Cacao & Dance ✨ June 8th ✨ Turku

Join us for a magical evening nourished by the medicines of community, ecstatic dance & Mayan ceremonial cacao.

🤎 Consuming ceremonial cacao helps us return to the spiritual essence at the core of our human experience. The intention of drinking cacao together, in a sacred circle, before we dance - is to allow us to deepen our connection with the earth and with our sacred selves. Beginning our community gathering in this way will enable us to more easily drop into our bodies, helping us to experience our sacred evening of dance as healing medicine for our bodies, for our minds, and for our souls.

✨Expected schedule:

16:00 Cacao Circle

17:00 Guided Warm-Up

17:30 Ecstatic Dance

19:00 Closing Circle

Faciliated by The Rakas Kakaw Family:

🤎 The Cacao Circle, Guided Warm-Up & Closing Circle will be lead by Rakas Kakaw Founder, Nicole Flora Cramer. Nicole is a trained & experienced Cacao Guide, Sacred Facilitator of healing circles, and Teacher of Dance, Gymnastics & Yoga with over fifteen years experience teaching movement. Nicole has studied with Mayan elders from K'iche, Kaqchikel & Tzʼutujil lineages to deepen her understanding of cacao & Mayan culture. She works in ongoing partnership with The Mayan Wisdom Project.

🤎 For the dancing portion of the evening, you can expect to hear a range of global beats selected by Nicole's Beloved, Lauri Ovaska - aka DJ Laku. Lauri is a professional chef and amateur DJ with a deep love for food and a lifelong passion for music.

✨What to bring?

A water bottle.

Your favorite mug for cacao.

An open heart & desire to connect in CommUnity.

Comfortable clothes to dance in & maybe even get a bit sweaty.

✨What is ceremonial cacao?

Cacao is a gentle plant medicine native to Central + South America. Theobroma means "food of the gods" in Latin, and cacao is an Olmec term meaning "bitter" and "water." This sacred heart-opening plant, which has been a central component in ancient Mayan culture for thousands of years, is now hailed in the Western World as a "superfood" packed with numerous nutrients that boost mood, ease stress + help fight disease.

From the Mayan perspective, ceremonial cacao is not simply a food; it is a SACRED MEDICINE intended to be consumed with conscious intention. In theory, cacao comes from the fruit of the same type of tree as all the other chocolate you’ve ever consumed. A few factors differentiate genuine ceremonial cacao from other cocoa products, however; including the history, production process & supply chain. The cacao we will drink in our circle comes from a Mayan-owned collective in Guatemala. The cacao beans are grown organically & regeneratively by indigenous farmers. Then the beans are turned into blocks of ceremonial cacao in a few steps. Almost the entire production process from planting to packaging of cacao “tortillas” is done by hand, following a centuries-old sacred process that has been handed down generation to generation within indigenous Mayan families.

🤎Those who are sensitive to ceremonial cacao may choose to drink cacao tea instead. If you're allergic to cacao, we can also make a different heart-opening warm drink for you. Please be in touch if you would like to join us in circle & for ecstatic dance, but would prefer to drink caco tea or another heart-opening herbal alternative.

✨Who’s Invited?

Everyone native to Planet Earth is warmly welcome in our inclusive cacao & dance gatherings, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality, etc. If you are new to ceremonial cacao that’s not a problem. During these gatherings, nothing is forced or required other than showing up with an open heart. We follow strict safe space guidelines & ask that participants refrain from drug & alcohol use on the day of our circle.

✨ Tiered Pricing:

Normal 40€ 🤎 Reduced 30€ 🤎 Supporting 50€

During times of growing wealth inequality, tiered pricing intends to make healing spaces more inclusive by making participation more financially accessible for all. Those who are able to pay the supporting rate help enable those with lower income to participate. If the cost is the only reason keeping you from saying yes, email us info@rakaskakaw.com to describe your situation  - additional discounts, exchanges, payment plans, or student/BIPOC scholarships can always be arranged.

✨Space is limited to maximize intimacy.

✨We need a minimum of 5 registered participants to hold a community circle.

🤎 Book you seat in our circle today by purchasing your ticket here. ✨