New Years Eve Facilitators

Timbavati New Years Eve is a magic carpet ride that takes off at 8:00 pm.  Waves of individual and group dynamics are arranged consciously to activate all your energetic bodies.  Take part, rest, relax and integrate as you choose in an environment of beauty, delight and community.

Galactic Tea Lounge.  Traditional Chinese, or "Kung Fu" tea service, is an experience that gently brings the participants into presence while enjoying the many aspects of tea.  Enjoy beautifully prepared teas that will ground, enliven and enrich your senses.  A special part of the tea experience is the spacious presence of the server.  We welcome our favorite tea meister, RonJon Terlane, who will be presiding.

Interactive Art Altar: designed by artist Andrew Purchin.  Apply yourself!  In between waves, contribute the energy of your awakened energies to our forty-foot art altar, which will stretch the full length of the main wall of the Vets Hall's auditorium.  Opportunities to create in natural materials such as coffee, beets , kale and charcoal will be offered with each layer of movement.  We'll dismantle the altar on New Years Day, dancing, meditating and celebrating it.

Live Gathering Reception:  Taste the space of the evening as you sip flavors of Philips' Patton's Kombucha and nibble on beautiful, organic hors d'ouevres by La Vie Pure Food Collective.  Chico, California's harmonic angels, MaMuse, will provide their divine harmonies accompanied by mandolin, stand-up bass, bazuki, guitar, flute, kalimba, ankle bells, train whistles, gospel claps, jazz snaps, laughter, calls, response, and- a unicycle...

Late Night Chocolate Offerings...using chocolate and flavors creatively sourced from many parts of the globe, Chocolate Restaurant's truffles are notorious in Santa Cruz as the ultimate on-ramp to chocolate surrender.  In the wee hours we'll be bringing out their specialties including Mocha, Amaretto, Cherry-Vanilla, Mexican Chocolate, Rosecream, Coconut, Hazelnut, Lavender, Dark Rose & Classic Bittersweet and providing homemade Chai to warm your body and soul.

Kundalini Dance/Ritual.  The Elemental Priestesses

~Sis’Stars: Yarah, Leah, Elaena, and Sonia

“It is our quest for personal growth and self-realization that continues to magnetize our re-connection.  The elements came together again on the dance floor, as our spirits have gravitated towards each other through many lives; we have danced and journeyed far, learning together along the way.  A chosen family this time, we are soul “Sis’Stars” and join forces now to embark on a mission of bringing conscious intention to a variety of occasions and events.  Starting the ripple effect from within, it is our goal to transmit this inner light throughout, helping others to open up the body/mind vehicle to all possibilities and evolve locally, nationally, and globally.  We aim to co-create the evolutionary grid of love, actively participating in readying ourselves for the new paradigm of humanity.  We’ll see you on the dance floor!

Sacred Space Boogie:  after midnight, let it all hang out as DJ Theo catches us and brings us home.  Theo's style is deep, rich and playful.  He has been creating sacred space through dance at Santa Cruz's Dance Church, in Monterey at the Pacific Grove Freestyle Dance Jam.  Theo is also a presenter at the Northern California Dance Collective (NCDC) Dance Camp.

Tantric Healing Ring.   American Sikh yogi Datta Khalsa leads us in a special healing ring of tantra to greet the year's first full moon.  Datta was raised in the Kundalini Yoga tradition of Yogi Bhajan, practicing since the age of 4.  Raised on a steady regimen of cold showers and morning Sadhana, then moving on to receive his secondary education in India, he was fully immersed in the culture of eastern spirituality and yoga throughout most of his childhood.  As an adult, he matriculated his Eastern upbringing with a successful Western business career, a process he refers to as "bridging the material with the ethereal."

Inspirational Spoken Word:  ten years ago Mahsea Evans was "overtaken by the poetic muses," and found himself steeped in the ageless tradition of spoken word poetry as a part of the group Metaphoric Soul, in Hartford, Connecticut.  Mahsea shares, "Poetry is a platform to articulate my ever-evolving spirituality."  He is a regular minister at Inner Light Ministries, which resonates with his life priority of "being in the place of ministry and inspiration."

Aerial Prayerformance: Melanie Kai and Jenna Blue have collaborated in the realm of aerial dance with Mir&A Company.  Each brings her gift of conscious movement and energetic awareness to her art.

Melanie Kai is a dancer, healer, and artist who experiences movement as worship, prayer, healing, meditation, as an agent of change and vehicle for creativity.  Her training includes gymnastics, yoga, acro-yoga, contact improv, 5 Rhythms,  aerial acrobatics, and axis syllabus.   She shares, "performing provides the opportunity to practice staying connected to my inner truth while being witnessed."  Melanie's future projects include Dancing in Nature; integrating the wilderness, the elements and navigating the space between modern society and tribal traditions.

Jenna Blue's love of dance is accompanied by a deep interest in holistic health and movement:  she is an aerial dance teacher and massage, Watsu and Waterdance therapist who has been in private practice ten years.  When Jenna is not dancing, she is homeschooling her 12 year old son, gardening, playing guitar and singing, and exploring the natural world...learning about birds...

Jenna and birds have something in common...they love to fly!

Qi Gong Moving Meditation:  using the flowing movements and subtle yet powerful movement of Qi Gong, awaken deep chi flow with author and Master Qi Gong teacher Lee Holden.  Lee is an internationally known instructor in meditation, tai chi, and qi gong, lecturing and teaching workshops in the United States, Europe, and Asia.  He is also the chief editor for Master Mantak Chia, the world’s foremost qi gong expert, and has authored numerous works on the subject.  Lee and his wife Rachel Abrams, MD, own the Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine and Chi Center (santacruzchicenter.com).

Live Sound Healing Jam:  Jonah Kai & Shamanic Sound Ceremony.   Teacher, sound healer and multi-instrumentalist Jonah Kai leads an in the moment responsive danceable sound healing wave that will move every part of you.  Comprised of didjeridoo, saxophone, native American flute, cello, violin, percussion, throat singing and more, SSC's sets often conclude with instruments being played directly over the bodies of the audience.

New Years Day Dance, noon-2pm., 1.1.10.  Embody your New Years intentions as we move ourselves into this new year.  Play and pray in our two-hour Soul Sanctuary freestyle jam in which we will dismantle our art altar and discover our individual and collective parts in our fresh awakening.  Included with your Timbavati ticket.  Separate admission, $15.

Kundalini Dance

Yarah:  Priestess and Facilitator

“A warehouse dance floor is where I first met my essence, light within, the I AM, or Christ Consciousness.  The outer world fell away, my armor dissolved, and my ego dropped its masks, relinquishing the need for control.  There, left unshielded, was my authentic self, with the music pumping through my body, dancing me to states of ecstasy.

In the dark, abandoned structures of our social conditioning are those who discover a quench for a tribal thirst we are not even aware we have:  our longing to return to our roots and dance together.  I was open to receive and desperately wanting a dramatic change.  Born on the path of the priestess, I was unaware for some time.  Then I began to consciously move through the challenges of life and discovered my direct connection to Source. 

I am a conduit of light and love, here to inspire the world around me to dance.  I am on the dance floor freeing my soul in each drop of sweat.  I dance myself free from critical judgments and disapproving commentary. I dance to uncover the hidden and release the repressed.  My essence dances me into the light to remember my full union with the Divine.  I am that, I AM!  And so are you...”