminates with the first housewarming and soft preview of Creative Soul Sanctuary. Spend the afternoon and evening exploring the garden, walking the labyrinth, making art, moving, playing, drumming and gathering beneath the Full Moon.
Marita's featured offerings begin around 6 PM and include: West African Dance of Guinea • Live Drumming • Fire Dance + Poi
Additional Sanctuary experiences will include art, the botanical gardens, Creative Acre Trail, crystal labyrinth, pond and waterfall, community gathering spaces, recreation and Full Moon activities.
This is more than the final workshop. It's our first opportunity to welcome a small community into a place we've spent much of 2026 bringing to life
PRIVATE SESSIONS
Marita will also have limited private appointments available during her residency on September 19, 20, 22 and 25.
Private offerings include: Poi + Flow Arts, Free Your Movement / Embodied Movement
West African Dance, Non-Traditional Henna — Botanical + Sea Creature Designs
Private-session pricing and scheduling are separate from the Sunset Sanctuary Sessions. Contact us for availability.
ABOUT THE SETTING
Creative Soul Sanctuary is a growing private creative and ecological space near Soboba Casino & Hot Springs. Across approximately 1.5 acres, we're transforming the land into a botanical garden, art park and gathering space rooted in Art + Nature + Wellness + Culture + Play. During your visit, you may encounter more than 100 plants and trees, panoramic mountain views, a 1,000+ foot Creative Acre Trail, crystal labyrinth, pond and waterfall, murals, wildlife habitat and spaces for movement, art, fire, play and reflection.
The Sanctuary is still growing. That's part of the experience.
ADMISSION + LOCATION
$10 suggested donation per experience.
Limited capacity. Advance RSVP required. No walk-ins. Creative Soul Sanctuary is a private space, and the exact address will be provided to confirmed guests before the experience.
General location: Minutes away from the Soboba Casino & Hot Springs in Riverside County.
Please wear comfortable clothing appropriate for movement and an outdoor garden environment. Additional event-specific information will be sent to registered guests.
Where is it happening?
USD 12.51
